Calgary-based Respect Sport has launched a new education and compliance platform as part of a broader effort to help sport organizations move beyond minimum safe-sport requirements and build stronger organizational cultures.

The company, which has worked in safe sport for more than 20 years, has relaunched under the Respect Sport name and introduced Respect HQ, a platform that brings education, training requirements and compliance tracking together in one system.

The launch comes as concerns continue around participation, retention and athlete experience in Canadian sport. Respect Sport points to the Future of Sport in Canada Commission, whose final report was released in March 2026 and found that sport participation data in Canada remains fragmented and inconsistently reported, making it difficult to understand who is leaving sport and why.

Respect Sport argues that the issue extends beyond policy compliance. Its new direction is focused on helping coaches, parents, administrators and athletes better understand what safe and inclusive sport environments should look like in practice.

“Organizations are no longer being asked simply to check a box,” said Respect Sport CEO Kelly Schmitt. “They’re being asked to create cultures where every athlete feels safe, included, and inspired to participate.”

The organization says it has trained 2.4 million people and worked with more than 1,400 organizations to date.

Respect HQ is intended to help organizations manage role-specific training, track completion requirements and improve visibility into compliance across their operations.

For fitness and recreation organizations, the broader issue is increasingly relevant as facilities expand youth programming, camps, sport-performance services and community partnerships. Expectations around staff education, safeguarding, reporting and organizational accountability are likely to remain an important part of operating environments involving young participants.

Respect Sport’s new positioning, built around the message “Be The Standard,” reflects a broader shift from treating safe sport as a compliance exercise toward viewing it as part of organizational culture, participant experience and long-term retention.