Below you will find the full text of the Open Letter from Swimming Canada. 

This letter is posted on their website at www.swimming.ca with direct links below.

English /  French

November 12, 2009

An open letter to the Swimming Canada community:

Swimming Canada wishes to inform its membership of the recent dismissal of Mr. Cecil Russell’s application for reinstatement by Adjudicator Graeme Mew. As a result, Mr. Russell’s lifetime ban from participation in any role and in any competition or activity sanctioned by Swimming Canada (or any provincial section) remains in place. The decision and reasons are available on the website of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (http://www.cces.ca/pdfs/CCES-CASE-CCESvRussellDecision2009-E.pdf).

Swimming Canada is committed to fair sport and must ensure a positive, productive and healthy environment for all participants. As governing body for competitive swimming in Canada, Swimming Canada will take all reasonable steps to enforce the sanction imposed on any banned individual including notifying its membership on changes to the status on the lifetime ban of former members, taking a lead role in the development of a national multi-sport enforcement mechanism and liaising with FINA to ensure adherence to Fina Rule C 12.4, whereby the sanctions imposed on Canadians are respected within other national jurisdictions.

A committee comprising representatives from Coaches of Canada, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, and select National Sport Organizations has been recently struck and given the task of determining the best way to fairly enforce sanctions imposed pursuant to Canadian anti-doping rules and policies. Swimming Canada is hopeful that this will provide the Canadian sporting community a more effective and formalized method for dealing with these situations.

In the interim, it is important that the Canadian Swimming community continue to uphold the values and ethics of our sport. To this end, members of Swimming Canada who witness, during any sanctioned Swimming Canada event, competition or training, possible violations by any suspended or banned individual may bring those observations to the attention of either Swimming Canada or the relevant provincial section. Please specify the location, date, time, and a description of the actions witnessed. These submissions may be sent directly to the national office (natloffice@swimming.ca).

Swimming Canada appreciates the unanimous endorsement by all Provincial Sections and of the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association in taking appropriate steps to ensure that the sanctions imposed on any suspended or banned individual are appropriately respected.

Thank you for your commitment to fair and ethical sport.