CBC Sports Presents: Safe sport panel discussion

What is safe sport? It's a broad concept but the core tenant is simple.

Federal protection for athletes from abuse in all forms — sexual, mental and physical, and at all levels of competition.

As calls for meaningful change grow louder, CBC Sports Presents hosted an in-depth discussion with panellists from across the spectrum of sport in Canada.

Panellists included Anne Merklinger, the CEO of Own The Podium; Allison Forsyth, safe sport advocate and former Olympic skier; Cynthia Appiah, safe sport advocate and Olympic bobsledder; and Jamie Strashin, CBC Sports reporter. The four joined hosts Scott Russell and Andi Petrillo in Toronto on Saturday. 

WATCH | Safe sport in Canada panel discussion:

Before there's hope to make meaningful change, it's important to tackle each issue plaguing sport as its own problem, rather than lumping everything together.

"We need to break down this definition of safe sport," Strashin said. "It's come to encompass far too many things. It's concussion, it's toxic culture, it's criminal behaviour. We need to compartmentalize these things and deal with them in a real way, individually. It's far too much right now for people to digest."

The common thread between many safe sport issues is that mistreatment often happens when winning is the the singular goal.

This mentality is one that can be looked at as one that isn't inherently results-based, as reflected with Own The Podium's shift to providing resources over an eight-year horizon. This invests in future athletes on the podium pathway rather than just providing financial resources to organizations that medal.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton is one organization hoping to create change. More than 70 current and former athletes called for change in