USA Swimming Partners with Futures Without Violence for Leadership Programs

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Photo Courtesy: USA Swimming Safe Sport

USA Swimming Tuesday announced a partnership with Futures Without Violence, a nonprofit organization that designs programming to reduce violence against women and children. The product of the collaboration are two programs, “Coaching Boys into Men” and “Athletes as Leaders,” that will be made available to USA Swimming membership.

Both programs’ curricula are designed, “to encourage healthy relationships and promote leadership among athletes in the fight against sexual violence.” The scenario-based instruction is for coaches and mentors. It aims to help them arm athletes with the knowledge to affect change in their communities.

“We believe that sexual, physical and emotional abuse have no place in our sport, and it is everyone’s responsibility to be a part of preventing these situations from occurring,” USA Swimming Senior Manager of Safe Sport Liz Hahn said. “These programs provide a basis for adult leaders to have these conversations with teams. Conversations should include the kind of culture you have or want to have on your team, acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, the steps to stop the inappropriate behavior or to get help.”

The “Coaching Boys into Men” curriculum is endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s designed for male coaches and male athletes ages 12 and older, encouraging coaches to use their influential place in athletes’ lives to instill how those young men behave and think in and out of the pool.

Athletes as Leaders” curriculum was created by Harborview Abuse and Trauma Center. It is intended for female coaches and mentors to work with female athletes age 12 and above. The objective is to encourage athletes to “be leaders in changing peer norms to a culture of safety and respect.”

The full curriculum from both Futures Without Violence programs are available at USA Swimming’s website through its Safe Sport program.

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