7.2 Competitions in context – the basics
Competing at local, national, and international level is what many athletes work so hard for.
Competitions that involve elite-level participants attract large numbers of spectators, and may involve significant travel and overnight stays for athletes, staff, and volunteers.
Large competitions may also involve children in roles such as volunteers, flag bearers, ball kids, and athlete escorts.
Safeguarding arrangements need to apply to everyone involved and be embedded from the very start.
Activity: What basic measures should be in place BEFORE a competition?
Using all your learning to date, take a moment to think about the measures you would want to have in place BEFORE a competition takes place.
Comment
Here are a few we came up with – do they match your list?
- Include safeguarding in the complete life cycle of the competition.
- Identify someone to take an overall lead for safeguarding before, during, and after the competition.
- Engage with local safeguarding and protection services to ensure all plans line up with the local context.
- Consider everyone who may be impacted by the competition – athletes, volunteers, spectators, etc.
- Conduct a risk assessment for the competition and create a plan to mitigate each identified risk.
- Create a competition safeguarding plan.
- Develop or adapt safeguarding policies, procedures, and codes of conduct for the competition.
- Communicate, promote, and explain these requirements to all stakeholders.
- Ensure different ways for concerns to be reported are available and widely communicated.
- Prepare to respond to safeguarding concerns by developing clear processes.
- Create a training plan for all relevant stakeholders in the competition.
Let’s now consider a competition safeguarding plan in more detail.
7.1 Introduction
