Dear Coaches and Owners:

It is hard to believe that we are almost four months into our ‘22-’23 season! We are working tirelessly, right alongside you, for a great All Star experience for everyone. We want to say THANK YOU to the tens of thousands of members who have joined USASF already to ensure they have access to all the resources offered for the full season. Membership is currently higher than it has been in the last four years by thousands of members. We want you to know we appreciate you, we are here to help you and we greatly value our relationship and partnership with you.  We work every day to be an integral partner for you and most importantly the athletes.

Many of us have seen media coverage and online posts about allegations of misconduct within the All Star community. We are devastated to learn of any abuse or misconduct, because athlete safety, in every regard, is so important. We know you, whose programs nurture, educate and develop the skills and talents of our thousands of athletes, share that focus.

We share your frustrations that some online posts appear misinformed or just plain erroneous regarding our current safety policies and protocols, which impedes educating everyone about how and to whom to report and the resources that exist to help educate and mitigate risk and help prevent misconduct. The USASF’s silence on some social media platforms reflects the fact that we are working overtime to help OUR members and those in need, not those who are not members and trying to further their own agenda, sadly. We have increased our efforts to communicate directly with all our members about safety – but social media is not the channel to do so effectively for most.  

Athlete safety depends on all of us acting together. We want to be the best partner to you and your athletes so we can achieve this goal together. We are the only All Star organization that has implemented safety processes and practices aligned with the US Center for SafeSport, and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Our jurisdiction covers members, so we must remind everyone that USASF membership is vital to our safety efforts. Membership resources help fund expert third-party oversight, in-depth processes, policy development, investigations, appeals, educational resources, technology and so much more to help All Star Clubs and Athlete Members. The breadth of resources for members would be impossible for anyone to access individually, but as a membership organization, our pooled resources help everyone. Making sure that everyone in your facility is a current member, submits to background screening, and has completed safety training is just the beginning of promoting safety, accountability, education and resources for All Star as a whole. 

The Code of Conduct & Compliance

The USASF’s Code of Conduct & Compliance is a foundational element for promoting safety. Every member of the USASF should understand The Code. We ask that you share the link below with every member who uses your facilities, including parents of athletes. It defines appropriate conduct for everyone within All Star. (The USASF Code of Conduct and Compliance (The Code))

As a member club owner, it is important to note that The Code also requires you to implement proactive policies designed to prevent abuse. Located in the second section of The Code is where you will find the Abuse Prevention Policies.  It is a collection of proactive prevention and training policies that has three primary components:

1. Required Education & Training Policy 
2. Required Abuse Prevention Policies, focused on limiting One-on-One interactions
3. Additional Recommended Prevention Policies

Clubs must share these policies with all Participants and with parents/guardians of Minor Athletes.

Additional Safety Protocols Available

We know many of you are now relying on the USASF Adult Directory (USASF Adult Directory) as well as the Unified Ineligibility List (USASF/USA Cheer Unified Ineligible List) which is great! We recently made some changes to these lists for easier use. The USASF Adult Directory allows you to search for those with a current USASF affiliation or membership and who have a current green-light background screening. At this time, our jurisdiction covers members and applicants. If an Adult Member’s name does not appear on this list, it could mean they didn’t apply, they do not meet and/or have not completed the membership requirements, or their application is paused pending investigation or appeal. Please help us, help All Star promote Athlete Safety. These resources help increase the layers of safety for the All Star community. 

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to expand your safety protocols through the Safe at All Star Certified Club program that is offered at no additional cost to USASF Members.  The partnership with Safe at All Star is a significant investment as it was created specifically for All Star combining All Star possible scenarios that are easily explained, in an age-appropriate manner, to increase education and understanding to help prevent and identify misconduct. 

As an organization, and with your help, we must educate parents of athletes about our safety processes, in addition to athletes themselves. To that end, we ask that you distribute this information (click to download) on USASF Athlete Safety to all parents of athletes in your facilities.  We encourage you to be accessible to parents who have questions about athlete safety, so they understand the value of participating as a Member Club and in sanctioned events. We remind you of your obligation to report any allegations of sexual misconduct to local authorities and USASF (https://www.usasf.net/reporting). All of us must work together to promote safety and make it clear that we do not welcome anyone who would take advantage of athletes. 

Parent Webinar: Athlete Protection. Understanding the Process.

We’re pleased to announce we will repeat the Athlete Safety webinar we offered Club owners, coaches and event producers earlier this month for parents of athletes on October 5th at 8 pm EST. Registration is required and members will receive an email with information on how to register shortly.

Athlete Protection Focus Group

We are putting together an Athlete Protection Focus Group composed of USASF Members as well as professionals in athlete protection to continue cultivating new ideas and resources. If you would be interested in applying for this focus group, please complete this link: APPLICATION FOR ATHLETE PROTECTION FOCUS GROUP

Remember, every day, tens of thousands of USASF members are doing things right! We must work together to prevent misconduct by the few so that the good is the only thing that defines All Star. Thank you for your continued partnership with the USASF, All Star, and most importantly the athletes.