As of February 1, 2022, all registered coaches must be eligible to coach in order to participate in an OVA event.
To be eligible, all coaches must have a valid Police Record Check on file and have completed the OVA Screening Disclosure Form. All coaches must also have completed the Coach Association of Canada Safe Sport Training as well as the Making Head Way multisport module.
Furthermore, individuals in a head coach role must also have their Foundations of Volleyball course and have successfully passed the Making Ethical Decisions online evaluation.
The full details are available in the 2021-22 OVA Coach Eligibility Policy.
The original deadline to meet coach eligibility was in the Fall of 2021 but an extension was provided to give coaches more time to complete the online training components. All registered coaches who are missing modules have been contacted by OVA staff and their clubs have been made aware of their ineligibility status. Many coaches have since completed the missing items and have achieved eligibility but many have still not followed through.
The Coach Eligibility Policy exists to make sure everyone adheres to the same standards when it comes to providing athletes with a safe, inclusive and responsible volleyball experience. The OVA urges all coaches who are missing courses to complete them as soon as possible to maintain their ability to participate in OVA events.
Starting on February 1, coaches who are missing one of the mandatory eligibility components won’t be allowed to participate in any OVA events, including but not limited to regular season events, league play matches and Ontario Championships.
Eligibility will be verified at the February and March events taking place at the Niagara Convention Centre. It will also be verified at Ontario Championships. For League Play matches, it is the coaches’ responsibility to make sure they are eligible. If an ineligible coach participates in a league play match, their team will automatically have to forfeit the match, regardless of the actual result.
If a coach is found to be ineligible at an OVA event, they will not be able to participate. The team will have to find another eligible head coach to enter the event. Every team must have at least one eligible head coach on the bench with the exception of 4v4 Rallyball teams who are allowed to split their rosters and have an assistant coach in the head coach role.
As of February 1, 2022, there will be no more extensions or exemptions provided to coaches who don’t meet all the eligibility requirements. It is every coach’s responsibility to make sure they are eligible.
If you have a question about how to complete the training you are missing, you can contact Oklend Llakaj at ollakaj@ontariovolleyball.org
The OVA would like to thank all coaches for their collaboration.