Integrity: IIHF cites Austria as a role model

Prior to this, it had already been in close contact with various national organisations to address the issues of anti-doping, abuse and harassment, and was a member of the Sport and Human Rights working group.

"When the IIHF launched the Integrity Officer Programme, we immediately incorporated the four pillars into our programme and began working on each pillar individually in order to develop our own programme (ÖEHV Integrity)," says Timo Gless, Integrity Officer at the ÖEHV. "While the anti-doping pillar, for example, was easier due to our existing cooperation with NADA Austria, other pillars required more work."

The four pillars of integrity in sport are:

• Anti-doping
• Competition manipulation
• Abuse and violence
• Ethics

Not long after the IIHF Integrity Workshop in Prague in November 2022, the ÖEHV entered into a partnership with Play Fair Code, an initiative for clean, manipulation-free competitions that is supported and funded by the Austrian Ministry of Sport.

"We have implemented a programme that includes seminars and workshops with all our national teams (men's and women's), referees, players and coaches from our international U18 and U20 leagues, as well as employees of the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation," explains Timo Gless.

"In another pillar, abuse and harassment, we have already worked with 100% Sport," the ÖEHV employee continues. 100% Sport is a non-profit organisation established and funded by the Austrian Ministry of Sport to promote a safe and inclusive environment in sport. "Since then, we have deepened this relationship. This includes regular meetings and workshops together with other integrity officers from various sports associations in Austria, as well as implementing and updating our guidelines, codes of conduct and regulations."

With Hockey is Diversity, a German non-profit organisation, the ÖEHV has a partner at its side that addresses discrimination, racism, sexism and homophobia in ice hockey. Its experience with these issues, particularly in the world of ice hockey, is intended to help improve the environment for all participants. Workshops with the national teams and integration into coach education also serve this purpose, taking the next step in prevention work.

"Overall, we have made major improvements to the ÖEHV Integrity Programme since August 2022, and it is constantly evolving and requires ever more attention as the term integrity in sport becomes increasingly prominent," explains Timo Gless.

A key component of this improvement is inspiration from other countries and guidance from the IIHF.

"The IIHF has supported us Integrity Officers through workshops on the various pillars, best-practice models from other MNAs or international organisations, and insights from IIHF partners," says Gless. "Naomi Bloetjes, IIHF Integrity Officer, together with the IIHF Legal Department, provides ongoing support for our integrity agenda and assists with potential cases or incidents."

Although the ÖEHV reporting system has not received any serious cases so far, there is an awareness that much work remains to be done before it can be said with confidence that the system is functioning as intended. This requires broader acceptance among all those involved.

One of the biggest challenges in Austria is to start a conversation about integrity within clubs, among coaches and parents, Timo Gless: "It seems that everyone knows about the importance of integrity in sport, but no one really wants to talk about it. The various programmes and initiatives are generally accepted, but it is another matter to get involved and actively do something for prevention. All participants in our sport must understand that prevention is one of the most important tools for integrity."

Not talking about it, or even avoiding the topic altogether, does not help. This is the message they want to convey to coaches, parents, players, referees and everyone else involved in ice hockey in order to get the conversation going in the clubs and normalise the word integrity.

Further information can be found at: https://www.eishockey.at/oehv-integrity