Resources and SafeSport - ACA
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Membership

Resources and SafeSport

The ACA is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for paddlesports

The ACA is committed to supporting our athletes at all levels of competition. The U.S. Center for SafeSport and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee also offer resources to support our athletes. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) also manages the United States anti-doping program, including in-competition and out-of competition testing and provides tools and tips to help athletes at all levels navigate their anti-doping rights and responsibilities.

American Canoe Association Athlete Resources

The ACA Athlete Code of Conduct is the guide to acceptable behavior for paddlesport athletes competing domestically and internationally, whether or not the athlete is a member of a USA National Team (“Team”). Acceptance of its provisions is a condition of competing domestically and, at the national and international levels, and of selection to any National Team. Therefore, all ACA competition athlete participants must review and electronically sign this document as part of the Join/Renew process. This includes athletes participating in all ICF disciplines.

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee

The USOPC offers an abundance of services to athletes, and the ACA suggests that any athlete seeking assistance from the USOPC should start with the Office of the Ombuds which can be reached by telephone at 719-866-5000 or email at ombusdman@usathlete.org.

The Office of the Athlete Ombuds and its staff (the Athlete Ombuds) offers independent, confidential advice to athletes regarding their rights and responsibilities in the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, and assists athletes with a broad range of questions, disputes, complaints and concerns. The Athlete Ombuds’ focus is to serve athletes who represent the U.S. in international competition. The Athlete Ombuds operates on the core principles of confidentiality and privacy, independence, and impartiality.

U.S. Center for Safe Sport

The U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent nonprofit committed to building a sport community where participants can safely work and learn together. The Center develops resources and policies to safeguard athletes from bullying, harassment, hazing, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct. It is the exclusive authority to respond to reports of allegations of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct within the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and their recognized National Governing Bodies (NGBs). Learn more by reading the Safe Sport Code.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is the national anti-doping organization in the United States for Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, and Parapan American sport. The organization is charged with managing the anti-doping program, including in-competition and out-of competition testing, results management processes, drug reference resources, and athlete education for all USOPC national governing bodies, their athletes, and events. Additionally, USADA contributes to the advancement of clean sport through scientific research and education & outreach initiatives focused on awareness and prevention.

  • Athlete Guide to Anti-Doping
  • USOPC National Anti-Doping Policy
  • Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE): USADA has created a TUE Pre-Check Form to help athletes determine if they need to apply for a TUE. This form lets the athlete provide key pieces of information before they visit their primary care provider, allowing USADA to closely work with the athlete to ensure that frustrations with incomplete applications can be avoided and they get one-on-one service from the Drug Reference Team.
  • TUE Frequently Asked Questions

Travel Resources

ACA’s International Travel Requirements

All teams and athletes traveling internationally on official ACA trips to train or compete are required to complete the following prior to departure:

Paracanoe Classification

Classification provides a structure for Paralympic competition. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has adopted a universal classification code in order to facilitate the implementation of accurate, reliable, and credible sport-specific classification systems. The classification process determines who is eligible to compete in a Paralympic sport and it groups the eligible athletes in sport classes according to their activity limitation in a certain sport.  For more information about Paralympic classification and the IPC Athlete Classification Code, please visit the IPC Classification Webpage.. 

The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the international federation for canoe sport. The ICF is responsible for creating and implementing the rules and regulations that govern the Paracanoe classification system.  For more information about the Paracanoe classification system, rules and regulations, please visit the ICF Paracanoe Classification Webpage. 

The American Canoe Association (ACA) is the national governing body for Paracanoe in the USA.