At the end of August, the first courses for trainers on sports safety took place in Snagov (Romania), conducted by the Terre des hommes Foundation, in partnership with the Romanian Football Federation and the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. The course was attended by 24 football coaches, gymnastics, sports teachers, psychologists, coaches of several sports clubs in Constanța, Arad, Deva, Chiajna, Galati Bucharest and Cluj, as well as representatives of the Romanian Football Federation and the Federation Gymnastics Novels.
The training was organized within the European project "Keeping Children Safe in Sports", funded by the Program "Rights, Equality and Citizenship" of the European Union. The general objective of the project is to promote child protection and safety policies in sports and recreational activities in Romania, Greece and Hungary. In Romania, it is implemented in partnership with the Romanian Football Federation, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and the National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption.
The purpose of the training for the trainers was for the coaches to improve their knowledge about the safety and protection of children in sports. They will later spread the knowledge in their clubs across the country.
Paul Bercea, trainer and child protection consultant, was the trainer during the three days, together with Alina Dumitru Training Officer (Terre des hommes). The topics explored were related to the safety and protection of children in sports, knowledge and prevention of risk situations; the roles and responsibilities of the resource person responsible for child safety, appropriate ways to respond in cases of abuse; methods and techniques for motivating children.
Following the discussions around several case studies, the following ideas were highlighted:
- A "safe environment for children" (Keeping children safe in sports) means preventing any form in which the child may be negatively affected - emotionally, verbally or physically - in spaces where he/she trains or does recreational or performance sports.
- The essential role of coaches and staff as a trusted person for the child, an ally who can sound the alarm if he notices signs of suffering of any kind.
- The first step is to listen to the child, if he/she has something to tell you, and if you notice signs of possible suffering (physical or emotional), ask him questions. Even if the suffering does NOT come from the sports environment, it is everyone's duty to pay attention to the signs
- The next step, if certain suspicions are confirmed, is to notify a psychologist from the club, if any, or the responsible institutions.
- Children need to feel in a safe, calm environment in order to enjoy sports and perform
Parents also have a crucial role to play - they must not accept, for the sake of "performance", inappropriate behavior towards the child (extreme pressure, emotional abuse) during training.
"We were very happy to be with specialists who believe in children and take care of their joy of doing sports," said Cristina Vladescu, project manager.
Some of the most important conclusions:
- Paul Bercea - "In the protection and safety of children it is ok to make mistakes in the way we react, the worst thing is not to act at all when we have suspicions"
- Coach: "I work not with future champions, but with future adults and human beings"
- "You do not choose the teacher, but you choose your coach. The child chooses the sport that he practices with joy, the coach must take care of that joy. " (trainer)
- "Part of our job is to make sure we keep children safe."
The coaches promised to pass on the information, attitudes and policies of the meeting to their clubs. The training was attended by representatives of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and the Romanian Football Federation, gymnastics and football coaches and coaches in sports such as karate, dance, volleyball, basketball, kayaking, badminton. After this initial training of trainers, the new trainers will organize 20 courses in the coming months on the topics of safety and protection of children in sports and recreation.
Through this project, the Terre des hommes Foundation will improve the skills of sports professionals who come into contact with children and will develop, with the support of its partners, protection and safety policies. It will then provide additional certification to clubs that meet protection and safety standards.
Keeping children safe in sports is funded by the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Program (REC 2014-2020). The content of this article represents only the opinions of the author and is his sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for how the information it contains may be used.
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