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Minor Athlete Abuse Protection Policy

BACKGROUND:

The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act directed the U.S. Center for SafeSport and applicable amateur sports organizations to establish procedures to limit one-on-one interactions between an amateur athlete, who is a minor, and an adult without being in an observable and interruptible distance from another adult. 

Congressional Legislation https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/534/titles

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, );
• LSC and club adult staff and board members; and
• Any other adult authorized to have regular contact with or authority over minor Collectively “Applicable Adult(s)”

GENERAL REQUIREMENT

USA Swimming member clubs and LSCs are required to implement this Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy in full. The Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy must be reviewed and agreed to in writing by all athletes, parents, coaches and other non-athlete members of member clubs on an annual basis with such written agreement to be retained by the club.

ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTIONS

• Observable and Interruptible
  1. One-on-one interactions between a minor athlete and an Applicable Adult (who is not the minor’s legal guardian) must occur at an observable and interruptible distance from another adult unless meeting with a Mental Health Care Professional and/or Health Care Provider (see below) or under emergency circumstances.

• Meetings
  1. Meetings between a minor athlete and an Applicable Adult may only occur if another adult is present and where interactions can be easily observed and at an interruptible distance from another adult, except under emergency
  2. If a one-on-one meeting takes place, the door to the room must remain unlocked and open. If available, it must occur in a room that has windows, with the windows, blinds, and/or curtains remaining open during the
  3. Meetings must not be conducted in an Applicable Adult or athlete’s hotel room or other overnight lodging location during team

• Meetings with Mental Health Care Professionals and/or Health Care Providers
  1. If a Mental Health Care Professional and/or Health Care Provider meets with a minor athlete in conjunction with participation, including at practice or competition sites, a closed-door meeting may be permitted to protect patient privacy provided that:
  2. The door remains unlocked;
  3. Another adult is present at the facility;
  4. The other adult is advised that a closed-door meeting is occurring; and
  5. Written legal guardian consent is obtained in advance by the Mental Health Care Professional and/or Health Care Provider, with a copy provided to the

• Individual Training Sessions [Recommended]
  1. Individual training sessions outside of the regular course of training and practice between Applicable Adults and minor athletes are permitted if the training session is observable and interruptible by another adult. Legal guardians must be allowed to observe the training session.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

• Content
  1. All electronic communication from Applicable Adults to minor athletes must be professional in nature.

• Open and Transparent
  1. Absent emergency circumstances, if an Applicable Adult with authority over minor athletes needs to communicate directly with a minor athlete via electronic communications (including social media), the minor athlete’s legal guardian must be copied. If a minor athlete communicates to the Applicable Adult (with authority over the minor athlete) privately first, said Applicable Adult must

1. copy the minor athlete’s legal guardian on any electronic communication response to the minor athlete.
2. When an Applicable Adult with authority over minor athletes communicates electronically to the entire team, said Applicable Adult must copy another adult.

• Requests to Discontinue
  1. Legal guardians may request in writing that their minor athlete not be contacted through any form of electronic communication by the club, LSC or by an Applicable Adult subject to this Policy. The organization must abide by any such request that the minor athlete not be contacted via electronic communication, or included in any social media post, absent emergency

• Hours
  1. Electronic communications must only be sent between the hours of 8:00 m. and 8:00 p.m., unless emergency circumstances exist, or during competition travel.

• Prohibited Electronic Communication
  1. Applicable Adults with authority over minor athletes are not permitted to maintain private social media connections with unrelated minor athletes and such Applicable Adults are not permitted to accept new personal page requests on social media platforms from minor athletes, unless the Applicable Adult has a fan page, or the contact is deemed as celebrity contact as opposed to regular contact. Existing social media connections with minor athletes must be Minor athletes may “friend” the club and/or LSC’s official page.

1. Applicable Adults with authority over minor athletes must not send private, instant or direct messages to a minor athlete through social media platforms.