Action Plan of the Racer X Aquatics to Address Bullying

PURPOSE

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at Racer X Aquatics (the “Club”) and will not be tolerated.
Bullying is counterproductive to team spirit and can be devastating to a victim. The Club is committed to
providing a safe, caring and friendly environment for all of our members. If bullying does occur, all athletes
and parents should know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. Anyone who knows that
bullying is happening is expected to tell a coach, board member or athlete/mentor.

Objectives of the Club’s Bullying Policy and Action Plan:

1. To make it clear that the Club will not tolerate bullying in any form.
2. To define bullying and give all board members, coaches, parents and swimmers a good understanding of
what bullying is.
3. To make it known to all parents, swimmers and coaching staff that there is a policy and protocol should
any bullying issues arise.
4. To make how to report bullying clear and understandable.
5. To spread the word that (Name of Club) takes bullying seriously and that all swimmers and parents can
be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported

WHAT IS BULLYING?

The USA Swimming Code of Conduct prohibits bullying. Generally, bullying is the use of aggression, whether
intentional or not, which hurts another person. Bullying results in pain and distress.
The USA Swimming Code of Conduct defines bullying in 304.3.7. Bullying is the severe or repeated use by
one or more USA Swimming members of oral, written, electronic or other technological expression, image,
sound, data or intelligence of any nature (regardless of the method of transmission), or a physical act or gesture,
or any combination thereof, directed at any other member that to a reasonably objective person has the effect of:
i. causing physical or emotional harm to the other member or damage to the other member’s property;
ii. placing the other member in reasonable fear of harm to himself/herself or of damage to his/her property;
iii. creating a hostile environment for the other member at any USA Swimming activity;
iv. infringing on the rights of the other member at any USA Swimming activity; or
v. materially and substantially disrupting the training process or the orderly operation of any USA
Swimming activity (which for the purposes of this section shall include, without limitation, practices,
workouts and other events of a member club or LSC).
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REPORTING PROCEDURE

An athlete who feels that he or she has been bullied is asked to do one or more of the following things:
• Talk to your parents;
• Talk to a Club Coach, Board Member, or other designated individual;
• Write a letter or email to the Club Coach, Board Member, or other designated individual;
• Make a report to the USA Swimming Safe Sport staff.
There is no express time limit for initiating a complaint under this procedure, but every effort should be made to
bring the complaint to the attention of the appropriate club leadership as soon as possible to make sure that
memories are fresh and behavior can be accurately recalled and the bullying behavior can be stopped as soon as
possible.
HOW WE HANDLE BULLYING

If bullying is occurring during team-related activities, we STOP BULLYING ON THE SPOT using the
following steps:
1. Intervene immediately. It is ok to get another adult to help.
2. Separate the kids involved.
3. Make sure everyone is safe.
4. Meet any immediate medical or mental health needs.
5. Stay calm. Reassure the kids involved, including bystanders.
6. Model respectful behavior when you intervene.
If bullying is occurring at our club or it is reported to be occurring at our club, we address the bullying by

FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED and SUPPORTING THE KIDS INVOLVED using the following
approach:
FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED

1. First, we get the facts.
a. Keep all the involved children separate.
b. Get the story from several sources, both adults and kids.
c. Listen without blaming.
d. Don’t call the act “bullying” while you are trying to understand what happened.
e. It may be difficult to get the whole story, especially if multiple athletes are involved or the bullying
involves social bullying or cyber bullying. Collect all available information.
2. Then, we determine if it's bullying. There are many behaviors that look like bullying but require different
approaches. It is important to determine whether the situation is bullying or something else.
a. Review the USA Swimming definition of bullying;
b. To determine if the behavior is bullying or something else, consider the following questions:
# What is the history between the kids involved?
# Have there been past conflicts?
# Is there a power imbalance? Remember that a power imbalance is not limited to physical
strength. It is sometimes not easily recognized. If the targeted child feels like there is a power
imbalance, there probably is.
# Has this happened before? Is the child worried it will happen again?
c. Remember that it may not matter “who started it.” Some kids who are bullied maybe seen as annoying
or provoking, but this does not excuse the bullying behavior.
d. Once you have determined if the situation is bullying, support all of the kids involved.
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SUPPORTING THE KIDS INVOLVED

3. Support the kids who are being bullied
a.a.Listen and focus on the child. Learn what’s been going on and show you want to help. Assure the child
that bullying is not their fault.
a.b.Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents, and fellow team
members and coaches may all have valuable input. It may help to:
i. Ask the child being bullied what can be done to make him or her feel safe. Remember that
changes to routine should be minimized. He or she is not at fault and should not be singled out.
For example, consider rearranging lane assignments for everyone. If bigger moves are necessary,
such as switching practice groups, the child who is bullied should not be forced to change.
ii. Develop a game plan. Maintain open communication between the Club and parents. Discuss the
steps that will be taken and how bullying will be addressed going forward.
c. Be persistent. Bullying may not end overnight. Commit to making it stop and consistently support the
bullied child.
4. Address bullying behavior
a. Make sure the child knows what the problem behavior is. Young people who bully must learn their
behavior is wrong and harms others.
b. Show kids that bullying is taken seriously. Calmly tell the child that bullying will not be tolerated.
Model respectful behavior when addressing the problem.
c. Work with the child to understand some of the reasons he or she bullied. For example:
i. Sometimes children bully to fit in or just to make fun of someone is a little different from
them. In other words, there may be some insecurity involved.
ii. Other times kids act out because something else—issues at home, abuse, stress—is going on
in their lives. They also may have been bullied. These kids may be in need of additional
support.
d. Involve the kid who bullied in making amends or repairing the situation. The goal is to help them
see how their actions affect others. For example, the child can:
i. Write a letter apologizing to the athlete who was bullied.
ii. Do a good deed for the person who was bullied, for the Club, or for others in your
community.
iii. Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.
e. Avoid strategies that don’t work or have negative consequences:
i. Zero tolerance or “three strikes, you’re out” strategies don’t work. Suspending or removing
from the team swimmers who bully does not reduce bullying behavior. Swimmers may be
less likely to report and address bullying if suspension or getting kicked off the team is the
consequence.
ii. Conflict resolution and peer mediation don’t work for bullying. Bullying is not a conflict
between people of equal power who share equal blame. Facing those who have bullied may
further upset kids who have been bullied.
f. Follow-up. After the bullying issue is resolved, continue finding ways to help the child who bullied
to understand how what they do affects other people. For example, praise acts of kindness or talk
about what it means to be a good teammate.
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5. Support bystanders who witness bullying. Every day, kids witness bullying. They want to help, but don’t
know how. Fortunately, there are a few simple, safe ways that athletes can help stop bullying when they see
it happening.
a. Be a friend to the person being bullied;
b. Tell a trusted adult – your parent, coach, or club board member;
c. Help the kid being bullied get away from the situation. Create a distraction, focus the attention on
something else, or offer a way for the target to get out of the situation. “Let’s go, practice is about to
start.”
d. Set a good example by not bullying others.
e. Don’t give the bully an audience. Bullies are encouraged by the attention they get from bystanders.
If you do nothing else, just walk away.
SOURCES
USA Swimming Model Policy: Action Plan to Address Bullying
(available from www.usaswimming.org/protect)
www.stopbullying.gov – a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human

PURPOSE
The Racer X Aquatics (the “Club”) recognizes the prevalence of electronic communication
and social media in today’s world. Many of our swimmers use these means as their primary method of
communication. While the Club acknowledges the value of these methods of communication, the Club also
realizes that there are associated risks that must be considered when adults use these methods to communicate
with minors.

GENERAL CONTENT
All communications between a coach or other adult and an athlete must be professional in nature and for the
purpose of communicating information about team activities. The content and intent of all electronic
communications must adhere to the USA Swimming Code of Conduct regarding Athlete Protection.
For example, as with any communication with an athlete, electronic communication should not contain or relate
to any of the following:
• drugs or alcohol use;
• sexually oriented conversation; sexually explicit language; sexual activity
• the adult’s personal life, social activities, relationship or family issues, or personal problems; and
• inappropriate or sexually explicit pictures
• Note: Any communication concerning an athlete's personal life, social activities, relationship or family
issues or personal problems must be transparent, accessible and professional.
Whether one is an athlete, coach, board member or parent, the guiding principle to always use in
communication is to ask: “Is this communication something that someone else would find appropriate or
acceptable in a face-to-face meeting?” or “Is this something you would be comfortable saying out loud to the
intended recipient of your communication in front of the intended recipient’s parents, the coaching staff, the
board, or other athletes?”
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With respect to electronic communications, a simple test that can be used in most cases is whether the electronic
communication with swimmers is Transparent, Accessible and Professional.
Transparent: All electronic communication between coaches and athletes should be transparent. Your
communication should not only be clear and direct, but also free of hidden meanings, innuendo and
expectations.
Accessible: All electronic communication between coaches and athletes should be considered a matter of
record and part of the Club’s records. Whenever possible, include another coach or parent in the
communication so that there is no question regarding accessibility.
Professional: All electronic communication between a coach and an athlete should be conducted professionally
as a representative of the Club. This includes word choices, tone, grammar, and subject matter that model the
standards and integrity of a staff member.
If your communication meets all three of the T.A.P. criteria, then it is likely your method of communication
with athletes will be appropriate.

FACEBOOK, BLOGS, AND SIMILAR SITES
Coaches may have personal Facebook (or other social media site) pages, but they are not permitted to have any
athlete member of the Club join their personal page as a “friend.” A coach should not accept any “friend”
request from an athlete. In addition, the coach should remind the athlete that this is not permitted. Coaches and
athletes are not permitted to “private message” each other through Facebook. Coaches and athletes are not
permitted to “instant message” each other through Facebook chat or other IM method.
The Club has an official Facebook page that athletes and their parents can “friend” for information and updates
on team-related matters.
Coaches are encouraged to set their pages to “private” to prevent athletes from accessing the coach’s personal
information.
TWITTER AND SIMILAR SITES
The Club has an official Twitter page that coaches, athletes and parents can follow for information and updates
on team-related matters. Coaches are not permitted to follow athletes on Twitter (and similar sites). Likewise,
athletes are not permitted to follow coaches on Twitter. Coaches and athletes are not permitted to “direct
message” each other through Twitter.
TEXTING
Subject to the general guidelines mentioned above, texting is allowed between coaches and athletes during the
hours from 5am until 9pm. Texting only shall be used for the purpose of communicating information directly
related to team activities, such as meet and practice delays.
EMAIL
Subject to the general guidelines mentioned above, athletes and coaches may use email for communicating
information directly related to team activities, such notifications to sign up for swim meets and practice
schedule changes. When communicating with an athlete through email, a parent, another coach, or a board
member must also be copied.
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OTHER TYPES OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
No other types of electronic communication between athletes and coaches or other adults affiliated with the
Club are permitted. (Should such a need arise, this policy may be amended.)

REQUEST TO DISCONTINUE ALL ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
The parents or guardians of an athlete may request in writing that their child not be contacted by coaches
through any form of electronic communication.
SOURCES
USA Swimming Model Policy: Electronic Communication
(available from www.usaswimming.org/protect)