The Aspen Swim Club is committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment
for all of our members so they can participate in a relaxed and secure atmosphere.
Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our club. If bullying does occur, all athletes or
parents should be able to confide in a coach / team manager / board member and know
that any bullying incident will be dealt with promptly and effectively. Anyone who
knows that bullying is happening is expected to inform the coach, manager, or any
board member.
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 board members, 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 the Aspen Swim Club takes bullying seriously and that
all swimmers and parents can be assured that they will be supported when
bullying is reported.
How the Team Defines Bullying
Bullying is the use of aggression with the intention of hurting another person. Bullying
results in physical or emotional pain and distress to the victim. It is done to intimidate,
coerce, fear, control, embarrass or exclude.
Bullying hurts. No one deserves to be a victim of bullying. Everybody has the right to be
treated with respect. Athletes who are bullying need to learn different ways of
behaving. This club has a responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to issues of
bullying.
Bullying can be, but is not limited to:
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Emotional: being unfriendly, excluding (emotionally and physically), sending hurtful
text messages, tormenting, (e.g. hiding clothing, intentionally knocking over water
bottles, threatening gestures, etc..)
Physical: pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence
Racist: racial taunts, graffiti, gestures
Sexual: unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments or taunts
Homophobic: because of, or focusing on the issue of sexuality
Verbal: name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumors, teasing
Bullying may be:
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Planned or unintentional
Individual or group action(s)
Of an isolated or a continual nature
Initiated by swimmer, coach, or parent.
Intentionally lying and accusing another individual of bullying will also be investigated,
with consequences similar to those identified in this document.
If you are the Victim of Bullying
In the event that you feel that you are the victim of bullying:
1. You may try to deal with it yourself – but don’t feel you have to, you will be supported
1. Stay calm.
2. Ignore it (use self talk and remember often those who bully are disguising their
own problems)
3. Walk away.
2. If the bullying doesn’t stop:
1. Stand up for yourself - let he/she know how it makes you feel.
2. Tell the bully you don’t like what they are doing and you want it to stop.
3. Tell the bully that he/she is bullying and this is breaking the club’s rules.
3. If the bullying persists, seek help from an adult:
1. Identify a network of trusted adults or peers you can talk to, seek support from
your network - it is good to let someone know what is happening e.g. a friend,
parent, the team coach/manager, or an older athlete.
2. Go to a coach, parent, another adult
3. Tell the adult everything.
4. Continue to report the behavior until the bullying stops!
While there is no express time limit for initiating a complaint under this procedure,
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.
If you are a Witness to 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.
1 Be a friend to the person being bullied;
2 Tell a trusted adult – your parent, coach, or club board member;
3 Help the kid 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. “Let’s go, practice is about to start.”
4 Set a good example by not bullying others.
5 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.
How the Coaches and Other Team Leadership Will Approach Bullying Allegations if
Observed Directly
Coaches, board members, and team leaders that observe bullying directly are expected
to stop bullying on the spot using the following steps:
1 Intervene immediately. It is ok to get another adult to help.
2 Separate the kids involved.
3 Make sure everyone is safe.
4 Meet any immediate medical or mental health needs.
5 Stay calm. Reassure the kids involved, including bystanders.
6 Model respectful behavior when you intervene.
How the Coaches and Other Team Leadership Will Approach Bullying Allegations if
Reported by Another
Coaches, Board Members, and Team Leaders will use the following approach to try and
get the facts from as many people involved as possible:
1. Keep all the involved children separate.
2. Get the story from several sources, both adults and kids.
3. Listen without blaming.
4. Don’t call the act “bullying” while you are trying to understand what happened.
5. It may be difficult to get the whole story, especially if multiple athletes are
involved or the bullying involves social bullying or cyber bullying. Collect all
available information.
After gathering the facts, the adult(s) investigating will determine if it's bullying. To
determine if the act is considered bullying, the investigating adults will consider the
following:
1. What is the history between the kids involved?
2. Have there been past conflicts?
3. 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.
4. Has this happened before? Is the child worried it will happen again?
5. 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.
Punishment for Bullying
After the coaches, board memberships or team leadership has investigated the bullying
reports, he/she/they will determine whether or not the incident warrants additional
investigation, punishment to the bully, additional follow up with parents/the board of
directors, etc.
Athletes found to be bullying teammates or members of other teams/clubs may face
consequences including but not limited to:
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Probation
Restitution for any damage to property or personal possessions
Temporary or permanent suspension during meets and/or practice sessions
Expulsion from the Club
Any bullying involving physical contact will result in the immediate suspension of the
aggressor for a minimum of one (1) week, until the club is able to perform a preliminary
investigation to determine if further measures are warranted. All alleged incidents
involving physical bullying will be investigated thoroughly. However, due to the
seriousness of the physical offense and possible consequences of the action, in order for
the week suspension to occur either (a) the bully has to admit to the action, (b)
aggression must have been witnessed, or ( c) visible signs of the aggression must be
apparent.
Any retaliation by athletes, or their parents, against someone who reports bullying will
be dealt with very seriously.
Less severe cases of bullying may be addressed in the following manner:
1. Make sure the child knows what the problem behavior is. Young people who
bully must learn their behavior is wrong and harms others.
2. Show kids that bullying is taken seriously. Calmly tell the child that bullying will
not be tolerated. Model respectful behavior when addressing the problem.
3. Work with the child to understand some of the reasons he or she bullied. For
example:
4. Sometimes children bully to fit in or just to make fun of someone is a little
different from them. In other words, there may be some insecurity involved.
5. Other times kids act out because something else—issues at home, abuse,
stress—is going on in their lives. They also may have been bullied. These kids
may be in need of additional support.
6. Involve the kid who bullied in making amends or repairing the situation. The goal
is to help them see how their actions affect others. For example, the child can:
7. Write a letter apologizing to the athlete who was bullied.
8. Do a good deed for the person who was bullied, for the Club, or for others in
your community.
9. Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.
After the bullying issue is resolved, team leadership is responsible for checking in on the
situation with the swimmer (and maybe his/her parents depending on the situation) to
make sure that the issue has been fully resolved.
Bullying By Coaches, Parents or Other Adults
Measures against coaches found guilty of bullying include but are not limited to:
1. Suspension,
2. Probationary period without pay, and/or
3. Immediate dismissal from the club.
This decision will be made by the Board Of Directors.
Note:
1. Bullying discussion will be added to initial meeting with coaches.
2. Bullying policy will be added to Aspen Swim Club web page.
3. Bullying policy must be acknowledged by all parents at the beginning of each season
during registration.