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CB AQUATICS ACTION PLAN TO ADDRESS BULLYING

PURPOSE   

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable within all CB Aquatic programs and will not be tolerated. Bullying is counterproductive to team spirit and can be devastating to a victim.  CB Aquatics is committed to providing a safe, caring and friendly environment for all of our members.  If bullying does occur, all athletes and parents should know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. Anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell a coach, CB employee or team board member.

Objectives of the Club’s Bullying Policy and Action Plan:

1. To make it clear that CB Aquatics 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 CB Aquatics takes bullying seriously and that all swimmers and parents can be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.

WHAT IS BULLYING?

The USA Swimming Code of Conduct prohibits bullying. Generally, bullying is the use of aggression, whether intentional or not, which hurts another person.  Bullying results in pain and distress.  

USA Swimming defines bullying as “the severe or repeated use, regardless of when or where it may occur, by one or more USA Swimming members of an oral, written, electronic or other technological expression, image, sound, data or intelligence of any nature (regardless of the method of transmission), or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at any other member or Participating Non-Member that to a reasonably objective person has the effect of: (i) causing physical or emotional harm to the other person or damage to the other person’s property; (ii) placing the other person in reasonable fear of bodily harm or of damage to property; (iii) creating a hostile environment for the other person at any USA Swimming activity; (iv) infringing on the rights of the other person at any USA Swimming activity; or (v) materially and substantially disrupting the training process or the orderly operation of any USA Swimming activity (which shall include, without limitation, practices, workouts and other events of a member club or LSC).”

REPORTING PROCEDURE

An athlete who feels bullied is asked to do one or more of the following things: 

• Talk to your parents;

• Talk to a Club Coach, Board Member, or CB aquatics employee;
• Write a letter or email to the Club Coach, Board Member, or CB aquatics employee;

There is no express time limit for initiating a complaint under this procedure, but 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. 

HOW WE HANDLE BULLYING

If bullying is occurring during team-related activities, we STOP BULLYING ON THE SPOT using the following steps:

1. Intervene immediately. It is OK to get another adult to help.
2. Separate the individuals involved.
3. Make sure everyone is safe.
4. Meet any immediate medical or mental health needs.
5. Stay calm. Reassure the individuals involved, including bystanders.
6. Model respectful behavior when you intervene.

If bullying is occurring at our club or it is reported to be occurring at our club, we address the bullying by FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED and SUPPORTING THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED using the following approach: 

FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED

1. First, we get the facts.  
   1. Keep all the involved children separate. 
   2. Get the story from several sources, both adults and children.
   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 or Collect all available information.
2. Then, we determine if it is bullying. There are but require different approaches. It is important to determine whether the situation is bullying or something else. 
   1. Review the USA Swimming definition of bullying;
   2. To determine if the behavior is bullying or something else, consider the following questions:
      • What is the history between the individuals involved? 
      • Have there been past conflicts?
      • 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.
      • Has this happened before? Is the child worried it will happen again?
   3. Remember that it may not matter “who started it.” Some children who are bullied may be seen as annoying or provoking, but this does not excuse the bullying behavior.
   4. Once you have determined if the situation is bullying, support all of the individuals involved. 

SUPPORTING THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED

3.      Support the children who are being bullied

1. Listen and focus on the child. Learn what’s been going on and show you want to help. Assure the child that bullying is not their fault.
2. Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents, and fellow team members and coaches may all have valuable input. It may help to:

9. Ask the child being bullied what can be done to make them feel safe. Remember that changes to routine should be minimized. The child who has been bullied is not at fault and should not be singled out. For example, consider rearranging lane assignments for everyone. If bigger moves are necessary, such as switching practice groups, the child who is bullied should not be forced to change. ii. Develop a game plan. Maintain open communication between the Club and parents. Discuss the steps that will be taken and how bullying will be addressed going forward. 

3. Be persistent. Bullying may not end overnight. Commit to making it stop and consistently support the bullied child.

4.      Address bullying behavior

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 children 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 for their bullying. For example:
   1. Sometimes children bully to fit in or just to make fun of someone a little different from them.  In other words, there may be some insecurity involved. ii. Other times children act out because something else—issues at home, abuse, stress—is going on in their lives. They also may have been bullied. These children may be in need of additional support. 
4. Involve the child 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:
   1. Write a letter apologizing to the athlete who was bullied.
   2. Do a good deed for the person who was bullied, for the Club, or for others in your community.
   3. Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.
5. Determine the appropriate consequence for the behavior.  This may be, but is not limited to anything mentioned above, suspension from practices or meets, or expulsion from the team. 
6. Follow-up. After the bullying issue is resolved, continue finding ways to help the child who bullied to understand how what they do affects other people. For example, praise acts of kindness or talk about what it means to be a good teammate.

5. Support bystanders who witness bullying.  Every day, children 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 person 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. 

Rev. 5/2023