City of Bradford Swimming Club (referred to as the Club within this document) and the Club Committee appreciate that should complaints occur between members of the Club, it is important to have procedures in place to enable these issues to be resolved within the Club before the matter becomes a formal complaint.

These procedures follow Swim England Guidelines, all complaints and disciplinary action will observe the following key principles:

• All parties will be treated fairly.
• The Complainant has the opportunity to present their case.
• The Accused has the opportunity to respond.
• The Accused is innocent until proven guilty.

Any issues relating to Child Welfare or Child Protection will be referred to the Club Welfare Officer in the first instance. The Club Welfare Officer may, at their discretion, involve the Swim England Department of Legal Affairs, as defined by the Swim England Child Protection Policy. Only the Club Chairperson will be kept informed of any further proceedings in this instance.

These procedures are only applicable to breaches of Club Rules and/or Club Codes of Conduct by members of the Club. The Club Committee does not have the powers to consider complaints against non-members, members of any other swimming club, any issues regarding training or address offences under Swim England Law. Any complaints occurring during training should be directed the Manager of Bradford Aquatics rather than the Club.

Procedures

In the event of a situation occurring during competition or event organised by the Club, it may be necessary for a Club Official to take immediate action. A Club Committee member or Team Manager during the competition/event has the authority to temporarily exclude an offending member of the Club from that competition/event. The excluding Club Official is required to submit a report which will then be considered in accordance with the following procedures.

Any club member can make a written complaint about any incident relating any other member of the Club, regardless of whether action was taken at the time. The written complaint should be e-mailed to [email protected] in the first instance. Should the complaint involve the Club Chairperson or their family in any way, the written complaint should be e-mailed to [email protected]

On receipt of each written complaint the Club Committee will, where practicable, make every effort to resolve complaints by informal discussion.

Where a matter cannot be resolved informally, or it is clearly necessary to discipline a member, the Club Committee will set up a Disciplinary Panel to address the matter.

Disciplinary Procedure

• The Disciplinary Panel will consist of two or three people, normally members of the Club Committee, one of whom will act as Panel Chairperson and another will act as Panel Secretary. No member of the panel will have been involved in the complaint. The Club Committee may invite individuals from outside of the Club to sit on the panel if it is deemed necessary.
• Where the complaint is being made by the Club, an appropriate Club Officer will be appointed to present the case for the Club.
• The Panel Chairperson will notify both parties of the date, time and place of the hearing and the names of the panel members. At the discretion of the panel, individual meetings may be held with the relevant parties.
• Both parties will be given copies of all papers.
• The appropriate procedure will be held within 14 days of receipt of the complaint unless there are extenuating circumstances.
• If either party is under 18 years old, they can be accompanied by a Parent/Guardian to help them present their case.
• Both parties are permitted to bring witnesses to support their case, who after questioning will take no further part in the hearing(s).
• Minutes will be taken at the hearing(s).
• The Panel Chairperson will announce any decision verbally as soon as practicable, which will be confirmed in writing within 5 days.
• The Club will maintain a record of all complaints and action taken.

Powers of the Disciplinary Panel

The Disciplinary Panel has the powers to administer the following sanctions:

• Issue a verbal reprimand.
• Issue a written reprimand.
• Suspend a member from the Club for a specific period of time with immediate effect.
• Expel a member from the Club with immediate effect where that member of the Club has, in the opinion of the panel, compromised the interests of the Club. Such action may be subject to any overriding Swim England Complaints Procedure.

Any member issued with either a verbal or written reprimand would not be:

• Considered to represent the Club in a team event(s) or competitions.
• Considered to undertake Swim England training (Team Manager, Lifeguard, etc)

Any member issued with a suspension reprimand for a period of time (confirmed by the panel) during the suspension period would not be:

• Considered to represent the Club in a team event(s) or competitions.
• Considered to undertake Swim England training (Team Manager, Lifeguard, etc)

If either party to the complaint is dissatisfied with the findings of the Disciplinary Panel, they retain the right to refer the complaint to the Judicial Administrator at Swim England.

The club is committed to treat everyone equally within the context of their activity regardless of sex, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation or political persuasion. The Club will ensure that equity as stated in the club rules is incorporated in all aspects of it’s activities and also recognises and adopts the Sport England definition of Sports Equity.

Sports Equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure that it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.

The club is committed to everyone having the right to enjoy their sport in an environment free from threat of discrimination, intimidation, harassment and abuse. All club members have a responsibility to challenge discriminatory behaviour and promote equality of opportunity. The club will deal with any incidents of discriminatory behaviour seriously according to the club disciplinary procedures.

Our club Welfare Officer can be contacted: [email protected]