Coaches and officials
Dealing with ethical issues is becoming a regular part of a coach’s duties. Increasingly, coaches are being required to deal with issues such as sportsmanship, team selections, drugs in sport, cheating, bullying, respect for officials, abuse of power, harassment and judging when an athlete should return to sport after an injury.
Officials (referees, judges, umpires and so on) are also increasingly facing ethical issues, particularly harassment in sport. As officials are often placed in the unenviable position of alienating 50% of the crowd and players at any given time, they can be subject to criticism, abuse and harassment. Officials can also have enormous influence over athletes, coaches and others in a game or event.
It is therefore essential that coaches and officials operate professionally and with integrity in their relationships with those who are participating in or associated with their sport.
This site provides information that will help coaches and officials to provide safe and supportive environments and to promote professionalism. To link to the information, click on the relevant heading under related links.
COACHING AND OFFICIATING UNIT - The ASC's Coaching and Officiating Unit provides national leadership, and works with national sporting organisations (NSOs) to develop sustainable levels of coaches and officials from the grass roots to elite level. Their site provides information and a range of resources for coaches and officials.
CHILD PROTECTION - Sport is a particularly vulnerable area for potential child abuse because it involves a large number of people under the age of 18, frequently involves overnight trips (e.g. training camps or competitions) and usually involves close relationships between adults and children, where the adults are in positions of trust and able to assert authority and power over children. The child protection section of the Ethics website provides a wealth of information on child protection in sport. Of particular relevance to coaches and officials is information on child protection strategies, training and education, and the child protection national overview. This paper summarises many issues relating to child protection in sport and includes information on indicators of child abuse, maintaining and managing boundaries and responding to a disclosure of child abuse.
CHILD PROTECTION LEGISLATION - Child protection legislation exists in several states in Australia and makes it mandatory for coaches, officials and others in sport to meet certain requirements. This site provides summaries of how state and territory child protection legislation impact on the sports industry.
HARASSMENT-FREE SPORT - Coaches and officials must not discriminate or harass others or be harassed or discriminated against on the grounds of race, colour or nationality; sex or gender; sexual or transgender orientation; pregnancy; marital or parental status; religious or political belief; social origin; age; or physical, mental or psychological disability. They must also be sensitive to how their behaviour is or might be received by others. For more information on anti-discrimination and harassment check out the harassment and discrimination section of the Ethics website.
INFORMATION SHEETS - Several of the harassment-free sport information sheets, are of particular interest to coaches and officials and cover issues such as intimate coach / athlete relationships, bullying and ethical rights and responsibilities - coaches and officials.
MEMBER PROTECTION - Member protection is a term used by the Australian sports industry to describe the practices and procedures that protect an organisation’s members. For more information, visit the member protection section of the Ethics website.
ANTI-DOPING - Under the World Anti-doping Code (Code), the use of drugs to enhance performance is prohibited in sport. Athletes, athlete support personnel (which includes coaches and officials) and sporting organisations all have responsibilities under the Code. These responsibilities and other information relating to anti-doping are provided in the anti-doping section of the Ethics website.
