COACHES

• Respect the rights and worth of every person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.
• Be reasonable in your demands on players’ time, energy and enthusiasm.
• Avoid over-playing the talented players, the “just average” players need and deserve equal time.
• Remember that players participate for fun and enjoyment.
• Ensure that equipment and facilities meet safety standards and are appropriate to the age and ability of the players.
• Take into consideration the maturity level of the players, when scheduling and determining the length of practice times and competition.
• Develop team respect for the ability of opponents as well as for the judgement of officials and opposing coaches.
• Follow the advice of a physician when determining when an injured player is ready to recommence training or competition.
• Keep yourself informed of the sound coaching principles and the principles of growth and development of players.
• Create opportunities to teach appropriate sports behaviour as well basic skills.
• Ensure that skill learning and appropriate sports behaviour have priority over highly structured competitions for young players.
• Help players understand the responsibilities and implications of their freedom to choose between fair and unfair play.
• Wherever practical, avoid unaccompanied and unobserved one on one activity (when in a supervisory capacity or where a power imbalance will exist) with people under the age of 18 years.
• All coaches will adhere to accreditation standards as set down by the EFL.

ADMINISTRATORS/OFFICIALS

• Respect the rights and worth of every person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.
• Ensure that equal opportunities for participation in sports are made available to all players, regardless of ability, size, shape, sex (for females under 14), age, disability or ethnic origin.
• Ensure that rules, equipment, length of games and training schedules take into consideration the age, ability and maturity level of participating players.
• Ensure that adequate supervision is provided by qualified and competent coaches and officials capable of developing appropriate sports behaviour and skill technique.
• Remember that players participate for enjoyment and play down the importance of rewards.
• Provide clinics aimed at improving the standards of coaching and officiating, with an emphasis on appropriate behaviour and skill technique.
• Ensure that parents, coaches, sponsors, physicians and participants understand their responsibilities regarding fair play.
• Modify rules and regulations to match the skill level of players and their needs.
• Condemn unsporting behaviour and promote respect for all opponents.
• Publicly encourage rule changes which will reinforce the principles of participation for fun and enjoyment.
• Ensure that your behaviour is consistent with the principles of good sporting behaviour.
• Make a personal commitment to keep yourself informed of sound officiating principles and the principles of growth and development of players.

PARENTS/SPECTATORS

• Respect the rights and worth of every person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.
• Encourage players to participate, if they are interested.
• Encourage players to always participate according to the rules.
• Never ridicule or yell at a player for making a mistake or losing the game.
• Remember that players learn best from example. Applaud good plays by all teams.
• If you disagree with an official, raise the issue through the appropriate channels rather than questioning the official’s judgement and honesty in public.
• Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from sporting activities.
• Recognise the value and importance of volunteer coaches.
• Remember that children play organised sports for fun. They are not playing for the entertainment to spectators only, nor are they miniature professionals.
• Condemn the use of violence in any form, be it by spectators, coaches, officials or players.
• Encourage players to follow the rules and the officials’ decisions.
• Demonstrate appropriate social behaviour by not using foul language, harassing players, coaches or officials.

PLAYERS

• Respect the rights and worth of every person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.
• Play by the rules.
• Never argue with an official. If you disagree, discuss the matter with your coach.
• Control your temper. Verbal abuse of officials or other players, or provoking an opponent is not acceptable.

• Work equally hard for yourself and/or for your team. Your team’s performance will benefit, so will you.
• Be a good sport. Applaud all good plays whether they be by your team, opponent or the other team.
• Treat all players as you would like to be treated. Do not interfere with, bully or take unfair advantage of another player.
• Co-operate with your coach, team mates and opponents. Without them there would be no competition.
• Play for the “fun of it” and not just to please parents and coaches.
• Avoid using derogatory language.

Note: Codes of Conduct are part of the National Football Policy provided by the Australian Football League.

Rationale
Kilsyth Junior Football Club recognises that:
• Environmental (second-hand) tobacco smoke is a health hazard and that non-smokers should be protected from it.
• Role modelling can have a significant impact upon the junior members of the club.
• Smoke free areas make smoking less visible and less socially acceptable.
• Smoke free areas support smokers who are trying to quit as well as reduce their overall cigarette consumption.
• Outdoor smoke free areas help to reduce the amount of cigarette butt litter (reducing clean-up costs, fire risk and children’s health risk due to swallowing discarded butts).
• Smoke free environments are advantageous in attracting new members as well as positively promoting the club in the community.

New Victorian legislation (Tobacco Amendment Act 2013) also bans smoking within 10 metres of a sporting venue that is an outdoor public place during underage (U18) competitions, training or practice sessions or any break or interval during these underage activities.

Accordingly, the following policy shall apply to all members, administrators, officials, coaches, players, spectators, visitors and other volunteers and/or or staff of the club.

General
• Cigarettes and other tobacco products will not be sold, including from vending machines, at any time at or by the club.
• Coaches, players, officials and volunteers will refrain from smoking while involved in an official capacity for the club, on and off the field.
• No images of club volunteers, members, officials, coaches and players smoking at club-related activities are to be placed on social media.

Smoke Free Areas
The Kilsyth Junior Football Club requires the following areas of the club’s facility and surrounds to be smoke free:
• All indoor areas
• All outdoor playing/training areas
• All spectator areas (standing and seated, covered and uncovered)
• All canteen, catering and eating and drinking areas
• All areas where children are present.

Smoke free areas will be signed (where possible) and promoted in club materials.

Functions
• Club functions, including social and fundraising events and meetings, held at club facilities are to be smoke free.
• Club functions, including social and fundraising events and meetings, held away from club facilities are to be smoke free wherever possible.
• If provided, smokers may only smoke at outdoor designated smoking areas and are to dispose of cigarette butts safely before entering facilities.

Non-compliance
All club committee members will enforce the smoke free policy and any non-compliance will be handled according to the following process:
• Explanation of the club policy and the Victorian tobacco laws to the person/people concerned, including identification of the areas in which smoking is permitted
• Continued non-compliance with the policy should be handled by at least two committee members who will use their discretion as to the action taken, which may include asking the person/ people to leave the club facilities or function.

Policy Promotion
The club will promote the smoke free policy regularly by:
• Putting a copy of the policy in club newsletters and printed member/player information and on the website.
• Promoting positive smoke free messages through the club’s social media.
• Displaying a copy of the policy in the club social rooms.
• Periodic announcements to members at functions.
• Placing non-smoking signage in prominent locations both indoors and outdoors.

The club recognises the importance of educating club members, particularly players, of the benefits of implementing a smoke free policy and will endeavour to provide information to assist this process.

This policy provides the basis for the responsible use of alcohol by the Kilsyth Junior Football Club and is seen as fundamental to the aims of the club.

The club recognises the importance of holding a liquor licence, enabling it to generate income and hold social functions. In doing so however, we accept the responsibilities and expectations of the community in adhering to liquor licensing laws and the criteria of the Good Sports program.

To ensure the aims of the club are upheld and that alcohol is managed responsibly by the club and its members, the following requirements will apply when alcohol is served at the club or during a club function.

Serving Alcohol
Alcohol will be served according to the legal and moral requirements of the club’s Liquor Licence with the safety and wellbeing of patrons as the priority.
• The club maintains a current appropriate Liquor Licence
• Only RSA trained personnel will serve alcohol
• People under 18 will not serve alcohol
• The club does not encourage excessive or rapid consumption of alcohol
• When serving non pre-packaged alcohol, standard drink measures will be served at all times
• The club’s Liquor Licence and all legal signage will be displayed at the bar
• Names of RSA trained bar personnel will be displayed
• An incident register shall be maintained and any incident recorded

Intoxicated Patrons
• Drunk patrons will not be permitted to enter the premises
• Alcohol will not be served to any person who is drunk and/or behaving in an inappropriate or anti-social manner
• Bar personnel will follow RSA training procedures when refusing service
• Drunk patrons will be asked to leave the premises (after appropriate safe transport options are offered)

Underage Drinking
• Alcohol will not be served to persons aged under 18
• Bar personnel and committee members will ask for proof of age whenever necessary or whenever in doubt
• Only photo ID’s will be accepted as ‘proof of age’

Alcohol Alternatives
The club recognises that alcohol is not the only revenue stream available and actively encourages the sales of alternative products to that of alcohol.
• Tap water is provided free of charge (where available)
• One low-alcoholic drink and at least four non-alcoholic drink options are always available and are at least 10% cheaper than full-strength alcoholic drinks
• Substantial food is available when the bar is open for more than 90 minutes or more than 15 people are present
• The club will avoid using alcohol for player awards and fundraising prizes

Safe Transport
The club has a (separate) Safe Transport Policy that is reviewed regularly in conjunction with this Alcohol Management Policy.

Smoke-Free
The club has a (separate) Smoke Free Policy that is reviewed regularly in conjunction with this Alcohol Management Policy.

Club Trips
The club will monitor and ensure any club trips, particularly end of season player trips, strictly adhere to responsible behaviour and alcohol consumption in accordance with the principles of this policy and the aims of the club.

Non Compliance
All club committee members will enforce the alcohol management policy and any non-compliance, particularly in relation to Licencing Laws and will be handled according to the following process:
• Explanation of the club policy to the person(s) concerned, including identification of the section of policy not being complied with, and
• Continued non-compliance with the policy should be handled by at least two committee members who will use their discretion as to the action taken, which may include asking the person(s) to leave the club facilities or function

Committee Policy Management
The presence of committee members is essential to ensure the operation of the bar and compliance with this policy. At least two committee members who are RSA trained are required to be present at all club functions when the bar is open.

Key responsibilities of the duty committee members are to:
• Meet visiting police, cooperate and assist with any inquiries,
• Compliance in respect of persons under 18 years of age on premises,
• Recording any incidents in the incident register, and
• Ensuring strict compliance with all sections of this policy in accordance with legal requirements and the Good Sports program.

Policy Promotion
The Club will promote the alcohol management policy regularly by:
• Putting a copy of the policy in club communications, eg. newsletters, website and printed member/ player information,
• Displaying a copy of the policy in the club social rooms, and
• Periodic announcements to members at functions.

The Club recognises the importance of educating club members, particularly players, about the benefits of an alcohol management policy and will endeavour to provide information to assist this process.

The Club will actively participate in the Australian Drug Foundation’s Good Sports program with an ongoing priority to maintain Level 3 accreditation.

Our commitment
Electronic communication is essential for sharing club news and information with our members. Our communication will be timely, appropriate and related to club business.
What we will do
We use a range of electronic tools to communicate with our members.
Our communication will protect members’ privacy, maintain clear boundaries and ensure that bullying and harassment does not occur.
A webmaster will be appointed to provide accountability and control over material published on our club’s website and any related discussion groups or social media websites, such as Facebook, YouTube or Twitter.
Website / Club App
• Our website/app will include current information on competitions, social events, committees, policies, constitution, rules and by-laws.
• No offensive content or photos will be published.
• If we intend to publish a photo of a child, we will first seek permission from his or her parents and take care not to provide identifying information.
• We will seek feedback from members to improve the information available on the site.
SMS and email
Committee members, coaches and team managers may use SMS and email to provide information about competition, training, club-sanctioned social events and other club business, however:
• SMS messages should be short and about club/team matters
• email communication will be used when more information is required
• communication involving children will be directed through their parents.
Social media websites
• We treat all social media postings, blogs, status updates and tweets as public ‘comment’.
• Postings (written, photos or videos) will be family-friendly and feature positive club news and events. (Please refer to our guidelines regarding the use of images of children).
• No personal information about our members will be disclosed.
• No statements will be made that are misleading, false or likely to injure a person’s reputation.
• No statements will be made that might bring our club into disrepute.
• Abusive, discriminatory, intimidating or offensive statements will not be tolerated. Offending posts will be removed and those responsible will be blocked from the site.
What we ask you to do
We expect our members to conduct themselves appropriately when using electronic communication to share information with other members or posting material on public websites connected to the club.
Electronic communication:
• should be restricted to club matters
• must not offend, intimidate, humiliate or bully another person
• must not be misleading, false or injure the reputation of another person
• should respect and maintain the privacy of members
• must not bring the club into disrepute.
Coaches and others who work with children and young people must direct electronic communication through the child’s parents.
Non-compliance
Members may face disciplinary action for sending inappropriate electronic communication or posting online content or comments that harass, offend, intimidate or humiliate another member, as outlined in our member protection policy or code of conduct.
Under certain circumstances, cyber bullying (e.g. bullying that is carried out through an internet service such as email, a chat room, discussion group, instant messaging or website) is a criminal offence that can be reported to the police.
In addition, members who publish false or misleading comments about another person in the public domain (e.g., Facebook, YouTube or Twitter) may be liable for defamation.

Images of children
The Law
In Australia, generally speaking, there is no law restricting photography of people (including children) in public spaces as long as the images are not:
• indecent (such as ‘up skirt’ or ‘downblouse’ photographs taken covertly in change rooms or toilets)

• being used for voyeurism or made for the purpose of observing and visually recording a person’s genital or anal region

• protected by a court order (eg. child custody or witness protection)

• defamatory

• being for commercial purposes (person’s likeness is used to endorse or entice people to buy a product).

Photos of a child (including your own child) also contravene Criminal Codes and censorship laws if the child is photographed in a provocative or sexual manner.

Where a sporting event is held on a club’s private property, privately owned land, a school or council owned facilities, the owner of private property or venue is able to restrict, ban or require permission of photography anywhere in their venue (e.g. some council owned facilities will not allow mobile phones or cameras in change rooms or toilets). Where a sporting event is held on private property not owned by the organisers, it is good practice to determine a mutually agreed photographing policy.

If a person is taking photographs inappropriately (e.g. breaching the restrictions or ban in place for that private property or venue), then venue management can request the person to stop. If the person refuses, the police or security may be called to escort them off the property.

Strategies set down by Kilsyth Junior Football Club – Acquiring Images
• Do not allow photographers (professional photographers, spectators, fans, coaches or members of the media) unsupervised access to children.

• Ensure the coach informs any athlete and parent(s) if the coach wants to video the athlete as a tool to analyse and improve performance.

• Obtain permission from the child’s parent/guardian prior to taking the images of a child or young person. Ensure that all concerned are aware of the way in which the image is to be used and how long the image will be displayed.

• Obtain the consent of parent /guardian and their agreement to be present before approving photo/video sessions outside the event venue or at the home of a child. Where possible, have the photo taken at the event venue.

• Provide details of who to contact within the club or organisation if concerns or complaints of inappropriate behaviour in taking images or content are raised. Ensure that the contact person understands the application of relevant legislation and policies.

Strategies set down by Kilsyth Junior Football Club – Displaying images
• If an image is used avoid naming the child. If this is not possible avoid using both a first name and surname.

• Avoid displaying personal information such as residential address, email address or telephone numbers if images are being posted on websites or distributed in publications.

• Do not display information about hobbies, likes/dislikes, school, etc as this information has the potential to be used as grooming tools by paedophiles or other persons.

• Only use appropriate images of the child, relevant to the sport or activity, and ensure that the athlete/child is suitably clothed. Images of athletes participating in sports or activities that involve minimal clothing (e.g. swimming and gymnastics) or unusual body positions/poses could potentially be misused.

• Reduce the ability for direct copying of pictures from a website to another source (i.e. disable the ‘right mouse click’ function).

• Clearly outline in a written contract to photographers who are contracted or paid to take photos, who will retain the images taken, include arrangements made for negatives, digital file and proofs and outline any restrictions for use and sale.

• Provide details of who to contact and what to do if concerns or complaints of inappropriate image use are raised.

This policy aims to provide a basis for the responsible use and/or non-use of alcohol by the Kilsyth Junior Football Club and to avoid any incidents as people travel to or from the club and its events.

The Club understands and accepts its responsibility to the safety of our members and friends. The following requirements will apply when alcohol is served, either at the club or during a club function.

• Bar staff shall encourage members and visitors to make alternate safe transport arrangements if they are considered to exceed .05 blood alcohol concentration (or .00 if probationary driver)
• Telephone calls will be made free of charge to arrange a taxi or other transport
• Contact telephone numbers for taxi services will be clearly displayed
• Bar servers will be provided non-alcoholic drinks and bar food free of charge by the club (only for club bar staff)
• Committee will pre-order taxis to arrive at the venue at the conclusion of the function.

Recruitment and Selection Policy

Reviewed: September 2017

Objective: Policy is to provide a club position on the approach to recruitment and selection of players at Kilsyth Junior Football Club

Key Outcomes:

• Increase total number of players at Kilsyth Junior Football Club
• Improve the playing standard at Kilsyth Junior Football CLub
• Reduce the loss of players going to play a higher standard of football
• Deliver players into Senior Club with capacity to play Senior Football at Kilsyth
• Provide clarity of approach for players, parents and coaches

Background information:

• For safety & developmental reasons, all players are to register and play in their age group. Any player who has played in an older age group will not automatically be permitted to play in the subsequent year. Players will be only allowed to play up an age group in special circumstances at the discretion of the committee.
• Age groups have been defined into 3 categories; non-competitive (Under 8-10), development (Under 11-13) and competitive (Under 14-17).
• EFL guidelines allow that teams have a total of 26 players registered in each team for U8-U15. Under 17 can register a total of 30 players but only 24 can be selected each week with others being rostered off as required.
• Players are to be financial members to be eligible for selection.

Under 8-10

• Development approach with focus on skills and working together. PLayers play the same amount of game time and are provided with opportunity to play all positions.
• Registration to remain open 3 weeks from the commencement of the season. At that time we can determine total number of players and teams
• Club will take a first in approach to registration and selection

Under 11-13

• Development remains the key outcome though there is a move towards the competitive environment. Players continue to play the same game time though positions may become selective into Under 13 age group.
• Registration to remain open 3 weeks from the commencement of the season. At that time we can determine total numbers of players and teams.
• Club will undertake a review of the playing list in order to select based on club engagement, teamwork, effort and capability.
• Selection of finals will be based on providing best opportunity for success.

Under 14-17

• Improve the playing standard of teams with a view to select sides and playing positions based on capability.
• Registration to remain open 3 weeks from the commencement of the season. At that time we can determine total numbers of players and teams.
• Selection of finals will be based on providing best opportunity for success