WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE OUR CLUB A BETTER, SAFER, & MORE PROTECTED PLACE FOR OUR MEMBERSHIP TO THRIVE!

USA Swimming has a program called “SAFE SPORT”. USA Swimming is committed to safeguarding all of its members with the welfare of its athlete members as top priority. Safe Sport is USA Swimming’s comprehensive abuse prevention program and provides tools for swim clubs to educate their members and intervene in risky situations.

OUR GOAL, AS A TEAM, IS TO MAINTAIN OUR “SAFE SPORT RECOGNIZED” CLUB STATUS BY USA SWIMMING. In order to do this, certain requirements must be met. Some of which include learning exercises for our swim parents and athletes. WE NEED ALL OF OUR SWIM PARENTS AND ATHLETES TO TAKE A QUICK COURSE ONLINE WITH USA SWIMMING. USA Swimming will track the number of people that take the quick online training program from our team and we will be awarded points based on our completion rate. The more parents and swimmers that participate, THE BETTER!

PLEASE HELP OUR TEAM BY TAKING A FEW MINUTES TO COMPLETE A TRAINING EXERCISE THAT WILL HELP TO PROTECT OUR SWIMMERS AND OUR MEMBERSHIP!

PLEASE follow the instructions below:

1. Go to: USA SWIMMING LEARN

2. Please click “Register”

3. On the right, please click “Create Account” for Non-Member access to LEARN

4. Please fill in all of the required personal information and be sure to select “SOUTH TEXAS SWIMMING” as your LSC and "RUSH" for your club code (club name “Great Hills Aquatics Rush”).

5. Select “Courses”

6. Click the “Parent’s Guide to Misconduct in Sport” or “Safe Sport for Athletes” box and follow the directions until completion.

7. If you are a current member of USA swimming, whether a parent or an athletes, please use your login information and navigate to the Safe Sport Training Area for these exercises. Thank you.

Thank you to everyone for your help with this matter! It is extremely important and we hope that everyone will take the time to make Great Hills Aquatics RUSH a safer place!

Safe Sport Best Practice Guidelines:

The following Best Practice Guidelines are strongly recommended for all USA Swimming members.

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.

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

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

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

TO REPORT A CONCERN:

USA Swimming (719) 866-4578 Deal with a Safe Sport Concern.

• Text anonymous tips to 888-270-SWIM (7946)

U.S. Center for SafeSport to make a report. Use the online reporting form, call 833-5US-SAFE (587-7233), or find more information at www.uscenterforsafesport.org.

RUSH SafeSport Club Coordinator:

Name: Jasper Davis

Contact Info: Email: swimcoach@greathillscc.org