Trinity Gardens Tennis Club: Junior Members Protection Policy (Version 1.0 March 2023)

At Trinity Gardens Tennis Club we take our duty of care to children and young people as well as their families seriously. 

We have formulated a Junior Members Protection Policy as outlined below.

Club Members Responsibilities

All parents, players, officials and administrators are required to read and familiarise themselves with the club’s code of conduct as set forth by Tennis SA. These are guidelines by which all members are bound.

https://www.tennis.com.au/about-tennis-australia/reports-and-policies/policies

and specifically the Tennis Australia document:-

Safeguarding Children Code of Conduct

All parents, players, officials and administrators are to be on the lookout for potential risks to the safety of our child members.  Do not hesitate to talk to our Child Protection Officer if you have any concerns.

If you are suspicious that a child has been abused or neglected, or at risk of that occurring, phone the Child Abuse report line on 13 14 78 and then make the club aware of your concerns by contacting the Child Protection Officer. Every member has a responsibility to be up to date with our reporting and complaint handling process.

Recruitment and Screening

Current DHS Screening Unit - Working With Children Checks as well as SAPOL “Police Checks” are required for all Trinity Gardens Tennis Club;  Coaches (Anything Tennis), Junior Co-ordinators, Child Protection Officer, match supervisors and all Committee Members.

If the DHS WWC reveals that the person has been found guilty of any criminal offence, whether or not a conviction is recorded, the following requirements apply: Regardless of when the offence occurred, if it involved an offence of violence, abuse or assault against a child, murder or a Serious Sex Offence (as defined in the current Tennis Australia Member Protection Policy) then:

(i)     In the case of a Preferred Appointee, the person must not be appointed.

(ii)    In the case of an Existing Appointee, subject to obtaining appropriate legal advice beforehand the appointment of the person should be ended.

Harassment, Child Abuse and Discrimination

1. Harassment, Abuse, Child Abuse, Discrimination and Vilification are unlawful and prohibited and constitute an offence under this Policy.
2. Harassment is any unwelcome behaviour which if offensive, abusive, belittling or threatening to a person.  It can be expressed or implied, physical, verbal or non- verbal.  Whether or not the behaviour is Harassment is determined from the point of view of the person receiving the behaviour, assessed objectively.  That is, it must be behaviour that a reasonable person with those characteristics would find unwelcome.  It does not matter whether or not the person harassing intended to offend or not.  Harassment includes sexual Harassment, Abuse and Discrimination.
3. For definition and examples of Harassment behaviours please refer to Clause 11 in the Members Protection Policy outlined by Tennis Australia (Click here )
4. Where an allegation of Child Abuse has been reported, the Child Protection Officer must immediately report any incident to the police and other relevant government agency
5. Somerton Park Tennis Club will take all necessary steps to ensure that people involved in a complaint are not victimised by anyone for coming forward with a complaint or for providing assistance in relation to a complaint.  Victimisation is considered a Harassment behaviour and therefore will not be tolerated by the club.

Social Networking

1. Social Networking refers to any interactive website or technology that enables persons to communicate and/or share content via the internet.
2. The expectation is that members of Trinity Gardens Tennis Club will conduct themselves appropriately when using social networking sites to share information related to tennis or other club members.
3. Any postings on Trinity Gardens Tennis Club Facebook, Instagram or Website will be removed if containing material which is , or has the potential to be, offensive, profane, harassing, embarrassing, intimidating, sexually explicit, bullying, hateful, racist, sexist or otherwise inappropriate.
4. Postings on Trinity Gardens Tennis Club Facebook or Website will respect the privacy of its members and will contain no surnames unless authorised by the individual to do so.
5. Photos of any member of Trinity Gardens Tennis Club under the age of 18 will require the consent of a Parent or Guardian to be posted which may be obtained when registering at the beginning of the Tennis Season.

Picking Up and Dropping Off Children

The expectation is that any junior club member be picked up and dropped off for training and games by a parent or guardian regardless of age.

Children under 14 years of age must be escorted to and from the Court entry gate or Clubrooms by parent/guardian unless by other agreement with the Club coaching staff/court supervisor.

The team supervisor for junior matches on game day will ensure childrens safety is maintained and that they have all departed the venue safely at the end of the matches.

Other reference information and services