Strategic Plan

The Canadian Deaf Sports Association developed a Strategic Plan that will help the organization reach its goals in the next five years.

Download the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan.

Vision

The Canadian Deaf Sports Association (CDSA) is an organization that provides leadership to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing athletes by investing into the development of their athletic skills and enhancing their chance to attain the podium at international sport events.

Mission

The Canadian Deaf Sports Association (CDSA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of high performance Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing athletes. CDSA supports athletes’ participation in international sport events sanctioned by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, and the Pan American Sports Committee for the Deaf.

Values

  • Excellence
  • Transparency
  • Ethical conduct
  • Unconditional support

Challenges

To achieve its mission, the CDSA must meet multiple challenges:

  • Enable athletes to prepare adequately for international competitions and have access to sufficient support. To that end, the CDSA provides optimal support for athletes to ensure their progression to the elite level.
  • Enable athletes to practise their sport in conditions that protect their integrity and safety. To that end, the CDSA strives to ensure that high-level sport be practised in a healthy, safe, and inclusive manner.
  • Ensure that the various parties involved in supporting and accompanying athletes throughout their career work together and complement one another. To that end, the CDSA works to unite the community and stakeholders around Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing athletes

Strategic Goal #1

Support Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing athletes’ progression to the elite level

The CDSA strives to ensure that the direct or indirect support it provides to athletes and their entourage enables them to follow a pathway that leads to high-level sport and prepares them to compete at the highest level.

Action items:
  1. Continue to implement the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model:
    1. Follow up on the adoption of the LTAD model with CDSA partners (coaches, team manager & PDSOs)
    2. Establish athlete roadmaps and maintain an internal database
  2. Strengthen the processes of athlete identification, selection, and support, particularly athletes ranging in ages between 14 to 21.
  3. Create a initiative sense of belonging and recognition for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing athletes, veterans, and CDSA board and staffs.
  4. Improve recruitment of and support for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing managers and coaches
    1. Recruit a volunteer sports coordinator (1 or 2 days per week)
    2. Enhance internal communication with managers and coaches, especially during the recruitment process and announcement of sporting events

Strategic Goal #2

Help promote healthy, safe, and inclusive sport practices

The CDSA aims to ensure that the environment in which athletes operate provides for their safety and well-being at every stage of their journey. Accordingly, the CDSA positions itself as an ally to athletes and is actively involved in sports safety and opposing all forms of incivility, harassment, and discrimination.

Action items:
  1. Develop and share guidelines in the fight against doping
  2. Raise awareness of the rules concerning the prevention of violence (including harassment, abuse, and concussions):
    1. Raise awareness of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) and the Concussion Protocol
    2. Review regularly to collect and review accounts of Canadian Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing athletes’ experience regarding sport safety.
  3. Raise awareness of initiatives relating to the promotion of diversity:
      1. Collect and analyze gender-equity data on a yearly basis
      2. Support the organization of the women’s sports leadership camp
      3. Promote awareness and implementation of IBPOC and 2SLGBTQI+ diversity policies
      4. Build ties with Indigenous athletes

Strategic Goal #3

Improve coordination across provincial, federal, and international jurisdictions

The CDSA seeks effective collaboration between the various authorities involved in sports to ensure that athletes’ progress is supported throughout their career.

Action items: 
  1. Raise awareness of the CDSA’s role and achievements:
    1. Implement the communications plan
    2. Showcase the CDSA’s work in hosting sporting events in Canada (including national and international competitions)
  2. Strengthen ties with sports federations:
    1. Canadian sports federations
    2. Provincial sports federations (or local sports federations in provinces that don’t have a provincial federation)
  3. Strengthen the presence of the CDSA in international sports organizations, for example, the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, Pan-American Sports Committee for the Deaf, International Deaf Sport Federation (i.e., Deaf International Basketball Federation, World Deaf Golf Federation, etc.).

Strategic Goal #4

Continues to implement best practices toward CDSA management and governance

Staff, volunteers, members, and directors are committed to high standards of management and governance. The CDSA is actively engaged in a process of continuous improvement of its practices and policies. In addition, it aims to provide its employees and volunteers with healthy working conditions.

Action items:
  1. As regards financial management, continue to rationalize expenditure and diversify financial resources:
    1. Assess alternative or complementary fundraising activities to the telemarketing campaign (or hire a specialized firm to do so)
    2. Strengthen the monitoring of dashboards and budget reports
  2. As regards human-resources management, ensure business continuity and employee well-being:
    1. Develop a succession plan for the Executive Director and the Administrative Assistant
    2. Assess workload on a yearly basis
  3. As regards governance, pursue current initiatives relating to transparency and risk management:
    1. Conduct yearly risk assessment and update the contingency plan
    2. Continue to improve accountability mechanisms and tools with Sport Canada
    3. Assess the implementation and relevance of current CDSA policies every two or three years