RAYS SWIM TEAM

While parents may observe practice from viewing stands, the pool deck is closed to all spectators, including parents. If you need to speak to a coach, please schedule a mutually convenient time to meet before or after a practice. All meetings must take place over the phone or at the Y. 

CELL PHONE POLICY DURING PRACTICES 

Swimmers are not permitted to bring or use cell phones during practices or in locker rooms. Coaches are not permitted to use cell phones during practices except for official RAYS business. 

ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTIONS between a minor athlete, coach or team representative (who is not the minor’s parent or legal guardian) must occur at an observable and interruptible distance from another adult unless under emergency circumstances. 

Meetings between a minor athlete and a coach or team representative may only occur if another adult is present and where interactions can be easily observed and at an interruptible distance from another adult, except under medical emergency circumstances. 

If a one-on-one meeting takes place, the door to the room must remain unlocked and open. If available, it must occur in a room that has windows, with the windows, blinds, and/or curtains remaining open during the meeting. Meetings may not be conducted in an athlete or coach’s hotel room or other overnight lodging location during team travel. 

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS 

All electronic communication (including social media) from a coach or team representative to participating families in the RAYS must be professional in nature. Coaches or team representatives should communicate information about practices, meets, etc. directly to an athlete’s parent or legal guardian. 

Absent emergency circumstances, if a coach or team representative needs to communicate directly with a minor athlete, the minor athlete’s parent or legal guardian must be copied. If a minor athlete communicates to a coach or team representative privately first, the coach or team representative must copy the minor athlete’s parent or legal guardian on any electronic communication response to the minor athlete. 

Requests to Discontinue 

Parents or legal guardians may request in writing that their minor athlete not be contacted through any form of electronic communication. The organization must abide by any such request that the minor athlete not be contacted via electronic communication, or included in any social media post, absent emergency circumstances. 

Hours 

Electronic communications must only be sent between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., unless emergency circumstances exist, or during competition travel. 

Prohibited Electronic Communication 

Coaches and team representatives are not permitted to maintain private social media connections with minor athletes associated with the team and are not permitted to accept new personal page requests on social media platforms from minor athletes. Existing social media connections with minor athletes must be discontinued. Minor athletes may “friend” official team pages. Coaches or team representatives must not send private, instant or direct messages to a minor athlete through social media platforms. 

TRAVEL 

Local Travel consists of travel to training, practice and competition that occurs locally and does not include coordinated overnight stay(s). Team Travel is travel to a competition or other team activity that the team plans. 

Coaches or team representatives must not ride in a vehicle alone with an unrelated minor athlete, absent emergency circumstances, and must always have at least two minor athletes or another adult in the vehicle, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the minor athlete’s parent or legal guardian. 

When a minor athlete travels alone to a competition, the minor athlete’s parent or legal guardian must complete a transportation waiver consent and provide it to their coach in advance, and for each competition, for the minor athlete to travel with another adult who is not their parent or legal guardian. 

Unrelated coaches or team representatives must not share a hotel room, other sleeping arrangement or overnight lodging location with a minor athlete. Minor athletes should be paired to share hotel rooms or other sleeping arrangements with other minor athletes of the same gender and of similar age. 

Meetings during team travel must be conducted consistent with the one-on-one interactions section of this policy (i.e., any such meeting must be observable and interruptible). Meetings must not be conducted in an individual’s hotel room or other overnight sleeping location. 

LOCKER ROOMS AND CHANGING AREAS 

The designated locker room or changing area must be used when an athlete changes, in whole or in part, into or out of a swimsuit when wearing just one suit (e.g., deck changing is prohibited). 

At no time are coaches or adults permitted to be in a locker room with minor athletes, except under emergency circumstances, or if a parent or legal guardian of the same sex is assisting a young athlete. The parent or legal guardian should notify a coach or team administrator before entering the locker room. 

The 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 by a minor athlete, coaches, team representatives or any adult is prohibited. 

Monitoring 

Coaches must regularly and randomly monitor the use of locker rooms and changing areas to ensure compliance with this policy. Locker rooms and changing areas may be monitored by use of the following methods: 

• Conducting a sweep of the locker room or changing area before athletes arrive; 

• Posting staff directly outside the locker room or changing area during periods of use; • Leaving the doors open when adequate privacy is still possible; and/or 

• Making occasional sweeps of the locker rooms or changing areas with women checking on female locker rooms and men checking on male locker rooms. 

Every effort must be made to recognize when a minor athlete goes to the locker room or changing area during practice and competition, and, if the minor athlete does not return in a timely fashion, to check on the minor athlete’s whereabouts. 

PHYSICAL CONTACT 

Coaches, team representatives and adults who are not related to the athlete are not permitted to provide any type of massage, rubdown or any physical modality, like assisted stretching.

USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND VISUAL/AUDIO RECORDINGS

Parents/guardians will be asked to complete a photo/video/audio release at the beginning of the season. The intention of the release is to provide the YMCA and our training site partners with the permission to use photographs of the team to recognize team achievements and to promote the team within the community. Parents have a right to refuse agreement to their child being photographed.

All photograph or recordings must observe generally accepted standards for youth sports:

• Action shots should be a celebration of the sporting activity
• Action shots should not be taken or retained where the photograph reveals a torn or displaced swimsuit.
• Photographs should not be taken from behind swimming blocks at the start of a race or exhibit a child climbing out of the swimming pool.
• Photographs should not be taken in locker rooms or bathrooms.