Dear Staff and Membership : 

“Safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.”  Nelson Mandela

As we enter the 2022/2023 season we wanted to provide some reminders regarding SafeSport training.    The SafeSport training requirement became an annual training requirement beginning in 2018/2019 season.  With that being the case many of our Adult coaches will have to retake the SafeSport Core course as that is required every four years.  What is SafeSport ?  It is the Olympic community's initiative to recognize, reduce and respond to misconduct in sport.  The six primary types of misconduct are Bullying,  Harassment,  Hazing, Emotional misconduct, Physical Misconduct, and Sexual Misconduct (including child sex abuse).  SafeSport Core is the first required course in the ongoing training curriculum.  There will be refresher courses to follow each additional year.   In the new SportsEngine Member Management System the course is easily accessible by clicking on the link on the eligibility requirements you receive when an applicable membership with the requirement is purchased.    It can also be accessed by logging into your SportsEngine account at sportsengine.com and selecting Household on the left side menu, then your profile and view details on your membership.     

Who is required to take the Core Center for SafeSport Training?

• Any member who falls into the category of the required training (Club Director, Coach, Tourney Directors, Referee's, Organization Admins, team managers or chaperones, and other adult role that interacts with junior members). 
• Any junior member turning 18 during the season.    A 2021 Gateway Junior Players 18's membership should be purchased and that will have the SafeSport eligibility requirement.   It will have also have the parental consent for taking the course if they are not yet 18 taking.   Completing at beginning of season eliminates the having to be in a rush and tracking when they turn 18 and risk becoming ineligible during the season.  

Who is required to take the Refresher Courses :

• Any member who has taken the Core Center for SafeSport training and that has expired.  Each year there will be a Refresher so if previous year completed Refresher 1 the next year would be Refresher 2 and so on.  The core course will need to be retaken every four years. 

We are excited to announce enhancements to our SafeSport policy and education requirements as part of our continued commitment to safeguarding our athletes.

USA Volleyball’s top priority continues to be keeping our athletes safe. No form of abuse, including child sexual abuse, has a place in our sport. Under our leadership, this organization will continue to make abuse prevention and response an important piece of
everything we do.

USAV and the RVAA have been front-runners in implementing safety measures. Together we became one of the first NGBs to conduct background screens, implement proactive athlete safety policies and make athlete safety our number one priority. In
maintaining our commitment to safety, we are pleased to announce the adoption of the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP).

The enhancements stem from requirements imposed by the U.S. Center for SafeSport (the “Center”). As you know, the Center is the separate, independent organization that oversees all sexual misconduct reports in the Olympic and Para-Olympic movement as mandated by Congress. The Center is responsible for creating requirements in the areas of policy, education and training for every National Governing Body (NGB) in the Movement as authorized by the “Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and SafeSport Authorization Act of 2017”. As such, USA Volleyball, as an NGB, must follow the Center’s requirements.

MAAPP covers two critical areas, policies for limiting one-on-one interactions with minors and education/training.

Policy Changes
First, the Center requires every NGB to implement a Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (MAAPP) by June 23, 2019. This Policy addresses risk areas that present opportunities for abuse to occur.

The Policy covers six (6) areas:
1. One-on-One Interactions, including meetings and individual training sessions
2. Massages and Rubdowns/Athlete Training Modalities
3. Locker Rooms & Changing Areas
4. Social Media & Electronic Communication
5. Local Travel
6. Team Travel

MAAPP will apply to all Applicable Adults (including adult athletes) defined as those who interact with and have direct and frequent contact with minor athletes. Please note non-compliance with MAAPP is a violation of the U.S. Center for SafeSport Code. Violations may be reported at:  https://uscenterforsafesport.org/report-a-concern/

Education and Training Changes
Second, MAAPP requires regular and consistent training for all Applicable Adults (including adult athletes) who interact with and have direct and frequent contact with minor athletes. All  Applicable Adults will be required to complete training annually. Such training consists of “Core” SafeSport training followed by the U.S. Center for SafeSport Refresher course.

To review MAAPP online click on MAAPP - USA Volleyball

How to Complete SafeSport Training/Refresher Course for USA Volleyball

SafeSport Training needs to be completed once a year. After the first year, you will take the Refresher Courses until the process restarts in year 5.

• Year 1 - SafeSport Core 
• Year 2 - SafeSport Refresher 1
• Year 3 - SafeSport Refresher 2
• Year 4 - SafeSport Refresher 3
• Year 5 - Restart with SafeSport Core

SafeSport Core takes about 2 hours, which can be done all at once or at your leisure. SafeSport Refreshers take about 30 minutes. 

To get started, either open your Eligibility Email (sent after your Membership was purchased) and click on the Complete Certification link -- or -- navigate to MySE and click Complete Requirements.