From family court to the proposed Indian residential school dispute resolution, Joie Quarton has spent 15 years embroiled in the world of law, the past 10 as an arbitrator.

As a mother of three young athletes, one of which competes on the international level, Quarton has also spent her fair share of time in the world of sport.

Now, the Yukoner will be combining the two, as she joins the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) as an arbitrator.

'The whole world of sport is of huge interest to me,' said Quarton, who found out she had been selected for the honour late last week. 'There are a lot of issues to cover.'

The SDRCC, which officially opened its doors in April of 2004, though it was in the making for at least a few years prior, is designed to prevent and resolve sport-related disputes in Canada. It's one of only a few such programs worldwide. The office is located in Laval, Que.

According to a press release on the centre's website, the SDRCC offers resource materials focusing on dispute prevention, and where disputes cannot be prevented, 'world class mediation and arbitration services that allow people to avoid time-consuming and costly litigation.'

It's a not-for-profit corporation created by federal legislation and funded by Sport Canada. Examples of disputes handled by the SDRCC include doping issues, team selection, athlete carding and discipline.

'Basically, it's offering other alternatives besides the legal process,' stated Quarton.

In 2004-05, the SDRCC handled more than 52 disputes. The caseload was expected to increase to 70 in 2005-06, although those statistics weren't yet available.

The average time it took the centre to resolve disputes in 2004-05 was one month from the filing of the aplication. Some cases were resolved in 24 hours through an expedited procedure.

Before the opening of SDRCC, a lot of disputes had to be solved internally or before the Canadian courts.

Some of them went unresolved.

Quarton said she first applied to be an arbitrator when the SDRCC opened it's doors in 2004, but she wasn't accepted at that time. She was convinced to submit her resume again two months ago by Moira Lassen, the secretary general of the Canadian Weightlifting Federation.

The two women became friends more than six years ago, as daughters Jeane Lassen and Emily Quarton both compete for Canada in weightlifting.

'She has such a fair and clear way of thinking,' explained Moira, when asked why she thought Joie would make a good arbitrator for SDRCC.

'It helps the Yukon sport system to have people at the national level. She can bring back her experiences and share the expertise we might not otherwise get here.'

Joie believes her acceptance to the centre the second time around is because she has more experience in the arbitration field now, particularly with the Indian residential school dispute. She's also on the Canadian Soccer Association's appeal tribunal.

Joie said she's not exactly sure yet what her role will be or how the process will work, since she has yet to meet with anybody from the SDRCC. She'll travel to Montreal in January for two days of training, as well as a tour of the doping control centre.

She is, however, very familiar with the role of an arbitrator and explained it's basically the same thing as a judge, 'but with all kinds of tribunals set up.'

She pointed to the Employment Standards Board as an example of an organization which functions under the tribunal system.

'Actually, there are tons in Whitehorse, specific tribunals that deal with specific areas. (SDRCC) is a sports tribunal.'

The arbitrator attends the hearings and makes the decision, sometimes on their own and sometimes with the help of a panel or co-chairs, she added.

'What's interesting to me, is (the issues at SDRCC are) exactly the same kind of issues we deal with here, when it comes to things like Arctic Winter Games team selection.'

Quarton, who along with daughter Emily has two sons, Willy and Jonothan, who compete in soccer, admitted she was never an athlete growing up 'I was a dancer' but said her kids have ignited her passion for sport.

'Oh, the places your children take you,' she laughed. 'My kids have given me just some wonderful experiences in sport. I find a real joy in that.

'Friday night men's league (soccer) is just one of the highlights of my life.'

For more information on the Sport Dispute Resolution of Canada, visit www.adrsportred.ca.