Safe Sport Newsletter - September 2022

Any USA Swimming member can now report anonymously, if they wish, through text messaging at 888-270-SWIM (7946). 

USA Swimming announced its alignment with RealResponse, an award-winning safe and secure feedback, monitoring and anonymous reporting platform. 

"We are excited to provide this valuable new resource for our USA Swimming members," said Liz Hahn, USA Swimming's Program Director for Safe Sport. 

All previous reporting mechanisms such as email, phone and the online reporting form, will continue to be available here. 

Learn more below. 

Join USA Swimming Safe Sport staff and Olympian guest attendees Lilly King and Annie Lazor in our first ever game night on Sunday, September 18 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. ET!

This Zoom hosted webinar is geared towards athletes 12 years and older. It is a free opportunity to learn more about Safe Sport and how to create a positive team culture. 

Once logged on to Zoom, attendees will utilize Kahoot!, a free game-based learning platform where athletes will be able to answer questions. 

Join USA Swimming Program Director of Safe Sport, Liz Hahn, in discussing all things Meet 360 and the Quality Control System on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. ET. 

On an annual basis, the U.S. Center for SafeSport conducts an administrative audit of every National Governing Body (NGB) in the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, including USA Swimming. In the audit, we must show how USA Swimming is effectively meeting the Center's audit standards in three areas: 1. Education and Training, 2. Communication and Reporting, and 3. Quality Control System (QCS). 

The legislation USA Swimming's Safe Sport Committee is proposing during the Annual Business Meeting (R-15) must be passed in order for us to be in compliance with the Center's audit standards. 

To help further understand this legislation, all HOD and general members are encouraged to attend our next webinar on September 14, 2022. If you are unable to attend, please watch the recording, view model language and access the PowerPoint  from the  Wednesday, August 31, 2022 webinar here. 

The USA Swimming Annual Business Meeting (ABM) is fast approaching!

All attendees, both in-person and virtual, must register online before Monday, September 19, 2022. Remember: Anyone can attend virtually! 

In addition, don't miss out on the Safe Sport Committee meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, September 13, 2022. (REGISTER HERE). 

USA Swimming's work to help athletes extends beyond free Safe Sport educational opportunities, valuable resources and response efforts for members.

Learn more about USA Swimming's SwimAssist program is and who qualifies. 

Reach out to your USA Swimming Zone Safe Sport Chair to check in! Take the time to establish a relationship with your Zone Chair and see if they have any recommendations for you. 

Remember, each Zone Chair can assist in the training of and dissemination of information to LSC Safe Sport Chairs/Coordinators. It is important to know who your Zone Chair is as they will help guide, support and share information with you throughout the year. 

See below for our current USA Swimming Zone Safe Sport Chairs and their email addresses.

Southern Zone | Mike O'Shaughnessy | oshaughmdc@gmail.com
 

The Safe Sport for Parents page on USA Swimming's website can be a valuable asset for swim parents. Feel free to explore the page and share to your membership.

Safe Sport is committed to creating a healthy environment that is free from abuse for all members. As we continue with virtual learning opportunities throughout 2022, we will be increasing security measures to keep parents, athletes and coaches safe during trainings. All trainings will require individuals to register ahead of time.

In addition, we have enhanced our Safe Sport Trainings' security measures and will have the following in place:

• Meetings will be locked

• Athlete attendees will only have access to chat with hosts 

• Multiple USA Swimming Safe Sport staff will be on all trainings and will monitor participant video share

• Frequent check-ins with attendees

• Screen share and annotation capabilities will be disabled

• Meetings will require registration and athlete training registrations will be cross-checked with USA Swimming member records

• USA Swimming has enabled the At-Risk Meeting Notifier tool from Zoom. This tool searches the public internet for Zoom meeting information and checks the meeting's security settings. Zoom notifies USA Swimming if a meeting appears to be at high risk for being disrupted. This tool is enabled for all USA Swimming hosted Zoom meetings. 

Safe Sport trainings are held monthly, please view upcoming training dates below: 

Parent Training:

• Wednesday, October 19 at 8 p.m. ET (REGISTER HERE)

• Wednesday, November 2 at 8 p.m. ET (REGISTER HERE)

• Wednesday, December 7 at 8 p.m. ET (REGISTER HERE)

Athlete Training (ages 12-18):

• Thursday, October 27 at 8 p.m. ET (REGISTER HERE)

• Thursday, November 3 at 8 p.m. ET (REGISTER HERE)

• Thursday, December 8 at 8 p.m. ET (REGISTER HERE)

If you cannot attend these trainings, athletes and parents can independently complete trainings using the USA Swimming LEARN platform. Click the link below for more info on Safe Sport trainings.

Safe Sport Club Recognition Tips Sheet
Has your club achieved Safe Sport Club Recognition? Use our Tips Sheet to help spread the word. 

Coaching Boys Into Men and Athletes As Leaders Cards
These free, digital cards are available for clubs on USA Swimming's Safe Sport Team Talk page. 

Parent Resource Guide
Although these were sent to every USA Swimming member household, save the digital copy for future reference!

Safe Sport Activity Books
You can either purchase books on Match-Up or download PDF versions for 5-11 year olds and 12-18 year olds.