As race officials, we are appointed to positions of trust within the sailing community and it is therefore our job to help create environments that are safe and welcoming for children.

Race officials occupy an important position in sailing, leading their race management teams and setting the culture of an event. That’s why it is critical that officials are aware of their child safeguarding obligations. Fortunately, there are some great resources available from Australian Sailing and Sport Integrity Australia to help.

The best way to learn about child safeguarding is to complete the Safeguarding Children and Young People in Sport Induction, which you can access by logging into your Australian Sailing account, clicking the “Australian Sailing Learning Centre”, going to the “Race Officials” tile and selecting the course. Hint: here you’ll find a bunch of other excellent courses too!

There are a myriad of other resources available from Sport Integrity Australia, a selection of which is below. Be sure to visit Sport Integrity Australia’s website to see all that’s available.

• Videos: a series short animated videos introducing the National Integrity Framework and explaining the Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy
• Practical guidance: booklets, check lists, fact sheets and other resources to help clubs take practical steps to improve integrity. Examples include: 
  • Children and Young People Safe Practices Do's & Don'ts
  • Guide for Managing High-Risk Activities
  • Recruitment and screening checklist
  • How to involve children & young people in your sporting organisation booklet

This is just a small selection of the available resources. Visit the Sport Integrity Australia website to see everything.

By Michael Arnold, National Officiating and Integrity Lead.