SafeSport Mission:
Our mission is to make athlete well-being the centerpiece of our nation’s sports culture. All athletes deserve to participate in sports free from bullying, hazing, sexual misconduct or any form of emotional or physical abuse.
USA Swimming and Michigan Swimming are working to increase awareness and reduce the risk of athlete abuse through implementation of the USA Swimming Safe Sport program.
5 Tips to Keep Kids Safe in Youth Sports*:
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Get Educated – Education is the most important tool for combatting misconduct
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Create Healthy Boundaries – It’s important to establish healthy boundaries between athletes and coaches and have clear expectations about the coach’s role
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Identify and Address High Risk Areas – For misconduct to take place, an offender needs privacy, access, and control
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Speak Up – If you recognize questionable behaviors, say something!
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Talk to your Kids! – Physical and sexual misconduct can be a hard topic for parents to talk about with their children. Having these conversations is extremely important in helping prevent your child from becoming a victim of abuse
*adapted from USA Swimming’s ‘5-tips for parents keeping kids safe in youth sports’
