1. Why should all youth sports organizations implement athlete safety?
Implementing athlete safety is essential for all youth sports organizations. It ensures the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of young athletes, creates a positive and engaging experience, and builds trust with families. Clear safety policies also help prevent injuries and misconduct, support coaches in handling challenging situations, and strengthen the organization’s reputation as a safe, reliable place to play and grow.
Over the course of the last few years, abuse of minor athletes within the U.S. Olympic family has come to the forefront. Too many athletes went unprotected from predators within their sport, which led to the creation of Senate Bill 534.
Through SB534 and the governance of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, there are many policies now in place to ensure minor athlete well-being is at the forefront of every sport.
2. What is SafeSport?
Established in 2017, the U.S. Center for SafeSport is the independent and exclusive authority directed by Congress to prevent and respond to all forms of abuse and misconduct within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. The Center is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
The Center receives, investigates, and responds to reports of abuse and misconduct from individuals affiliated with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and its National Governing Bodies (NGBs). The Center ensures that the USOPC and NGBs properly apply policies and procedures to govern abuse prevention and maintains a database of individuals sanctioned from participation in their sport.
Throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, the Center trains athletes, parents, coaches, volunteers, and organizations at all levels on best practices and principles for preventing abuse in sport settings. In doing so, the Center advances its mission of making athlete well-being the center of our nation’s sports culture through abuse prevention, education, and accountability. Available trainings can be found at https://uscenterforsafesport.org/courses/.
3. What are the MAAPPs?
USA Baseball's Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPPs) is a collection of proactive prevention and training policies for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Movement. It has three primary components: an Education and Training Policy, Required Prevention Policies, and Recommended Prevention Policies. The Center developed the MAAPPs to assist National Governing Bodies, Paralympic Sport Organizations, Local Affiliated Organizations, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and other individuals to whom these policies apply in meeting their obligations under federal law.
USA Baseball's Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies for adult participants can be found at https://usabdevelops.com/page/4912/resources/17096/base-minor-athlete-abuse-prevention-policies-maapps.
USA Baseball's adult participants include: staff, board of directors, board committees, task force, contracted staff, coaches, certified athletic trainers and athletes selected for employment or participating in the training and competition under the auspices of USA Baseball.