"... The guidelines should serve as “a toolkit of best practices,” [Nina] Kemppel told The Associated Press. “For smaller NGBs, this picture may look very different than for larger NGBs. It’s the key things of being really effective and promoting safe environments for kids.”
That safe environment didn’t exist when Uchiyama, a Colorado Springs resident, coached at Southern California Aquatics in Los Angeles, says an anonymous woman now in her mid-30s who alleges Uchiyama baited her into a sexual relationship that began when she was a 14-year-old. The woman never filed criminal charges and hasn’t sued in civil court.
[Note: SCAQ only coaches 18-year-olds, SCAQ or Southern California Aquatics has never coached minors - it is a Masters Swimming club - the club mentioned above is not affiliated with SCAQ and there is no other swim team in Los Angeles called, Southern California Aquatics.
There is a So Cal Aquatics in Orange County I believe]
Uchiyama resigned from perhaps USA Swimming’s most high-profile coaching position Jan. 27, 2006, and his name was put on the banned list four days later for “inappropriate sexual behavior.” He quit his job Wednesday as aquatics director at The Country Club of Colorado after Cheyenne Mountain Resort saw him on the list, published late Tuesday.
In a statement, USOC chief executive officer Scott Blackmun said the top priority is “the safety of our athletes,” adding that the panel was designed to “take a comprehensive look at practices and guidelines in order to give sport organizations more resources to create positive training atmospheres and, above all, safe environments for all athletes.”[Link]
Friday, May 28, 2010
USA Swimming is to slow: USOC is stepping in to bypass them and make a sound policy!
Thanks goes out to the USOC for paying attention.
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5 comments:
Where does ASCA sit in all this? As the private FOR profit organIzation making money from being a monopoly in swimming they must have a monitoring process in place for Those not wanted in swimming? Or are their profits more important? I have seen nothing from them so curious!,,,
I'm not sure what axe Anonymous has to grind with ASCA - whether privately owned or non profit its organization should have little bearing on how we assess its positions. This is the United States after all - we're supposed to be biased towards small business. If the Association hasn't taken a position yet it may only be because it is polling its membership about what should to be done. If, on the other hand, the ASCA is pulling a Wielgus and ducking the issue then they aren't doing their membership any favors. Not only are new rules of conduct necessary to protect the athletes, but better rules would also protect swimming coaches (the vast majority which have no inclination towards molesting their charges) from false accusations. Up to this point, however, I have supported nearly all of ASCA's initiatives, especially its latest position on techsuits. Better right and a little late than to be quick on the draw and flat out wrong. If I was a coach I'd certainly be a member.
I am not impressed with A$CA - I think their "kung fu level" certification process favors those that are politically hooked-up whereas only a handful of coaches or less can become "Shaolin Priests" and get the "David Caradine" tattoo.
ASCA "Code of Ethics" is here:
http://www.swimmingcoach.org/services/code_of_ethics.asp
The codes of conduct and behavior at my workplace are more rigorous than this ASCA standard.
they include the restraining of inappropriate speech of a sexual or racial nature, anti-discrimination rules, conflict of interest issues such as the employment of relatives, threats of violence or punishment etc. etc..
I commend them for doing something but this one page standard which is quite anemic when compared to other professional codes of conduct ranging from Professors at a college to P.E. Teachers
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