I am looking for information on how to become more involved in the age-group swimming community, i.e., becoming an official or working at a swim meet, etc.
I don't have children, so I don't know the first thing about what I should do and I did not find any useful information on the U.S. Swimming website.
Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by nkfrench
Finally - some people will be suspicious of a strange adult who wishes to volunteer around children in swimsuits. It's a strange world in which we live and athlete safety is a growing concern.
Luckily, we don't have any strange adults in USMS! ;)
But some people will be suspicious of any adult who wishes to work (on a volunteer basis or for money) around children (whether they're wearing swimsuits or not). In fact, if you're going to work with kids, particularly if none of the kids you work with are your own, I think you need to accept the fact that sooner or later somebody is going to suspect you of being a pedophile. It won't be fun when it happens, but if you can't live with it, go into some other kind of work (seriously)!
Keep in mind that someone who tutors kids in school or works with handicapped kids is in a significantly different role than an official at a swim meet, so the safety concerns are going to be very different. (Realistically, how much opportunity is there going to be for an official at a meet to molest a kid?) Let the organization tell you what safety concerns it has and what you need to do to satisfy them.
Things may vary depending on where you live, but in my area, I've never heard of any organization requiring an individual to get a "criminal clearance" before applying. It's more standard, in my experience, for the organization to want to do a criminal background check themselves. But the bottom line is: Let the organization tell you what you need to do to satisfy any concerns it may have.
Bob
Originally posted by nkfrench
Finally - some people will be suspicious of a strange adult who wishes to volunteer around children in swimsuits. It's a strange world in which we live and athlete safety is a growing concern.
Luckily, we don't have any strange adults in USMS! ;)
But some people will be suspicious of any adult who wishes to work (on a volunteer basis or for money) around children (whether they're wearing swimsuits or not). In fact, if you're going to work with kids, particularly if none of the kids you work with are your own, I think you need to accept the fact that sooner or later somebody is going to suspect you of being a pedophile. It won't be fun when it happens, but if you can't live with it, go into some other kind of work (seriously)!
Keep in mind that someone who tutors kids in school or works with handicapped kids is in a significantly different role than an official at a swim meet, so the safety concerns are going to be very different. (Realistically, how much opportunity is there going to be for an official at a meet to molest a kid?) Let the organization tell you what safety concerns it has and what you need to do to satisfy them.
Things may vary depending on where you live, but in my area, I've never heard of any organization requiring an individual to get a "criminal clearance" before applying. It's more standard, in my experience, for the organization to want to do a criminal background check themselves. But the bottom line is: Let the organization tell you what you need to do to satisfy any concerns it may have.
Bob
