Safeguarding issues in sport

01/12/2016

There have been multiple reports in the press and media about safeguarding issues in sport.

The British Wrestling Association would like to assure our members that we are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable people in Wrestling.

British Wrestling has worked closely with the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) and NSPCC to develop policies and procedures to safeguard children and vulnerable people and these policies and procedures have been reviewed in 2016.

British Wrestling currently holds the NSPCC & CPSU’s National Advanced Standard for safeguarding and protecting children in sport.

This is a timely moment to emphasise the type of behaviours and processes required to ensure children and vulnerable people are safe in our sport. As with all sports, it is important that all of our members, volunteers and accompanying parents remain vigilant and report any concerns, so that they can be responded to swiftly, fairly and appropriately.

British Wrestling’s policies and procedures, that set out the key principles as well as providing best practice guidance, can be found here (link).

British Wrestling will continue to work closely with all our clubs and statutory agencies to ensure that the safeguarding of children remains a top priority.

Useful contact numbers and links are as follows: –

Further information on the NSPCC and the CPSU: (link)
Advice is available for parents and carers to keep their children safe in sport (link)
Tel: 0800 1111 Help for children & young people NSPCC Childline
Tel: 0808 800 5000 Help for adults NSPCC
Tel: 01246 236443 BWA Lead Safeguarding Officer, Yvonne Ball

Part of the reason of having effective policy and procedures is that any allegation, suspicion of harm or concern is taken seriously and responded to swiftly, fairly and appropriately.

We endeavour to be vigilant and we hope that reports in the press and media about safeguarding issues in sport in recent weeks will have further encouraged any athlete who has suffered in the past or is suffering now, to speak out and seek help.
British Wrestling depends on the adults who actively volunteer in Wrestling Clubs up and down the country to make sure that young people in their care are safe while enjoying all the benefits we know Wrestling brings.