Safe Sport Requirement? Seriously?

[TMares]

Because her frustration over this training seems out of proportion to some of us.

[Middleburg_Misfit]

@DQ Foxhunter

I am not really sure why people have to get so nasty towards the OP, I agree that it is something that could perhaps be mandated for coaches and parents and available to anyone else who wished to take it.
These mandatory training videos are usually a money maker for someone.

Nobody is making money off of people doing this training, unless you count Starbucks because they made the $4 from whoever got a coffee and then sat down for free wifi. USEF isn’t getting paid for this and Safe Sport isn’t getting paid for this. If anything, USEF is having to pay a salary for a specific “Safe Sport Coordinator” to manage all of the questions and complaints. Is it so hard to believe that maybe something isn’t a money-making ruse and people just want to protect our children?

[Sue_B]

I think this is a great idea for a GMO meeting topic. Group gets together, does the training, each individual links to their own email. I am going to suggest it to my chapter.

(BTW, I find the majority of these “safe kids, safe sports” trainings wholly unhelpful and slightly aggravating. I am the parent of a child who was snatched at a fair when he was 9 and luckily saved by a stranger from sexual abuse but not psychological abuse. The information I received prior to this incident, both as a teacher and a 4H leader, did not help me figure out how to help my child. My pediatrician gave me the appropriate phone numbers. These training are all about institutional cya in my opinion.)

[TMares]

@Middleburg Misfit

Nobody is making money off of people doing this training, unless you count Starbucks because they made the $4 from whoever got a coffee and then sat down for free wifi. USEF isn’t getting paid for this and Safe Sport isn’t getting paid for this. If anything, USEF is having to pay a salary for a specific “Safe Sport Coordinator” to manage all of the questions and complaints. Is it so hard to believe that maybe something isn’t a money-making ruse and people just want to protect our children?

Well, yes and no. SafeSport is a nonprofit business. They do ‘make money’ in that they earn income from the various orgs and members who are required to take this training. People are getting paid to build these training modules and people are getting paid to work at SS. It didn’t come out of the ether, sadly it exists for a reason.

Anyone who thinks training like this is a huge waste of time and just a feel-good thing are welcome to think that, but man are they missing the opportunity to think “I’m glad this is out in the open, being discussed, and I hope people who see something will feel more comfortable saying something.” I mean we could just go back to the ‘good old days’ and pretend everything is just fine.

[Denali6298]

I love how people do not have internet capability due to bandwidth or time “because I am soooooo busy” but miraculously all that is not an issue for live streams… Go figure.

[Mardi]

Wow. It didn’t take long for this thread to get snarky and bossy. As Mystic Oak Ranch said “Gotta love when people assume that we are all in the same life situations. We are not.”

My concern about the USEF mandate for all competitors is the administration and enforcement of the rule at shows, which will fall in the laps of show office staff and managers. They already have enough to do, and sometimes avoid enforcement of already established rules for whatever reason.

We all know USEF’s data bases can be unreliable: ownership records, transfers, membership status, breeding info, horse name changes, etc. What recourse will an exhibitor/owner/trainer have if a show prohibits him from showing, even though he has completed the training ?

[ladyj79]

Save the certificate on your phone/to email, as I and all my colleagues have done for our dozen training modules this week?

Certainly shows can even request you attach that file/image/pdf to your registration to remove that burden.

​

[Tackpud]

@MysticOakRanch

Adding several hours of on-line training that is not relevant IS a burden, whether it is to YOUR life or not, it is to MINE.

How do you know it’s not relevant unless you’ve taken it and then died? You may run into a kid one day who’s life you will change forever because you learned something from one of these videos. You just never know what will happen from now until you die.

[Tackpud]

@DQ Foxhunter

I am not really sure why people have to get so nasty towards the OP, I agree that it is something that could perhaps be mandated for coaches and parents and available to anyone else who wished to take it.
These mandatory training videos are usually a money maker for someone.

The idea is that anyone at a horse show could see something they recognize from the training and step in and change a child’s life for the better. You may see a child at a store one day and realize something is off about their relationship with the person with them and that leads to an arrest down the line. One just never knows…

[Tackpud]

@Mardi

Wow. It didn’t take long for this thread to get snarky and bossy. As Mystic Oak Ranch said “Gotta love when people assume that we are all in the same life situations. We are not.”

My concern about the USEF mandate for all competitors is the administration and enforcement of the rule at shows, which will fall in the laps of show office staff and managers. They already have enough to do, and sometimes avoid enforcement of already established rules for whatever reason.

We all know USEF’s data bases can be unreliable: ownership records, transfers, membership status, breeding info, horse name changes, etc. What recourse will an exhibitor/owner/trainer have if a show prohibits him from showing, even though he has completed the training ?

Actually, this will be linked to membership data so show managers can see when they check membership status if one is legal to compete or not. No extra steps involved for secretaries. People joining at a show will have a 30 day grace period to take the training before being marked as suspended. I believe they have also mentioned that a completion certificate of some sort is downloadable so you can just put it on your phone.

[netg]

@Sue B

I think this is a great idea for a GMO meeting topic. Group gets together, does the training, each individual links to their own email. I am going to suggest it to my chapter.

(BTW, I find the majority of these “safe kids, safe sports” trainings wholly unhelpful and slightly aggravating. I am the parent of a child who was snatched at a fair when he was 9 and luckily saved by a stranger from sexual abuse but not psychological abuse. The information I received prior to this incident, both as a teacher and a 4H leader, did not help me figure out how to help my child. My pediatrician gave me the appropriate phone numbers. These training are all about institutional cya in my opinion.)

I am so sorry about your experience.

And I absolutely love the idea of a GMO training for this. I’ll reach out to my GMO and suggest it to them.

[DQ_Foxhunter]

@Tackpud

The idea is that anyone at a horse show could see something they recognize from the training and step in and change a child’s life for the better. You may see a child at a store one day and realize something is off about their relationship with the person with them and that leads to an arrest down the line. One just never knows…

I am not really sure anyone is disputing your point, it is a wonderful idea if anyone wishes to view this video, however mandating it is a different issue.
There are also a lot of other problems in society that bleed into horse shows,spousal abuse, drug abuse, suicide, etc, is training going to be mandated for that also before you can show your horse?
I think awareness for all these things is a good thing…but .

[ladyj79]

I think if you don’t understand why the issue and awareness of child sexual abuse has heightened importance, in sport and society, there’s probably no way anyone can make you understand that.

[Samantha37]

I’m in the process of taking it- I’ve got approximately an hour into it so far, but I have been working while I’m taking the course. It’s not terribly done and has some good information.

If all that comes out of this is 1 person/child being saved from being abused, I’m happy to take the course.

[emipou]

@Denali6298

I love how people do not have internet capability due to bandwidth or time “because I am soooooo busy” but miraculously all that is not an issue for live streams… Go figure.

Maybe you’re taking two separate groups and comparing them as one?

• not arguing either side here -

[emipou]

@TMares

If one can take a poll online one can take training online.

Honestly, with the everyday reality that people order things on Walmart, go to package pickup and use the app to tell the store is coming, I am 100% NOT BUYING any argument around ‘tech skill’.

I’m not disagreeing with you. I am by profession in the UI and UX field UX stands for User Experience - essentially usability. Did you know the standard for good usability is based around a 6th grade reading level? I learned many years ago that UX is basically catering to the stupid. This is where my mind is when it comes to things in general - catering to the stupid. Sorry. I’ll shut up.
Also I don’t have a working printer. It’s too wasteful since the ink dries up between each twice annual use.

I just thought how cool that would be at a large event such as at LA E.C. to have a little place in the office where you could just watch the video and have them print it out there for you. I had these little stars in my eyes, dammit.

[emipou]

@soloudinhere

The rule needs to be the same for everyone - you can’t enter the show until it’s done. Otherwise there will be too much “I’ll do it before the show starts” “I’ll finish it before then” “I’ll do it at the show and be done before the show is over” everyone needs to be held to the same standard. It’s 2018 the tech skill required is minimal.

I thought I read on the page a 30 day lenience if the training was not complete?

[Denali6298]

@emipou

Maybe you’re taking two separate groups and comparing them as one?

• not arguing either side here -

Could be. At the end of the day if you have the time and the money to show, you have the time and the wherewith-all to take an online course dealing with the issues SafeSport is addressing. It is disheartening for me to see so much push back for something so important. The excuses in all three threads are appalling. I call this training “don’t be a d**k” training. I have A LOT of it for my job. Online and in person lectures. Is it annoying? Yeah. It works though. All of it is geared so that people become more self aware and aware of situations that may seem like no big deal but really are a big deal.

[emipou]

@Denali6298

Could be. At the end of the day if you have the time and the money to show, you have the time and the wherewith-all to take an online course dealing with the issues SafeSport is addressing. It is disheartening for me to see so much push back for something so important. The excuses in all three threads are appalling. I call this training “don’t be a d**k” training. I have A LOT of it for my job. Online and in person lectures. Is it annoying? Yeah. It works though. All of it is geared so that people become more self aware and aware of situations that may seem like no big deal but really are a big deal.

I enjoy it when people make such a large deal complaining about doing something that by the time they are done complaining, they could have just done the thing they were complaining about. That’s always fun. :lol:

[TMares]

@emipou

I’m not disagreeing with you. I am by profession in the UI and UX field UX stands for User Experience - essentially usability. Did you know the standard for good usability is based around a 6th grade reading level? I learned many years ago that UX is basically catering to the stupid. This is where my mind is when it comes to things in general - catering to the stupid. Sorry. I’ll shut up.
Also I don’t have a working printer. It’s too wasteful since the ink dries up between each twice annual use.

I just thought how cool that would be at a large event such as at LA E.C. to have a little place in the office where you could just watch the video and have them print it out there for you. I had these little stars in my eyes, dammit.

I should have been clearer- much of what I wrote was in reply to another poster, not you. I was not clear and that is my fault.

Happily, you don’t need a printer, just a working email address to receive your certification.