Sport = All forms of physical activity which, through organized or casual play, aim to express or improve physical fitness and mental well-being. Participants may be motivated by intrinsic or extrinsic rewards, and competition may be with others or themselves (personal challenge).
Organized sport = Rule-governed and externally structured physical activities involving competition or challenges that call for specific physical skills and strategies to achieve goals.
Casual play = Informal physical activities created and controlled by participants that fit immediate circumstances and express the interests of a particular group.
Child/children/youth = The terms are used interchangeably in this document to describe any person below the age of 18.
Abuse = All forms of physical, emotional and sexual abuse as defined in the code of the US Center for SafeSport, the independent non-profit organization tasked by Congress to create healthy sport environments for athletes, including youth and members of Olympic and Paralympic national governing bodies.
Violence = Physical and mental treatment that violates the law, sits outside the rules of the game, or involves adult behavior that produces harm to the child.
Neglect = An act or omission, the failure to provide for the child’s basic needs. Forms include physical neglect, the failure to adequately meet the child’s needs for, for example, clothing and protection from harm; and/or emotional neglect, the failure to satisfy the developmental needs of a child by denying the child an appropriate level of affection, care, education, and security.
Access = Providing a range of community and school-based sports options and removing non-sport-related barriers to participation. Access does not mean that a child has a right to participate on a particular team, in a specific competition, or at the level of their choice. It does mean that to the greatest extent possible, federal, state and local governments and the private sector will provide and support programs that are affordable and meet the needs of all children.
Exploitation = Where some form of remuneration is involved without the child’s consent and whereby others benefit in some manner – monetarily, socially, politically, etc. We recognize additional protections are afforded children under the age of 13, such as restrictions on companies marketing products to them.
Equity lens = The process of recognizing that each young person has different circumstances in accessing sport programs and recreational venues, and the allocating of resources and opportunities to reach equal participation outcomes.
Underrepresented populations = These populations are shaped locally. Nationally, they include youth from low-income households, girls in general and specifically girls from urban and rural areas, racial and ethnic minorities, children who are LGBTQ, and those with physical or intellectual disabilities, among other groups.
Mastery = Knowledge or skill in an area related to athlete or human development.
