USASF Professional Responsibility Code 2019-2020 9.0 | Page 33

The U.S. All Star Federation requires that all Member
Organizations adopt a clear and concise policy regarding
electronic communication. It is evident that electronic
communication has significant positive benefits, but we must address
the availability it yields for an adult with inappropriate intentions
to breach an athlete’s rights of privacy and their physical and
emotional safety. In order to fully protect the Athlete Members we
serve, a clear policy and written expectations about using electronic
communications should be available and implemented by every U.S.
All Star Federation Member Organization.
Member Organizations may either use their existing policy or
create their own policy. If they do neither, the model policy created
by the U.S. All Star Federation will become the default Electronic
Communication Policy for the Member Organization. Athletes,
parents, coaches and adults associated with the Member Organization
must read and accept the Policy, whether it be the organization’s
policy or the default policy.
Every member organization has the responsibility for the
implementation of an Electronic Communication Policy.
The Electronic Communication Policy is available for our members to
utilize in order to establish clear boundaries.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION POLICY
As part of the U.S. All Star Federation’s emphasis on safety and
athlete protection, communications involving any participant, and
especially our minor participants, should be appropriate, productive,
and transparent. Effective communication concerning travel, practice
or competition schedules, and administrative issues among coaches,
administrators, participants and their families is critical. However,
the use of mobile devices, web-based applications, social media, and
other forms of electronic communications increases the possibility
for improprieties and misunderstandings and also provides potential
offenders with unsupervised and potentially inappropriate access to
participants. The improper use of social media, mobile and electronic
communications can result in misconduct. Adherence to the
Electronic Communications Policy helps reduce these risks.
This policy is designed specifically for U.S. All Star Federation
Members for the protection of athletes.
The following are considered adults:
1. Any person, 18 years of age or older affiliated with the
program, that has a role within the program that does or could
have interaction with participants.
2. Any adult athletes (as defined in the PRC) that is a member
of the program that may train within the program or be a
member of a team.
This includes, but is not limited to, program owners, coaches,
choreographers, photographers, team parents, adult age participant
and employees of the member organization.
All electronic communication between coach and participant must be
for the purpose of communicating information about team activities.
Coaches, participants and all team personnel must follow common
sense guidelines regarding the volume and time of day of any
allowed electronic communication. All content between coaches and
participants should be readily available to share with the public or
families of the participant or coach. If the participant is under the age
of 18, any email, text, social media, or similar communication must
also copy or include the participant’s parents.
APPENDIX C - ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION POLICY
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media makes it easy to share ideas and experiences. The U.S.
All Star Federation recognizes, however, that social media, mobile
and other electronic communications can be especially concerning
where minor participants are involved. It is strongly recommended
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