The TACL model: A framework for safeguarding children with a disability in sport

This study represents the first investigation of how children with a disability can be safeguarded in Rugby Union. In study 1, a questionnaire containing quantitative questions was completed by 389 safeguarding volunteers regarding their experiences of working with a child with a disability in their role. Descriptive statistics revealed that 76% of this sample had worked with a child with a disability in Rugby Union and that 28% continue to do so on a weekly basis. In study 2, a qualitative survey was completed by 329 safeguarding volunteers and interviews were conducted with a geographically representative sample of 14 Safeguarding Officers. This study focused on developing a model of promising practice with respect to safeguarding children with a disability in Rugby Union. Based on an inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative survey and interview data, the TACL model was developed: Trigger (creating a system that sensitively identifies children with a disability), Action Plan (creating an individualized approach such that the child is effectively included and protected), Communicate (ensuring that all key stakeholders are informed about the plan) and Learn (ensuring that cases of good practice are identified and disseminated). The name TACL (pronounced tackle) was chosen to promote proactive strategies and to provide a label relevant to the language of Rugby Union. These strategies are proposed as the basis for the safeguarding of children with a disability

Evidencing the Need to Broaden the Position of Trust Legislation to Include Sports Coaches

When an individual is in a position of trust over another person, the age of consent is raised from 16 to 18 in the United Kingdom. Currently, the definition of a Position of Trust is restricted to professions such as teachers, care workers and youth justice workers. Recent high-profile cases have contributed to a growing consensus amongst key stakeholders of the need to broaden this legislation to include other roles, such as a sports coach. This study represents the first investigation into the number of concerns recorded by local authorities across England and Wales regarding sexual relationships between a person who is in a potential Position of Trust which is not currently covered by the legislation and someone who was aged 16 or 17 years old. Freedom of Information Requests resulted in full responses from 142 out of the 172 local authorities. A total of 653 cases were recorded over a 4-year period. The most prevalent of the identified roles were related to sport, however, roles related to religion, youth work, transport and uniform services were also cited. Regional differences regarding the number of cases recorded are highlighted and the implications of these findings are discussed

Rights-based policies for role-bearing people:Are geo-cultural norms a hindrance to cultivating safer sport?

Many (inter)national governments and sports organisations are implementing standardised Safe Sport policies and guidelines. However, the Western-born, rights-based norm that underlies Safe Sport can collide with pre-existing geo-sociocultural norms of local contexts. Drawing from a case study of South Korea's elite sport pathway where tightened regulations on abuse challenge the long-lasting relational hierarchy based on Confucianism, this paper examines how athletes and coaches manoeuvre within the fast-changing social order shaped by the new safeguarding policies and practices. Analysing data from semi-structured interviews with 48 participants around two Elite Sports Schools, the paper shows that the rights-based norm integral to Safe Sport is sifted through the Confucian hierarchy, generating two main shifts respectively in coaches’ roles (from caring disciplinarians to professional service providers) and senior athletes’ (from potential abusers to benevolent superiors). That is, individual actors re-script their relational template by negotiating between the familiar and new relational ethics. From this, the paper suggests that Safe Sport is not a straightforward process of modernising less advanced practices up to a certain standard; it requires understanding how individuals make sense of the process in their own socio-cultural contexts

Comparing the strategies used to maintain the coach-athlete relationship in Japan and the United Kingdom

The present study explored the strategies used to maintain the quality of the coach-athlete relationship amongst rowers in Japan and the United Kingdom. A total of 93 athletes from Japan (N = 49) and UK (N = 44) completed the Coach Athlete Relationship Maintenance Questionnaire (CARM-Q) and the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ). The results of T-tests showed that (a) university rowers in the UK were significantly more satisfied with the coach-athlete relationship than those in Japan; (b) the athletes in Japan expressed higher scores on Preventative strategies than the ones in the UK; (c) the athletes in the UK expressed higher scores on all other CARM-Q subscales with the exception of Social Networks. The results of correlation analyses revealed positive associations between the use of maintenance strategies and athlete satisfaction. These findings evidence the importance of coaches using strategies to maintain the effectiveness of their relationship with athletes as well as the importance of researchers taking cultural factors into account

Good use, non-use and misuse:safe sport reporting systems in context

Reporting systems constitute an essential part of today’s safe sport initiatives across the world. Informed by literature on reporting wrongdoings in organisational contexts and a political sociology approach to policy instrumentation, this article examines how abuse reporting systems are utilised in youth high-performance sport environments. Drawing from 51 interviews with both user and provider groups of South Korea’s reporting facilities, the results offer three main uses of the country’s safe sport reporting mechanisms: (1) ‘good use’ that relies on their communicative capacity to signal changing organisational culture; (2) ‘non-use’ that derives not only from the fear of reprisals, but from more subtle relational and situational concerns, such as teams’ dissolution; and (3) ‘misuse’ of the systems as a tool to advance individual agendas as opposed to protecting victims. The findings of this study not only provide evidence for both positive and perverse effects of safe sport reporting facilities per se, but also illuminate the importance of social and institutional conditions that can both enable and constrain this newly implemented policy measure for athlete safeguarding

Crossing the line: conceptualising and rationalising bullying and banter in male adolescent community football

This study investigates how bullying and banter are conceptualised and rationalised by those in male adolescent community football. The authors employ a social constructivist, interpretative phenomenological analysis approach using qualitative, semi-structured interviews. These methods explore the meanings behind the perceptions and experiences of male players (N = 8, M age = 15.4) and coaches (N = 4, M age = 39). Evidence demonstrated that intent was not synonymous with bullying and that bullying and banter behaviours are highly ambiguous depending on the shared understanding of learned barriers despite participants concurring with most aspects of the definitions. Moreover, banter and bullying behaviours in community football have been experienced by participants, with acts being rationalised through moral disengagement and hypermasculinity. The research indicates that although bullying and banter are conceptualised similarly to popular definitions, concrete definitions may be limited due to the fluid nature of bullying and banter and the influence of shared social understandings. Additionally, the findings gathered show bullying and banter being experienced and rationalised in male youth community sport through moral disengagement and masculinity. The implications of these findings for safeguarding players and coaches in community football are discussed

Developing guidelines for selection-deselection in high performance sport for athletes, coaches, and organisations: A delphi study

The process of athlete selection and deselection in sport involves not only athletes but also coaches, managers, performance directors, talent pathway coordinators and the wider organisation. Athlete selection and deselection can be viewed as the opposite sides of the same coin in that the process may be the same for all athletes but the outcome is very different. The outcome of this process can evoke extremely powerful emotions ranging from elevation to devastation. While selection and deselection are part of competitive sport regardless of type, level, gender or age, research is scarce. Employing the Delphi method, a total of 20 participants comprised the expert panel (coaches, athletes and other key personnel in high performance) from various sports, and ages ranged from 21 to 59 years old. Following three rounds, 60 items reached the pre-determined consensus level of 75%. The 60 items were then further content analysed and grouped with respect to the three key stakeholders: athlete (14), coach (21) and organisation (25). Within each of these categories, subcategories emerged: personal, interpersonal, procedural, educational, supportive, communicative and reviewing behaviours and actions that athletes, coaches and organisations can take to ease the navigation, apply consistency and establish a common ground during this challenging situation.</p

Initial evidence for the criterion-related and structural validity of the long versions of the direct and meta-perspectives of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 Taylor & Francis.The aim of the present study was to develop and initially validate a longer version of the direct (Jowett & Ntoumanis, 2004) and meta-perspectives (Jowett, 2009a, 2009b) of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q). In Study 1, instruments (e.g. questionnaires, scales, and inventories) that have been used to assess relationship quality in the broader psychological literature were examined and items potentially relevant to the coach-athlete relationship were identified. The content validity of the identified items was then assessed using expert panels. A final questionnaire was subsequently prepared and administered to 693 participants (310 coaches and 383 athletes). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess the multidimensional nature of the questionnaire based on the 3Cs (i.e. closeness, commitment, and complementarity) model of the coach-athlete relationship. The findings indicated that the direct and meta-perspective items of the long versions of the CART-Q approached an adequate data fit. Moreover, evidence for the internal consistency and criterion validity of the new instruments was also obtained. In Study 2, the newly developed measure was administered to an independent sample of 251 individuals (145 athletes and 106 coaches). Further statistical support was gained for the factorial validity and reliability of the longer version of the CART-Q