24 October 2007
The information detailed below relates to the key officials who will be supporting athletes at major events. Not all of the officials listed below will be present at every event, for instance in some cases the Team Leader will also take on the role of the Head Coach.
Team Leaders
The Team Leader will have overall responsibility for the team at events and will:
Complete any site / venue visits prior to events, (if appropriate)
Coordinate the work of the medical, media, organisational and team officials including briefing of all staff and coaching teams in conjunction with the Head Coach
Participate in technical meetings with the Head Coach
Be responsible for addressing conflict issues including conflict of programming and team discipline;
Prepare materials for any technical meetings including lanes, jumping / throwing orders, starting heights and increments, information on implement checking, requests for programming re-timetabling, team changes and relevant medical information
Be responsible for the collation of any post event reports and championship review documents.
Head Coach
If a Head Coach is appointed they will be responsible for:
Directing the preparation and coaching of the team including the coordination of team coaches
All coaching, technical and tactical matters including managing conflicts of programming
Liaising with the Team Leader in preparing materials for any technical meetings.
Team Officials
Team officials will be appointed by UKA to liaise with the local organising committees and technical information centres at events as well as managing the paperwork sent and completed by athletes.
Team officials will have access to team lists, telephone numbers, travel plans, emergency contact details and information in relation to the locality.
Media Officer
UKA will appoint a media officer who will act as liaison between team members and the media at all events and training camps pre events. The media officer will also organise any press conferences / interviews as necessary and ensure all athletes are briefed with key messages.
Media officers will also coordinate any official responses from team leaders to any issues that may arise.
Medical Staff
When selected for the GB & NI Team you may be supported by physiotherapists and team medical staff to ensure that you are in the best physical condition to compete. If you wish to speak to a member of the medical staff in confidence prior to departure, please contact you Team Leader who will arrange this for you.
The role of the medical staff at events may include:
Overall responsibility for the provision of the medical care at the event. The Team Doctor will have a supply of medications to manage most situations, but if you have specific needs you should inform the Doctor prior to departure and make a note on your medical return form. Similarly, if you have specific medical concerns, you should discuss them with your Team Doctor prior to departure.
The role of the physiotherapist is management of musculo-skeletal issues, working closely with the Soft Tissue Therapist and the Doctor.
Soft tissue therapy may be available to assist both preparation and recovery.
During event the medical staff will be responsible for a number of athletes; therefore it is important that you attend any treatment sessions or appointments promptly at the time allocated to you. If you fail to keep an appointment it may result in the medical staff being unable to treat you.
You should not plan on increasing your soft tissue or physiotherapy input while at a competition just because it is available. This can have significant detrimental effects on your performance.
Athletics carries a risk of physical injury and you must agree to take all reasonable care to avoid causing harm to yourself and others.
Chaperones
Where athletes under the age of 18 have been selected for the GB and NI athletics team, UKA will appoint one of the travelling Team Officials to act as point of contact and chaperone for the event.
The chaperone will be report to the Team Leader and be specifically responsible for the welfare of the athlete(s) during travel and outside of competition.
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR AN ATHLETICS TEAM MANAGER.
As a responsible athletics team manager or you will:
take reasonable care in all circumstances of any athlete below the age of 18 who is at an event without someone with parental responsibility
look after young athletes' personal safety at event venues
provide the appropriate ratio of staff for the age and ability of the athletes e.g. a minimum of one adult member of staff for every ten children who may be travelling away from the home venue
provide staff of the same sex as the athletes i.e. avoid cross-sex chaperoning
upon completion of the volunteer action plan for the sport, guarantee that all volunteers for an athletics team have been through the appointments process, including self-declaration and Subject Access police check
collect written evidence that all staff and volunteers with responsibility for young athletes from your team have completed appropriate child protection training
comply with any local Duty of Care and/or Child Protection policies and procedures that might be in place e.g. Local Authority or school procedures that cover particular venues or athlete groups (see Appendix Reading and Resources - DfES web site)
notify all parents/carers of athletes under 18 of the times and venues of any competitions and of appropriate contact telephone numbers
ensure that written, informed consent has been collected from all persons with parental responsibility for the participant in advance of a competition including next of kin and contact details, medical conditions such as allergies, and ensure medication is available for the child for the duration of the event. Medication should be administered by the person with parental responsibility
liaise with young athletes' parents/person with parental responsibility if they become involved in an accident or a serious breach of safety or discipline while under your care.
COACH INFORMATION – TEAM AND PERSONAL
Team Coaches
Team coaches report to the Team Leader and will be responsible for:
Ensuring that they are familiar with the athlete and their personal coach prior to departure
Advising the Team Leader / Head Coach on specific coaching, technical and tactical matters relative to the events they are responsible for
Providing specific coaching, technical and tactical services for athletes in preparation for the competitions
Overseeing event specific issues at events
Providing information for the Team Leader / Head Coach to take to the technical meeting
Establishing an athletes level of fitness through close liaison with medical staff and physiotherapists
Checking medical clearance on bandaging and taping and confirming that the athletes equipment is adequate for the requirements of the specific competition
Ensuring athletes are competing in the correct GB and NI team clothing
Informing athletes of transport, warm up, reporting, competition times and competition draws
Supporting team officials in the observation of British competitors for possible rule infringements and dealing with any protests
Preparing technical reports and individual athlete reports post championships.
Team coaches will also facilitate – if the athlete desires:
Access to the athletes for personal coaches prior to competition
Access to the warm-up areas for personal coaches (subject to availability of accreditation from the local organising committee)
Access to spectator areas for personal coaches (subject to availability of tickets or accreditation from the local organising committee).
PERSONAL COACHES
Prior to departure, personal coaches should know what services can be delivered for them. This will vary from competition to competition and may range from full accreditation to day passes only. UKA cannot take responsibility nor guarantee accreditation for personal coaches at events that are outside of our jurisdiction.
Access to team hotels is restricted for personal coaches; any meetings must be conducted in public areas such as the hotel reception area or team meeting room(s) and never in an athlete’s bedroom.
Whilst UKA will make all travel arrangements for team members, but it is not possible to do so for personal coaches. It is therefore the responsibility of the personal coach to ensure that they have the necessary visas and paperwork in place prior to departure.
Where possible, UKA will try and enable access for personal coaches to warm up and spectator areas. Note: it is the responsibility of the team officials (not the personal coach) to take athletes through the first call procedure, e.g. ensuring that they are in the reporting area at the correct time with the necessary equipment, numbers and resources.
If there are any specific rules for personal coach’s conduct at a particular competition the team leader will make them clear prior to departure.
By accepting selection to the GB & NI Team, athletes are agreeing to only use personal coaches who hold the relevant qualifications and accreditations and who are licensed by UKA and adhere to the policies and procedures in force. Athletes agree to cease using any personal coaches, (for any purpose including mentoring), who has had their UKA coaching pass and licence withdrawn as a result of an athletics welfare infringement for the period of the personal coaches withdrawal.
THE RESPONSIBLE ATHLETICS COACH CODE OF CONDUCT
As a responsible coach you will:
respect the rights, dignity and worth of every athlete and treat everyone equally, regardless of background or ability
place the welfare and safety of the athlete above the development of performance
encourage and guide athletes to accept and take responsibility for their own behaviour and performance
be appropriately qualified and update your licence and education as and when required by UK Athletics
ensure that the activities you guide or advocate are appropriate for the age, maturity, experience and ability of the individual athlete
at the outset, clarify with athletes (and where appropriate their parents or carers) exactly what is expected of them and what athletes are entitled to expect from you
never try to recruit, either overtly or covertly, athletes who are already receiving coaching. If approached by an athlete receiving coaching, refer immediately to the coach currently providing coaching support
co-operate fully with other colleagues (e.g. other coaches, officials, team managers, sport scientists, doctors, physiotherapists, governing body staff) in the best interests of the athlete
consistently promote positive aspects of the sport (e.g. fair play) and never condone rule violations or the use of prohibited or age-inappropriate substances
consistently display high standards of behaviour and appearance
In addition, as a responsible athletics coach you must:
develop appropriate working relationships with athletes (especially under 18s), based on mutual trust and respect. In particular, a coach will not exert undue influence to obtain personal benefit or reward
strictly maintain a clear boundary between friendship and intimacy with athletes and not conduct inappropriate relationships with athletes. Relationships with athletes can cause significant problems for other team members and can fracture teams, raising concerns of favouritism, or even of victimisation, should the relationship later end. However, due to the very special relationship between coaches and athletes
- You must not allow an intimate personal relationship to develop between yourself and any athlete under the age of 18. Any violation of this could result in a coach licence being withdrawn or restrictions being imposed on it under condition 6 below
- it is also strongly recommended that you do not allow intimate personal relationships to develop between yourself and athletes (coached or supervised by you) who are aged 18 and over.
In addition to the above Code of Conduct coaches should follow the following guidelines to ensure that they work within the best coaching practice. Coaches should:
never do something for an athlete that they can do for themselves
avoid critical language or actions, such as sarcasm, that undermine an athlete's self-esteem
not spend time alone with a young athlete unless clearly in view of others
avoid taking a young athlete alone in your car
never invite a young athlete alone to your home
never share a bedroom with a child
always explain why and ask for consent before touching an athlete
work in same-sex pairs when supervising changing areas
ensure that parents/carers know about and have approved in advance if taking a young athlete away from the usual training venue
respect the right of young athletes to an independent life outside athletics
challenge inappropriate behaviour or language by others
report any accidental injury, distress or misunderstanding or misinterpretation. A brief written report of such incidents should be submitted to the WO as soon as possible, and parents/carers notified.
report any suspected misconduct by other coaches or athletics personnel.
ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVES / AGENTS
UK Athletics provides accreditation to Athlete Representatives (AR’s) through a strict code of conduct. Accredited AR’s are listed on the UKA website. The site also details the services they provide.
AR’s who have signed up to the UKA code of conduct will received accreditation for UKA events and IAAF accreditation, however UKA cannot take responsibility nor guarantee accreditation for AR’s at events outside of this.
UKA will not recognise AR’s who have not signed up to the code of conduct.
