USTA Safe PlayTM Proactive Policy Highlights for Participants

To help safeguard athletes from misconduct, the USTA has developed the Safe Play program.  Governing the program is the USTA Safe Play Policy which incorporates the U.S. Center for SafeSport Code* and Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies**.  As a Participant, you are required to follow the USTA Safe Play Policy which includes the Safe Play Proactive Policies.  Key highlights from the USTA Safe Play Policy and Proactive Policies are provided below and may require your attention, so please review carefully.

 

The USTA requires that the following Participants complete education concerning misconduct in sport and child abuse prevention on an annual basis:

  • Adult USTA members who have regular contact with athletes who are minors.
  • Adults authorized to have regular contact with or authority over an athlete who is a minor by the USTA, Sectional Associations and District Associations or Subdivisions of Sectional Associations.
  • Adult staff and board members of the USTA, Sectional Associations and District Associations or Subdivisions of Sectional Associations.
  • Non-athletes whom the USTA authorizes to train, reside or work at any Olympic Training Center.  Such individuals are expected to demonstrate successful completion of the safety program before accessing any Olympic Training Center.
  • The USTA has adopted the training and educational materials developed and provided by the U.S. Center for SafeSport to meet the requirements outlined above. To get started, please visit www.usta.com/safeplay and select “Get Safe Play Approved."

 

Where do the Proactive Policies apply?

The Meetings Policy, Individual Training Sessions Policy, Therapeutic and Recovery Modalities and Manual Therapy Policy, and the Locker Room and Changing Area Policy apply at all facilities that are partially or fully under the jurisdiction of the USTA.

 

Partial or full jurisdiction includes the following:

  • Any sanctioned event / competition by the USTA.
  • Any facility that the USTA owns, leases, or rents for competition, training or practices.
  • Any hotel or lodging that the team is using when traveling to a sanctioned USTA event / competition.

 

Who does each required Proactive Policy apply to?

All of the Proactive Policies (Meetings Policy, Individual Training Sessions Policy, Therapeutic and Recovery Modalities and Manual Therapy Policy, and the Locker Room and Changing Area Policy, Electronic Communications Policy, Transportation Policy, and Lodging and Residential Environments Policy) must be followed by:

  • Adult members of the USTA who have regular contact with minor athletes (e.g., coaches, officials, adult athletes, etc.).
  • Adults authorized by the USTA to have regular contact with minor athletes (e.g., coaches, officials, adult athletes, volunteers, etc.).
  • Adults authorized by the USTA to have authority over minor athletes (e.g., coaches, officials, adult athletes, volunteers, etc.).
  • Adult staff and board members of the USTA.

 

The Meetings Policy, Individual Training Sessions Policy; and Locker Rooms and Changing Area Policy also need to be followed by:

  • Any adult member at a facility that is partially or fully under the jurisdiction of the USTA.

 

 

Proactive Policies Key Highlights

All one-on-one interactions between an adult and an unrelated minor athlete must occur in an observable and interruptible location, meaning the interaction must be easily seen by another person and take place in an area where another person (adult or minor) can stop the interaction, except under emergency circumstances.

 

Gift-giving or providing special favors or privileges to an individual Minor Athlete is prohibited. 

 

Parent/legal guardian written consent is required for each out-of-program contact and parent/legal guardian must complete training and education concerning child abuse prevention. A sample consent for out-of-program contact can be found here. The training and education can be found here.

 

Additionally:

 

Meetings

  • Any meeting between a health professional and a minor athlete requires advance written consent from the minor’s legal guardian. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.
  • The door may be closed but must be unlocked and another adult must be present at the facility and aware of the meeting.

 

Individual Training Sessions

  • Advance written consent from the minor’s legal guardian is required on an annual basis. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.
  • A parent, or legal guardian, or another caretaker must be permitted to observe.

 

Manual Therapy and Therapeutic and Recovery Modalities Policy

  • Any sports medicine therapies including massage therapy must be conducted by a licensed or certified provider who is not the minor athlete’s coach.
  • A second Safe Play Approved adult must be present in the room; an adult located outside of the room or in an adjacent room does not meet the standard.
  • Advance written consent from the minor’s legal guardian is required before treatment.  Consent can be withdrawn at any time.
  • Minor athletes must be fully or partially clothed during any treatment, ensuring all private areas are covered.
  • Providers must explain the steps they will take and get the minor athlete’s “okay” before completing the step.
  • Techniques need to be used to reduce physical touch of the minor athlete.
  • Parents or legal guardians are allowed in the room as an observer, if credentialing allows.

 

Locker Rooms and Changing Areas

  • Under no circumstances, including in a locker room or changing area, shall an unrelated adult intentionally expose their private areas to a minor athlete. 
  • Use of any device’s (including a cell phone’s) recording capabilities, including voice recording, still cameras and video cameras, in locker rooms, changing areas or similar spaces is prohibited.  Exceptions may be made in limited circumstances with USTA approval and when all athletes are fully clothed.
  • Except for athletes on the same team, at no time is an unrelated adult permitted to be alone with a minor athlete in the locker room or changing area.

 

Electronic Communications

  • All electronic communications between an unrelated adult who has authority over minor athletes and a minor athlete must copy either the minor’s legal guardian or parent, another adult family member, or another adult from the USTA program, event, or tournament. 
  • All electronic communication between an adult and a minor athlete must be professional in nature. 
  • The minor’s parent or legal guardian can request to discontinue communication to their minor athlete except in emergency circumstances.

 

Transportation

Adults (except for the parent or legal guardian) shall not ride in a vehicle alone with an unrelated minor athlete, absent emergency circumstances, and must have at least two minor athletes who are at least 8 years of age, or another adult in transport at all times, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the minor athlete’s parent/legal guardian in advance of each instance of transport. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.

 

Lodging and Residential Environments

  • When only one adult and one minor athlete travel to a competition which involves an overnight stay, the minor athlete must have his or her legal guardian’s written permission in advance.
  • Adults cannot share a hotel room or other sleeping arrangement with a minor athlete, unless the adult is the legal guardian, sibling, or is otherwise related to the minor athlete or an exception exists. A parent/legal guardian may consent to such an arrangement in advance and in writing.
  • Two adults must be present for any room checks.
  • Meetings while traveling shall be conducted in compliance with the USTA Safe Play Policy (i.e., any such meeting shall be observable and interruptible) and are not permitted to be conducted in a hotel room. 

 

 

Resources

The USTA has adopted the educational resources provided by the U.S. Center for SafeSport to inform parents and athletes of all ages about preventing misconduct in sport.

 

The USTA STRONGLY ENCOURAGES all athletes to complete training regarding the prevention of abuse in sport. These free online trainings are designed as an introduction for minor athletes and their parents or other caregivers to understand the importance of positive, welcoming environments in sports, where misconduct like bullying or abuse is less likely to happen, and to know where to report abuse, should it occur. To access these resources please visit: https://www.usta.com/en/home/safe-play/safesport-courses.html.

 

The USTA also STRONGLY ENCOURAGES parents / legal guardians to complete training regarding the prevention of abuse in sport. Designed for parents of youth athletes at any age, this free course educates parents on recognizing, responding to, and preventing abuse and misconduct in their child’s sport setting. To access these resources please visit https://www.usta.com/en/home/safe-play/safesport-courses/parents-guide-to-misconduct-in-sport.html.  

 

 

Reporting

Violations (or a suspicion of a violation) of the USTA Safe Play Policy or the Proactive Policies must be reported to the USTA immediately. These reports and any other suspicions you believe the USTA should be made aware of can be made by visiting www.usta.com/safeplay/report.  Any suspicions of child abuse or child sexual abuse must be reported immediately to the local authorities and to the U.S. Center for SafeSport by visiting www.uscenterforsafesport.org. 

 

 

* The SafeSport Code establishes consistent standards of response and resolution to abuse and misconduct claims across the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement, whose affiliated individuals must comply with policies and procedures as defined by the Code.

 

 ** The Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP) is a collection of prevention and training policies that bind adult participants and organizations in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Movement.