MCSL Safe Sport Best Practice Guidelines

(adapted from USA Swimming 5/19/2019)

The following Best Practice Guidelines are strongly recommended for all MCSL Swim Teams.

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 invite or have an athlete(s) to their home without the permission of the athlete’s parents (or legal guardian).
4. 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.
5. Coaches and other non-athlete adult members should avoid horseplay and roughhousing with athletes.
6. 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.
7. Coaches should not initiate contact with or accept supervisory responsibility for athletes outside club programs and activities.
8. Coaches should avoid having athletes that are 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.

In addition, please review these documents:

• MCSL Action Plan to Address Bullying
• MCSL Athlete Electronic Communications Best Practices
• MCSL Recommendations For Gender Diverse Minor Athletes
• Useful links for coaches background checks