Reach out to us anytime. Email, call, or stop by, we would love to hear from you!
Our Location
- 2213 Drake Ave SW, Huntsville, AL 35805
- info@swimhsa.org
- (256) 270-9255
- Monday - Sunday 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Reach out to us anytime. Email, call, or stop by, we would love to hear from you!
HSA is fully compliant and follows the USA Swimming policies on athlete abuse and protections. In addition, we have a robust bullying policy to complement USA Swimming policies.
USA Swimming’s top priority continues to be keeping our athletes safe. No form of abuse, including child sexual abuse, has a place in our sport. As a part of our continued commitment to safeguarding our athletes, USA Swimming has enacted enhancements to our Safe Sport policy requirements.
The Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (MAAPP) addresses one-on-one interactions, social media and electronic communications, travel: local and team, locker rooms and changing areas and massages, rubdowns and athletic training modalities. Every USA Swimming club, Zone and LSC is required to implement the MAAPP in full
Safe Sport is USA Swimming’s comprehensive abuse prevention program.
We believe that every child has the right to a safe swimming environment that is free from abuse. Our swimmers should be free to work hard, pursue their goals, make friends, benefit from good coaching, and celebrate achievements without worrying about being in an abusive situation.
USA Swimming is committed to fostering a fun, healthy, and safe environment for all its members, and in 2010, it formally implemented a comprehensive Safe Sport program to respond to and prevent instances of abuse and misconduct within the sport of swimming. Since then USA Swimming Safe Sport has worked tirelessly to educate members, put policies in place, and empower LSCs and clubs to create the best possible environments for all members.
USA Swimming and Huntsville Swim Association put the health, safety, and wellbeing of its swimmers first. To that end, it is extremely important that Safe Sport violations be reported immediately.
If you see somethng, say something! The biggest mistake we can make about reporting is to not report on the assumption that someone else will. Choosing not to report could allow for serious abuse to continue happening.
1. Parents should be encouraged to appropriately support their children’s swimming experience.
2. All swimming practices should be open to observation by parents.
3. Coaches should not initiate contact with or accept supervisory responsibility for athletes outside club programs and activities.
4. When only one athlete and one coach travel to a competition, at the competition the coach and athlete should attempt to establish a “buddy” club to associate with during the competition and when away from the venue.
5. Relationships of a peer-to-peer nature with any athletes should be avoided. For example, coaches should avoid sharing their own personal problems with athletes.
6. Coaches and other non-athlete adult members should avoid horseplay and roughhousing with athletes.
7. When a coach touches an athlete as part of instruction, the coach should do so in direct view of others and inform the athlete of what he/she is doing prior to the initial contact. Touching athletes should be minimized outside the boundaries of what is considered normal instruction. Appropriate interaction would include high fives, fist bumps, side-to-side hugs and handshakes.
8. Coaches should avoid having athletes as their favorites. They should also avoid creating a situation that could be perceived as them having favorites.
9. Gift-giving, providing special favors or showing favoritism to individual athletes is strongly discouraged.
Huntsville Swim Association expects excellence from its employees, coaches, Club leadership, parents, and swimmers. Nobody is perfect, however, and at times undesirable circumstances, situations, and behaviors happen. But because of Huntsville Swim Association’s commitment to excellence and safety, individuals or groups must be held accountable for behaviors, words, and actions that do not represent the values and conduct expected from USA Swimming and HSA members.
The HSA Grievance Procedures give swimmers, parents, coaches, Club leadership, and employees a way to address and report grievances in a productive, systematic way that allows the appropriate parties to investigate and intervene, and take disciplinary action when needed.
Huntsville Swim Association expects excellence from its employees, coaches, Club leadership, parents, and swimmers. Nobody is perfect, however, and at times undesirable circumstances, situations, and behaviors happen. But because of Huntsville Swim Association’s commitment to excellence and safety, individuals or groups must be held accountable for behaviors, words, and actions that do not represent the values and conduct expected from USA Swimming and HSA members.
The HSA Grievance Procedures give swimmers, parents, coaches, Club leadership, and employees a way to address and report grievances in a productive, systematic way that allows the appropriate parties to investigate and intervene, and take disciplinary action when needed.