USA Swimming is committed to fostering a fun, healthy, and safe environment for all its members, and in 2010, it formally implemented a comprehensive Safe Sport program to respond to and prevent instances of abuse and misconduct within the sport of swimming. Since then USA Swimming Safe Sport has worked tirelessly to educate members, put policies in place, and empower LSCs and clubs to create the best possible environments for all members.

Full implementation of the Safe Sport Program involves six key components:

1. Policies and Guidelines

2. Screening and Selection

3. Training and Education

4. Monitoring and Supervision

5. Recognizing, Responding, and Reporting

6. Grassroots Engagement and Feedback

The USA Swimming site has tools such as dealing with a concern, a club tool kit, background check information, code of conduct policies and more.  Please visit this link for the most up to date information:  https://www.usaswimming.org/Home/safe-sport

SAFE SPORT BEST PRACTICES & TOP TIPS

Safe sport 5 tips

USA Swimming and BCST encourages all members adhere to the following 'best practices'

1.  Parents should be encouraged to appropriately support their children’s swimming experience.

2. All swimming practices should be open to observation by parents.

3. Coaches should not initiate contact with or accept supervisory responsibility for athletes outside club programs and activities.

4. When only one athlete and one coach travel to a competition, at the competition the coach and athlete should attempt to establish a “buddy” club to associate with during the competition and when away from the venue.

5. Relationships of a peer-to-peer nature with any athletes should be avoided. For example, coaches should avoid sharing their own personal problems with athletes.

6. Coaches and other non-athlete adult members should avoid horseplay and roughhousing with athletes.

7. When a coach touches an athlete as part of instruction, the coach should do so in direct view of others and inform the athlete of what he/she is doing prior to the initial contact. Touching athletes should be minimized outside the boundaries of what is considered normal instruction.

8. Appropriate interaction would include high fives, fist bumps, side-to-side hugs and handshakes.

9. Coaches should avoid having athletes as their favorites. They should also avoid creating a situation that could be perceived as them having favorites.

10. Gift-giving, providing special favors or showing favoritism to individual athletes is strongly discouraged. 

Source: https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/safe-sportdocuments/club-toolkit/1.-policies-and-guidelines/best-practice-guidelines.pdf

MINOR ATHLETE ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY

This Policy Applies To:

• All USA Swimming non-athlete members and adult athlete members;

• Participating non-members (e.g., meet marshals, meet computer operators, timers, etc.);

• PNS and Bellevue Club Swim Team adult staff and board members; and

• Any other adult authorized to have regular contact with or authority over minor athletes.

The MAAPP is provided in full at www.usaswimming.org/maapp. You will also find additional resources to assist you as you make these changes.

Training and Education:

Safe Sport Training for Athletes 12 & over online course

https://www.usaswimming.org/articles-landing-page/2017/04/05/free-safe-sport-training-for-athletes

Safe Sport for Parents online course

https://www.usaswimming.org/news-landing-page/2017/02/16/safe-sport-for-parents

Belleve Club Swim Team Specific MAAPP (per USA Swimming)

TRAVEL FORMS

You can find all applicable MAAP-Compliant travel forms here. Please send these completed forms with your swimmer before any team travel trips/competitions.

HARASSMENT & BULLYING

Unsportsmanlike conduct, harassment and bullying will not be tolerated at the BC under any circumstances and may result in immediate suspension from the team, pending further review by BCST Head Coach and the BC Athletic Director and General Manager.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT: Displaying behaviors inconsistent with the Vision, Mission and Values of the Club such as disrespecting another individual or group, being discourteous to others, displaying bad temper, using inappropriate language, raising voices, being unfair or knowingly violating the rules, cheating, etc.

HARASSMENT: Harassing behaviors of any nature that have the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an employee's or coach’s work performance, with a swimmer’s participation in the program, or in any way creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment, may result in immediate suspension from the team, pending further review by the BCST Head Coach and the BC Athletic Director and General Manager.

BULLYING: Bullying is considered a form of harassment and is potentially devastating to the victim, counterproductive to team spirit and may result in immediate suspension from the team, pending further review by the BCST Head Coach and the BC Athletic Director and General Manager. You can find Bellevue Club's Action Plan to Address Bullying here.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

The Bellevue Club Swim Team Grievance Procedure can be viewed here

To file an official SafeSport Report please use the following information:

For all issues dealing with: Sexual Misconduct,  Sexual Harassment,  Sexually Explicit/Inappropriate Communication through Social Media, report your concern to the U.S. Center for Safe Sport using the following: 
Dealing With a Safe Sport Concern: https://www.usaswimming.org/safe-sport/deal-with-a-safe-sport-concern 
Online Reporting Form:  https://safesport.i-sight.com/portal
USA Center for Safe Sport:  https://uscenterforsafesport.org/    Call (720-524-5640)