Safe Sport
I feel the need to tackle this subject as its been in the spotlight since the first of the year when all competing members of USEF had to complete the training. It came back up after the USEF annual meeting.
I have plans to compete this year and I am a current USEF member, so I dutifully completed my Safe Sport training in December, before the deadline.
Now, let me say this first. I AM NOT OPPOSED TO THE PURPOSE OF SAFE SPORT. I am however, going to say that I am amazingly dissapointed in the execution of the Safe Sport training. As an amateur Dressage rider I was required to go through the projected hour and a half training (real time 2 hours). This is the exact same training that all IOC sports are having their coaches go through. I got to take the same training as soccer coaches for little girls! Can you guess the relevance of basically ANY of that information to me in my sport? If you guessed slim to none, you are correct! I was mostly just infuriated by the fact that I had to go through the whole process. I think its a great thing for coaches to go through, don't get me wrong, but it has no relevance to me in my participation of my sport. I also have an issue with the fact that all competitors are required to take it but competition staff have no requirements to complete it. Chances are, the juniors have more power play interactions with the ring crew than amateur riders. Just food for thought...
When Safe Sport training was announced and then required I was holding out hope that there was going to be a second training that was aimed for juniors. So far, that has been no more than a wild, unrealized hope. I haven't heard the first mention of creating a training for juniors. I know that they are the ones who need protecting but shouldn't that protection include education? Obviously it has to be a separate training than what adults go through, but wouldn't that make the most sense to educate the juniors on what is and isn't OK and how adults around you have been trained on how to help you handle this but you have to tell them? Why is this not happening?!
I am not saying that this is a useless endeavor. I think it is a noble cause but the current execution of it is trash.
I have plans to compete this year and I am a current USEF member, so I dutifully completed my Safe Sport training in December, before the deadline.
Now, let me say this first. I AM NOT OPPOSED TO THE PURPOSE OF SAFE SPORT. I am however, going to say that I am amazingly dissapointed in the execution of the Safe Sport training. As an amateur Dressage rider I was required to go through the projected hour and a half training (real time 2 hours). This is the exact same training that all IOC sports are having their coaches go through. I got to take the same training as soccer coaches for little girls! Can you guess the relevance of basically ANY of that information to me in my sport? If you guessed slim to none, you are correct! I was mostly just infuriated by the fact that I had to go through the whole process. I think its a great thing for coaches to go through, don't get me wrong, but it has no relevance to me in my participation of my sport. I also have an issue with the fact that all competitors are required to take it but competition staff have no requirements to complete it. Chances are, the juniors have more power play interactions with the ring crew than amateur riders. Just food for thought...
When Safe Sport training was announced and then required I was holding out hope that there was going to be a second training that was aimed for juniors. So far, that has been no more than a wild, unrealized hope. I haven't heard the first mention of creating a training for juniors. I know that they are the ones who need protecting but shouldn't that protection include education? Obviously it has to be a separate training than what adults go through, but wouldn't that make the most sense to educate the juniors on what is and isn't OK and how adults around you have been trained on how to help you handle this but you have to tell them? Why is this not happening?!
I am not saying that this is a useless endeavor. I think it is a noble cause but the current execution of it is trash.
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