Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

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Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by bowl1820 »

Ok something new for leagues to worry about,underage bowlers.

Here's the TL;DR version.

If a adult league let's a under 18 player join the league (which maybe unlikely to happen, but it could), everyone on that league would be required to take a 2 hour class on how to not molest the underage players and report if they are being molested etc. and have background checks.

If a players fails to complete the training, they are considered an ineligible bowler. Their games could be subjected to forfeiture.

So your league needs to have your rules state no one under 18 years old is allowed to bowl if you don't want to have to do this.

Safesport
https://www.bowl.com/safesport/

Safesport-PracticesProcedures.pdf
http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net ... edures.pdf

Safesport Code
http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net ... t-code.pdf

I wrote the USBC rules dept. about this here's their reply.

Question:

Is it true that if a adult league allows individuals 17 or younger to bowl, That every adult bowler on the league would have to take a two hour online Safesport class to be allowed to bowl in the league and if they Fail to take the course it result in termination/DQ of bowlers in said league?

Example: A league of 32 teams (A 128 bowlers) has member that wants their 17 yearold son to be a sub on the league, The league approves it. So now 128 bowlers have to take a class or else be kicked off the league.

If true is the best option so that the league doesn't fold up or decide not to certify because of this, to have the league rules state no one under 17 is allowed to bowl under any conditions.

ANSWER:

Good Morning,

This is in regards to your email below.

All of the adults (18 years of age and older) who compete in a league that also has participants who are 17 years of age or younger, must be SafeSport trained effective immediately. Attached is the SafeSport policy that states the requirement. This can also be accessed through the RVP Handbook (pg. 13) which takes you to the SafeSport website where the policy is located.

Additionally, all of the officers of a league that has participants under the age of 18, will need to be RVP compliant (SafeSport trained and background screening with the NCSI).

If a participant fails to complete the training, they are considered an ineligible bowler. Their games could be subjected to forfeiture.

Please let me know if you have further questions or concerns.

Jennifer Land
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by ICURNVS »

RIP Jr/Adult leagues....
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by 44boyd »

It’s a law, USBC doesn’t have a say in this.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by 44boyd »

ICURNVS wrote:RIP Jr/Adult leagues....
You think a 1 hour training is going to make people quit bowling with their kids?
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by ICURNVS »

44boyd wrote: You think a 1 hour training is going to make people quit bowling with their kids?
Yes.. yes i do

The average person is quite lazy and wont do it.

And yes the USBC is involved. They will be the people who punish sanctioned bowlers who do not comply.

Why make rules that are just impossible to enforce... there are tons of softball leagues where kids play. you think the other 130 people in the league will take the time to get the certification?? please....
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by kajmk »

After 156 young women shared their stories of abuse by former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar, advocates launched a campaign to support the Safe Sports Act. The bill was designed to require adults working in youth sports to immediately report sexual abuse. After 130,000 signatures and an endorsement from Senator Feinstein, the petition became a victory when President Trump signed it into law. Read more here: change.org/SafeSportAct.
Good practices no matter the age or gender mix.

Brief synopsis.

[youtube][/youtube]
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by ICURNVS »

kajmk wrote:
I am well aware of what prompted this.

I totally understand and agree anyone COACHING youths should have to pass this. I had to complete backround checks every 2 years for the past 13 years to coach baseball (at my expense).

But to expand it to anyone who competes in a event with youth to have to take it is going way beyond its scope. My son will have to take this course his Sr. year just to bowl and play baseball as he will turn 18 just after his Sr year starts.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by 44boyd »

USBC has to enforce it, didn’t get a say in it.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by snick »

How does this affect proshops? Do I have be a certified non-molester in order to fit underage bowlers?
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by kajmk »

ICURNVS , no implication of your awareness, position, or opinion intended.

Human endeavors, actions, laws sometimes have unintended consequences.
The architects of the law were erring on the side of caution.

As someone already stated, age exclusion can be voted on in league meetings.
Perhaps League officers should consider promulgating this information so as to minimize blindsiding members.

Bowling centers should consider appropriate caveats on their league schedule sheets and websites.

Personally, I would have no problems taking the course and I'm a poster boy for laziness.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by JimH »

It should be remembered that most USBC rules are copied by the other countries in the world. This USBC rule is the result of an American Federal law brought in because a sporting official in the US abused young athletes. Many countries already have procedures to prevent such abusive activity. In Ireland for example every adult in a position of authority who will work with chilldren or vulnerable adults in sport must be approved by the Police.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by JimH »

snick wrote:How does this affect proshops? Do I have be a certified non-molester in order to fit underage bowlers?
You can set a policy in your shop that a parent or guardian is present during the fitting process.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by DarkHorse »

Wall of text incoming. Cliff's Notes at the end.

SafeSport has apparently been around since 2012 (source, although I'm not sure how reliable it is), as an offshoot of the USOC, and it did nothing to prevent what occurred to those young athletes during that time.

From The U.S. Center for SafeSport's FAQ page (emphasis mine):
Where does the U.S. Center for SafeSport (the Center) get its authority?

The Center’s authority derives from the bylaws of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the individual National Governing Bodies (NGBs) who have all agreed to be subject to the Center’s jurisdiction and processes. In addition, in 2018, Congress passed The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 which mandates that the USOPC eliminate abuse and recognizes the Center’s jurisdiction and authority to fulfill this mission.
So basically, it applies to the USOPC specifically, and other amateur sports organizations generally. Since USBC is recognized by the USOPC as the NGB, they are implementing USOPC's version of SafeSport training, and subjecting themselves (and us, the athletes) to SafeSport's oversight.
Were USBC not recognized by USOPC, it's likely they would still need some kind of program to comply with the new law.
What is the difference between the U.S. Center for SafeSport and an NGB’s Safe Sport program?

The Center responds to and resolves all allegations of sexual misconduct within the USOPC and sets training requirements and abuse-prevention policies for NGBs that oversee individual sports.

Each NGB has its own safe sport program, through which the NGBs enforce the Center’s policies, requirements, and any sanctions imposed after investigation. The NGBs’ safe sport programs have their own mechanisms and designated offices to investigate and resolve allegations of physical and emotional misconduct.
Who is covered by the SafeSport Code?

The Code covers all sport Participants, which NGBs define for each sport.
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• Athletes as defined in USBC Bylaws, Art. IX, § B
• USBC high performance department employees
• Employees serving operational roles at the USBC Team USA training center(ITRC)
• USBC Team USA coaches

So USBC has some say, but probably not a lot.


Essentially, USOPC requires USBC to implement some kind of Safe Sport training in response to USOPC's complete and utter failure to protect it's own athletes using a program the USOPC created. How that training gets implemented is up to USBC.

Anyone feel safer yet?
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by bowl1820 »

kajmk wrote:As someone already stated, age exclusion can be voted on in league meetings.
Perhaps League officers should consider promulgating this information so as to minimize blindsiding members.
We had our league meeting tonight and the local Assoc. addressed this and our league voted in only bowlers 18+ could bowl on the league.

FYI: This is related to Public Law No: 115-126

Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] (Introduced 03/06/2017)
Committees: Senate - Judiciary
Latest Action: 02/14/2018 Became Public Law No: 115-126.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by bowl1820 »

[youtube][/youtube]

Safe Sport Training Video

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) implemented SafeSport as a way to protect athletes competing under the Olympic umbrella from misconduct. Since its initial implementation by the USOC in late 2012, a US Center for SafeSport has been created with an independent advisory council and a new USOC Director of Ethics and SafeSport.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by ICURNVS »

kajmk wrote:ICURNVS , no implication of your awareness, position, or opinion intended.

Human endeavors, actions, laws sometimes have unintended consequences.
The architects of the law were erring on the side of caution.

As someone already stated, age exclusion can be voted on in league meetings.
Perhaps League officers should consider promulgating this information so as to minimize blindsiding members.

Bowling centers should consider appropriate caveats on their league schedule sheets and websites.

Personally, I would have no problems taking the course and I'm a poster boy for laziness.
Understood.

Again I am all for requiring Coaches at all levels to have to conform to this. I personally know of 2 incidents where there was contact between Coach and player, and the coach got what was coming to him.

I just don't see the need to expand it to the extent they did, as it is just plain unenforceable.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by 44boyd »

Well just picture if there was a training that parents and adults apart of that group could of had that might have prevented it from even happening? It’s not like you can’t use it in every situation dealing with youths.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by TonyPR »

Sorry to say but this rule will not prevent sexual harassment, could even make a possible situation worse. Picture this, parents will be playing their league while the kids are left to wander around the bowling center (trust me they’re not just gonna sit down in the area behind the lanes their parents are bowling at and wait). They could potentially go outside the bowling center too. I know some will probably say the parents should keep an eye on the kids but kids will be kids. If there’s an issue with some adult harassing my 14 yr old girl, rule or no rule I would simply “handle it outside” the old school way. It’s not bowlers we need to be worried about harassing youth, we should be more worried about the super rich and the powerful politicians trafficking them as sex slaves.
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by boomer »

This ^^

I don't have kids under 18 anymore, but my stepson used to sub for us. Not gonna happen anymore. . .

Unintended consequences - we have a reactive government that requires everyone to REACT to things as opposed to prompting personal responsibility. Thus we over-react and impact everyone when a few do very very bad things.

USBC already had to fingerprint and background check for youth coaches, but I know that my F-in-Law won't watch a several hour video course about this, so he won't be coaching anymore. (honestly, he was pretty much ready to quit anyway, but that was because of the parents anyway. . . )
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Re: Leagues with underage bowlers now required Safesport

Post by KYBOB »

Regarding the original post, I have to question the information as being correct.

First, I have not seen any information about this other than here. If this information is correct why hasn't USBC launched a public campaign about this. We all know about the new ball specs and no use of cleaners, other than a dry towel, during competition, BUT not this. Seems odd considering the magnitude.

Second, regarding the application of this. The way I read it is the code is for the US Olympic and Paralympic Movement. I have yet to see anywhere in the code or Public Law that makes this applicable to adult league bowling. Seems to me the application of this code/law is limited to events like Junior Gold, Team USA and international competition and maybe youth leagues. Additionally there is no mention of this requirement in the rules for the 2020 US Open Championships. If this be the case wouldn't ALL participants be required to have the training prior to being allowed to bowl the Championships? If a youth under 18 participates on a shift how in the world are they gonna get everyone trained prior to competition? They'll sure have a mess telling bowlers they can't bowl cause they ain't trained. Where in USBC rules and bylaws is this stated to be applicable at league level?

Third, if this applicable , the Code, the law and maybe USBC rules and bylaws is not limited to minors. It is for abuse and harassment to anyone, any age. Therefore the training is still required even if there is a league rule stating a member be at least 18.

Something I found in the last link of the original post. This is a definition stated in the
SafeSport Code: Local Affiliated Organization (LAO): A regional, state, or local club or organization that is directly affiliated with a NGB or that is affiliated with a NGB by its direct affiliation with a regional or state affiliate of a NGB. A LAO does not include a regional, state, or local club or organization that is only a member of a National Member Organization of a NGB. Per the last sentence, league bowling is excluded as well as the Local and State Associations (?????).
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