WYHA has adopted the SafeSport program as set forth by USA Hockey. These guidelines are essential to ensure a safe environment for all our players, coaches and volunteers. The program is designed to help protect its participants from sexual, physical and emotional abuse as well as bullying, threats, harassment and hazing. The recommendations are comprehensive and much greater detail can be found at the USA Hockey website: http://www.usahockey.com/page/show/908023-usa-hockey-safesport-program
WYHA will follow the program as prescribed. However, USA Hockey recognizes that each program may adapt the guidelines to better serve their players and program. All facets of the program carry importance but to achieve better implementation WYHA highlights those issues that we frequently receive questions on.
Locker room policy:
At least one responsible adult or coach shall monitor the locker room.
No 1 on 1 meetings in locker rooms between a player and a coach.
For teams including both male and female players, both male and female privacy rights must be given consideration. Any team with co-ed players must establish a set of guidelines or practices to enable the comfort of all players on the team.
For U-12 girls and older, male coaches are allowed in the locker room for skate tying or pre and post-game speeches only, and only when all girls are appropriately dressed.
Use of cameras, cell phone cameras, recording devices etc. is not permitted in locker rooms by anyone, including players, coaches/volunteers, parents/relatives.
Screening and compliance:
Coaches and volunteers shall be required to undergo a CORI screen every two years.
Coaches are required to take the USA Hockey Safe Sport program by November 30th of each year. The certification is valid for two years.
Prohibited Conduct and Reporting:
WYHA prohibits all types of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, bullying, threats, harassment and hazing, all as described in the USA Hockey SafeSport Handbook. Participants, employees or volunteers in WYHA may be subject to disciplinary action for violation of the Travel Policies or for engaging in any misconduct or abuse or that violates the USA Hockey SafeSport Policies. To report any actual or suspected violations, you may email USA Hockey at SafeSport@usahockey.org or call 1-800-888-4656.
Additionally, in all cases involving suspicions or allegations of child physical or sexual abuse, every employee or volunteer of USA Hockey Member Programs must also report to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
Concussions:
Any athlete suspected of having concussion symptoms will be removed from the ice or activity by a coach or assistant coach. The injured player will remain with the coach or assistant coach until the player’s parent or a guardian can take over watching the player. If the player is not with his/her parent the guardian must be instructed not to leave the player alone. An injured player will not be allowed to leave a venue without a responsible adult to supervise him/her. The player’s parent or guardian should be contacted as soon as possible after an injury has occurred.
No injured athlete may return to play, either in a practice or game setting, either the same day or any number of days after a suspected concussion injury, without receiving medical clearance from an appropriately trained physician. This means acquiring a doctor’s note that shall be presented to the coach either in person or via scanned documentation via email. All such documents should also be forwarded to the WYHA SafeSport Director (
), for the purposes of league documentation, injury surveillance, and monitoring of league practices regarding concussions. While many pediatricians feel comfortable assessing patients for suspected concussions, WYHA recommends that whenever possible its players should be assessed by physicians with specialized training in diagnosis and management of pediatric sports-related concussions. A system of expeditious access to such specialized care has been arranged for WYHA players, the details of which can be requested of the WYHA SafeSport Director or found under the “documents” section of our website, if desired by players’ families.
Travel:
The employees, coaches, and/or volunteers of WYHA or one of its teams, who are not also acting as a parent, should not drive alone with an unrelated minor player and should only drive with at least two players or another adult at all times, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the minor player’s parent.
Where an employee, coach and/or volunteer is involved in an unrelated minor player’s local travel, efforts should be made to ensure that the adult personnel are not alone with the unrelated player, by, e.g., picking up or dropping off the players in groups. In any case where an employee, coach and/or volunteer is involved in the player’s local travel, a parental release should be obtained in advance.
Employees, coaches, and volunteers who are also a player’s parent or guardian may provide shared transportation for any player(s) if they pick up their player first and drop off their player last in any shared or carpool travel arrangement.
Electronic communication:
All electronic communication between coach and player must be for the purpose of communicating information about team activities. Coaches, players and all team personnel must follow common sense guidelines regarding the volume and time of day of any allowed electronic communication. All content between coaches and players should be readily available to share with the public or families of the player or coach. If the player is under the age of 18, any email, text, social media, or similar communication must also copy or include the player’s parents.
