A Touchy Subject: The Impact of Child Safeguarding Regulations on Youth Swimming Coaches

1. A Touchy Subject: The Impact of Child Safeguarding Regulations on Youth Swimming Coaches Dr. Melanie Lang, Edge Hill University Child Safeguarding in Swimming What The Coaches Said 1 3 The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) introduced a child safeguarding strategy aimed at protecting its members in 1996. Since then, several high-profile cases of child abuse within and outside of sport have led scholars to argue we now live in an era in which social anxiety about child abuse has become a ‘moral I’m not a menace to society and I resent being made to feel as though I am. I resent being told how I can and can’t coach. It’s totally wrong. ... it put issues up where they possibly shouldn’t be. Those issues have always been there but now they’re major, you know, you can’t touch them, you can’t do this, you can’t do that. It drives you mad. I only feel like I can touch people with kickboards not my hands and I think that’s very sad. It’s protecting yourself rather than the children. It’s very difficult now to be a coach. You just touch their hand or their arm to point things out but you make sure you do it in view of everyone. One wrong move or comment and that’s it: Career over. Some swimmers come up to me and give me a hug and I’m like ‘wooaaah!’ You want to congratulate them but you’re so scared of what people are gonna think so I don’t do it now. You’ve got to be so careful about how you handle a kid ‘cos people jump to the wrong conclusion. Everybody is just ready for suing each other, aren’t they? Picture credit: Jennifer Bradford panic,’ with safety from abuse defining every act of adult-child touch as suspicious. As a result, an increasing amount of attention is being paid to adult-child interaction, although little attention has so far been paid to the impact of such an environment on sports coaches and their practice. Methods 2 I don’t want to be misinterpreted but I can’t be doing with all the regulations. I’ve known coaches say ‘I’m not going down that road anymore, I’m packing in.’ They’re afraid to do things that are part of their job. To explore competitive youth swimming coaches’ perceptions and opinions of the ASA’s child safeguarding strategy and the impact of this on their practice, I observed 13 coaches of 17 If a swimmer’s done well and you’re pleased for them, in the past you’d give them a hug. Now you can’t. I watch what I do. I worry about being accused of something. It can end your career. competitive squads at three ASA-affiliated swim clubs in the north. Observations were followed by interviews with 12 of these coaches. All were ASA qualified and four were women. What Does This Mean For Coaching? 4 Working in an environment where they are under constant scrutiny/suspicion could prompt good coaches to leave the sport. Moreover, the estrangement created between coach and athlete denies adults and children a fulfilling, rewarding professional relationship. Picture credit: Melanie Lang Dr. Melanie Lang, Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University Langm@edgehill.ac.uk