MTSC subscribes to the U.S. Center for Safesport . The Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP) limits one-on-one adult/minor interactions and sets standards for training and sport settings that prevent abuse and misconduct. Sport organizations invested in keeping young athletes free of abuse are strongly encouraged to adopt the MAAPP—now required throughout the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. If you or your swimmers reports abuse of any type, please inform one or more of your coaches. For complete information on MAAPP please visit: https://maapp.uscenterforsafesport.org/ or click the Safe Sport tab on the USAS website: https://www.usaswimming.org/

Athletes who experience positive discipline policies are more likely to develop social-emotional skills such as self-regulation, empathy, and conflict resolution. For this reason, we ask that all athletes and parents review this document with their swimmer(s). You will be asked to sign and agree that both you and your swimmer have read this document/waiver.

ACTION PLAN OF THE MIDDLE TENNESSEE SWIM CLUB TO ADDRESS BULLYING

PURPOSE:

 Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at Middle Tennessee Swim Club (MTSC) and will not be tolerated. Bullying is counterproductive to team spirit and can be devastating to a victim. The Club is committed to providing a safe, caring and friendly environment for all of our members. If bullying does occur, all athletes and parents should know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. Anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell a coach, board member or athlete/mentor.

Objectives of the Club’s Bullying Policy and Action Plan:

1. To make it clear that the Club will not tolerate bullying in any form.

2. To define bullying and give all coaches, parents and swimmers a good understanding of what bullying is.

3. To make it known to all parents, swimmers and coaching staff that there is a policy and protocol should any bullying issues arise.

4. To make how to report bullying clear and understandable.

5. To spread the word that MTSC takes bullying seriously and to reassure all swimmers and parents that they will be supported when bullying is reported.

WHAT IS BULLYING?

Generally, bullying is the use of aggression, whether intentional or not, which hurts another person. Bullying results in pain and distress. Bullying is the severe or repeated use, regardless of when or where it may occur, by one or more USA Swimming members of an oral, written, electronic, or technological expression, image, sound, data, or intelligence of any nature (regardless of the method of transmission). A physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at any other member or participating non-member that to a reasonably objective person has the effect of causing physical or emotional harm to the other member or damage to the other member’s property.

By placing the other member in reasonable fear of harm to himself/herself or of damage to his/her property, or by creating a hostile environment for another member at any USA Swimming activity, or by materially and substantially disrupting the training process or orderly operation of any USA Swimming which shall include, without limitation, practices workouts and other events within MTSC, and other events of a member club or LSC).

REPORTING PROCEDURE

An athlete who feels that he or she has been bullied is asked to do one or more of the following things:

● Talk to your parents

● Talk to your club coach or other designated individual

● Write a letter or email to your club coach or other designated individual

● Make a report to the USA Swimming Safe Sport staff

There is no express time limit for initiating a complaint under this procedure, but every effort should be made to bring the complaint to the attention of the appropriate club leadership as soon as possible to make sure that memories are fresh and behavior can be accurately recalled and the bullying behavior can be stopped as soon as possible.

HOW WE HANDLE BULLYING

If bullying is occurring during team-related activities, we STOP BULLYING ON THE SPOT using the following steps:

1. Intervene immediately. It is okay to get another adult to help.

2. Separate the individuals involved.

3. Make sure everyone is safe.

4. Meet any immediate medical or mental health needs.

5. Stay calm. Reassure the individuals involved, including bystanders.

6. Model respectful behavior when you intervene.

If bullying is occurring at our club or it is reported to be occurring at our club, we address the bullying by FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED and SUPPORTING THE INDIVIDUAL(S) INVOLVED using the following approach:

FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED

1. First, we get the facts.

a. Keep all the involved individuals separate.

b. Get the story from several sources, both adults and swimmers.

c. Have all individuals involved speak with their parents regarding the situation.

d. Listen without blaming.

e. Don’t call the act “bullying” while trying to understand what happened.

f. It may be difficult to get the whole story, especially if multiple athletes are involved or the bullying involves social bullying or cyberbullying. Collect all available information.

2. Then, we determine if it's bullying. There are many behaviors that look like bullying but require different approaches. It is important to determine whether the situation is bullying or something else.

a. To determine if the behavior is bullying or something else, consider the following questions:

§ What is the history between the kids involved?

§ Have there been past conflicts?

§ Is there a power imbalance? Remember that a power imbalance is not limited to physical strength. It is sometimes not easily recognized. If the targeted child feels like there is a power imbalance, there probably is.

§ Has this happened before? Is the child worried it will happen again?

b. Remember that it may not matter “who started it.” Some kids who are bullied may be seen as annoying or provoking, but this does not excuse the bullying behavior.

c. Once we have determined if the situation is bullying, support all of the kids involved.

SUPPORTING THE INDIVIDUAL(S) INVOLVED

3. Support the individual who is being bullied

a. Listen and focus on the individual. Learn what’s been going on and show you want to help. Assure that individual that bullying is not their fault.

b. Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied individual. The individual, parents, and fellow team members and coaches may all have valuable input. It may help to:

i. Ask the person being bullied what can be done to make him or her feel safe. Remember that changes to routine should be minimized. He or she is not at fault and should not be singled out. For example, consider rearranging lane assignments for everyone. If bigger moves are necessary, such as switching practice groups, the individual who is bullied should not be forced to change.

ii. Develop a game plan. Maintain open communication between the Club and parents. Discuss the steps that will be taken and how bullying will be addressed going forward.

c. Be persistent. Bullying may not end overnight. Commit to making it stop and consistently support the bullied individual.

4. Address bullying behavior

a. Make sure the person knows what the problem behavior is. Young people who bully must learn their behavior is wrong and harms others.

b. Show swimmers that bullying is taken seriously. Calmly tell the person(s) that bullying will not be tolerated. Model respectful behavior when addressing the problem.

c. Work with the person(s) to understand some of the reasons he or she may be bullying the party involved.

For example: i. Sometimes individuals bully to fit in or just to make fun of someone who is a little different from them. In other words, there may be some insecurity involved. ii. Other times individuals act out because something else—issues at home, abuse, stress—is going on in their lives. They also may have been bullied. These individuals may need additional support.

d. Involve the person(s) who is bullied in making amends or repairing the situation. The goal is to help them see how their actions affect others. For example, the individual(s) can:

i. Write a letter apologizing to the athlete who was bullied.

ii. Sit down with the individuals involved and review the MTSC code of conduct.

iii. Do a good deed for the person who was bullied, for the Club, or for others in your community.

iv. Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.

e. At MTSC we will avoid strategies that don’t work or have negative consequences:

i. Zero tolerance or “three strikes, you’re out” strategies don’t work. Suspending or removing from the team swimmers who bully does not reduce bullying behavior. Swimmers may be less likely to report and address bullying if suspension or getting kicked off the team is the consequence.

ii. Conflict resolution and peer mediation don’t work for bullying. Bullying is not a conflict between people of equal power who share equal blame. Facing those who have bullied may further upset kids who have been bullied.

f. Follow-up. After the bullying issue is resolved, we strive to find ways to help the person(s) who are acting as a bully to understand how what they do affects other people. For example, praise acts of kindness or talk about what it means to be a good teammate.

5. Support bystanders who witness bullying. Every day, kids witness bullying. They want to help, but don’t know how. Fortunately, there are a few simple, safe ways that athletes can help stop bullying when they see it happening.

a. Be a friend to the person being bullied;

b. Tell a trusted adult – your parent, coach, or club board member;

c. Help the individual being bullied get away from the situation. Create a distraction, focus the attention on something else, or offer a way for the target to get out of the situation. Example: “Let’s go, practice is about to start.”

d. Set a good example by not bullying others.

e. Don’t give the bully an audience. Bullies are encouraged by the attention they get from bystanders. If you do nothing else, just walk away