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USA Swimming's Safe Sport Launch

Apr 9, 2013

USA Swimming today launched a free online Safe Sport programming for the more than 300,000 athlete members of the organisation. 

The online programming, created by youth protection education leader Praesidium, will empower athletes with information about sexual abuse prevention, how to identify inappropriate behaviour, and how to report concerns. Athlete education will be available online starting on April 9. 

"Education is a fundamental part of USA Swimming’s Safe Sport program,” said Susan Woessner, Director of Safe Sport for USA Swimming in a federation statement. “As we continue to work to raise awareness about this important issue, the free athlete training will help empower our membership with education about safe sport."

The statement proceeded:

The comprehensive online programming includes information about how offenders operate; how to recognize, respond, and report boundary violations; myths and facts about child sexual abuse, and USA Swimming's Athlete Protection Policies and Procedures.

The addition of the athlete training represents the third and final phase of USA Swimming's online education launch. The education for athletes is optional, but strongly encouraged. 

In 2012, USA Swimming launched optional parent training for all parents of its 300,000 plus members. In 2011, the organization began mandatory online education for its 30,000 coaches, non-athlete members and volunteers. USA Swimming requires all non-athlete members to complete this training as a condition of membership.

”USA Swimming continues to demonstrate their leadership in youth sports and strong commitment to safety,” said Britt Darwin-Looney, Praesidium’s Director of Youth Development Services. “We are pleased with the partnership and effort to educate all of their membership in such a short period of time.”

For more information about USA Swimming’s Safe Sport program, visit www.usaswimming.org/protect.