UVAC Code of Conduct / Anti-Bullying Policy
 
 
Parent and Athlete Code of Conduct
 
The following Code of conduct must be read and agreed to each time an athlete is registered to participate with Upper Valley Aquatic Club. Parents please read through and discuss this Code of Conduct with your swimmers.
 
Practice Expectations:
  1. Athletes are expected to at all times to follow any verbal or written directions of the coaching staff.  At no time will disrespectful attitudes be tolerated from any UVAC athlete. 
  2. Athletes are expected to treat teammates with respect at all times.
  3. At no time will an athlete hinder another athlete's workout.
  4. Athletes are expected to know when practices are scheduled and to be present on time, prepared for workout.
  5. Parents will not interrupt practice to talk with their athlete or a coach unless it is an emergency and with consent of the coach.
  6. If a meeting with a member of the coaching staff is necessary, parents will need to schedule a meeting with the coach before or after practice.  We request that parents try to schedule meetings with coaches at least 24 hrs in advance.
 
Lane Rules for Practice:
  • a. Do not sit on lane lines.
  • b. Do not pull on lane lines while swimming.
  • c. Feet first entry unless coach specifies to dive in.
  • d. When more than three swimmers are in a lane you must circle and swim counter-clockwise.
  • e. When passing a swimmer, it should be done on the wall when they stop. 
  • f. If you need to rest, do so at the end wall pulling off to the right.
  • g. Do not cross lanes while swimming.
  • h. Coach's instructions are to be followed for the safety of ALL swimmers. 
Athlete and Parent Expectations at all UVAC Activities:
 
Athletes and Parents Will:
  1. Act and conduct oneself with dignity and respect for others including the property of others.
  2. Always practice, promote, and teach good sportsmanship.
  3. Promote team spirit in a positive manner.
  4. Offer congratulations to opponents, win or lose, and cheer on teammates. 
  5. Be a responsible goodwill ambassador between the sport and the public.
 
Prohibited Behavior at all UVAC Team Activities including practice:
 
Athletes and Parents will refrain from the following at all team activities:
  1. Use of alcoholic beverages.
  2. Use of illegal drugs, which includes and not limited to performance enhancing drugs or steroids.
  3. Use of any tobacco related products.
  4. Destructive Behavior.
  5. Inappropriate behavior, including failure to adhere to team standards, which includes use of abusive language.
 
Meet Expectations:
 
  1. Athletes must wear the designated team uniform for meets.
  2. At all times, Athletes must show respect towards the Coaches, teammates, parents, and fellow competitors, especially in regards to safety and discipline matters.
 
Possible Consequences for Violations of the Code of Conduct:

1. Removal and/or Suspension of Practice Privileges. ​

a. Any athlete who is removed from a practice will prior to returning to practice: 

i. Have a meeting with the Head Coach and Assistant Coach involved.

OR

2. Have a meeting with the Head Coach, Assistant Coach, and Parent/Guardian.  Removal and or Suspension from the remainder of a competition.  (Entry fees and travel expenses are non-refundable)

3. The athlete will not be allowed to attend future travel competitions.

4. Temporary or permanent dismissal from the team.

5. The Head Coach may dismiss an athlete for no more than 3 consecutive practice days. At which time the Head Coach, Athlete, and Parent/Guardians will meet to discuss the length of the suspension and the circumstances involved in the suspension. The Head Coach and Board will have the sole discretion to permanently remove an athlete, parent/guardian, and or family from membership with the Upper Valley Aquatic Club.

5. Head Coach or Coach in Charge of a UVAC Team Activity reserves the right to ask any parent/guardian, who may be interfering with public safety, athlete instruction, or in violation of any of the guidelines listed above in the Code of Conduct, to leave any practice, meet or team function.

 
Leaving the Team:
 
Any athlete/family that leaves the UVAC to train and or compete with another USA Swimming affiliated team located in the New England LSC will be required to complete a probationary membership period before being considered a full member.  If an Athlete and or Parent/Guardian fails to comply with any portion of the Code of Conduct while under the 120 days probationary period the athlete will be removed from the program and denied any future consideration for membership.
 
 
 
 
 
UPPER VALLEY AQUATIC CLUB ANTI BULLYING POLICY
 
 
Action Plan of the Upper Valley Aquatic Club to Address Bullying
 
PURPOSE 
 
Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at Upper Valley Aquatic Club (the “Club”or “UVAC”) 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, lifeguard, Parent Council Member, Parent, or athlete.
 
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 UVAC 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:
  1. causing physical or emotional harm to the other member or damage to the other member’s property;
  2. placing the other member in reasonable fear of harm to himself/herself or of damage to his/her property;
  3. creating a hostile environment for the other member at any USA Swimming activity;
  4. infringing on the rights of the other member at any USA Swimming activity; or
  5. 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).
 
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, Parent Council Member, Lifeguard or Team Captain;
  • Write a letter or email to the Club Coach, Parent Council Member, Lifeguard or Team Captain
  • 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 INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED using the following approach:
 
FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED
 
1. First, we get the facts. 
a. Keep all the involved individuals separate.
b. Get the story from all sources.
c. Interview all individuals separately.
d. Document each interview.
e. Listen without blaming.
f. Don’t call the act “bullying” while you are trying to understand what happened.
g. 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 individuals 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? Are the individuals worried it will happen again?
a. Remember that it may not matter “who started it.” Some individuals who are bullied may be seen as annoying or provoking, but this does not excuse the bullying behavior.
b. Once you have determined if the situation is bullying, support all of the kids involved.
 
SUPPORTING THE KIDS INVOLVED
 
1. Support the kids who are being bullied

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.

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.
 
 
2. 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 is bullied. For example:
i.  Sometimes children bully to fit in or just to make fun of someone who 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 is 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 is 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.
 
3. 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.