The BAC has retained its Advanced Safeguarding Standard following a recent, scheduled review by the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU).The BAC’s work around safeguarding ‘more than met’ all of the review criteria, while the CPSU also praised the organisation’s ‘stand out commitment’ to future safeguarding plans and work.The retention of the Standard highlights the BAC’s determination to ensure that safeguarding is truly embedded within elite sport, following a year which has seen the organisation support more athletes than ever before, and offer 24-hour independent support to British athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.The BAC’s Head of Safeguarding, Elaine Francis, said:“We are delighted to have retained our Advanced Safeguarding Standard, and particularly pleased that the CPSU recognised the importance that we place on not only excelling in this area, but also ensuring that we use our knowledge and expertise to benefit the entire elite sport sector.“The past 12 months have seen our volume of casework increase, while we also put in place a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind support offering to athletes in Tokyo, which we’ll be replicating – after being commissioned by the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association – for the forthcoming Winter Games in Beijing.“This is an example of the way in which we want our service to athletes to evolve and improve, and we will continue to put safeguarding at the heart of that evolution. We are committed to constantly evaluating our own service, ensuring that we are robust, adaptable and always meeting the needs of our athletes.”Liza Ware, Senior Consultant at the CPSU, added:“The BAC has continued to improve its safeguarding arrangements, making them more robust whilst ensuring athlete welfare is central to their processes and decision making. Over the past year, the BAC has also worked with various partner agencies to ensure the voice of the athlete is heard and acted upon.”You can read more about the BAC’s commitment to safeguarding here.