OFF THE ICE LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE US SPEEDSKATING
THE SPORT WE WANT IT TO BE Lessons From a Recent US Speedskating Arbitration By: Mark Greenwald and Tom Frank
As many of you are aware, a situation involving a former coach of the DS skat- ing club was recently brought to a close, with a decision in favor of US Speedskat- ing’s allegations of a breach of the US Speedskating (USS) Code of Conduct, decided by the American Arbitration As- sociation (AAA). The arbitrator from the AAA provided the final verdict of Kim Dong Sung vs. US Speedskating with regard to alleged physical and mental abuse inflicted on skaters from and for- merly of the club he coached. Upon the arbitrator’s final findings, Mr. Kim had his USS coaching and membership privi- leges terminated indefinitely, with the potential to re-apply for USS member- ship in 6 years, with proof of a number of outlined concerns being addressed. Speedskating is a relatively small sport
where almost everyone knows everyone and little escapes the ice sheets, hall- ways, and locker rooms where the sport takes place. Such an unfortunate situa- tion leaves us all to wonder how do such things happen in the first place? What obvious signs and signals were missed here that led to this situation? Many felt US Speedskating itself should have taken a more proactive role in resolving this early on. However, there are likely many points of engagement where this situation could have been stopped and enough responsibility to be shared by many with regard to how things evolved and as to why this problem was not iden- tified or acted upon sooner. This leaves a lingering final question of how such les- sons should be applied so that the risk of similar occurrences within our sport are minimized and if at all possible, prevent- ed from even happening again. US Speedskating of course has the ultimate responsibility to govern the sport to the best of our ability and where possible, protect our membership. On the other hand, the organization is not that large, has limited resources to
actively investigate such occurrences, and cannot be everywhere all the time. We therefore need the help of venues, regions and clubs to ensure the rules and guidelines we have all agreed to abide by are respected universally. It is likely a duty of all membership to answer the call when it seems something is amiss, and in fact in some jurisdictions, municipalities, and regions, it’s the law. We also happen to be as a whole, a very strongly opinioned bunch. Separating true issues needing the attention of the national association from regional or club differences of opinion or squabbles and the tendency for them to escalate only drains our finite resources. The cost of handling this particular mat- ter alone will amount to tens of thou- sands of dollars to resolve. Obviously we can likely do better in keeping things from ever getting to where they did in this case. USS has a Code of Conduct for good
reason, as a guideline for acceptable behavior with a goal of ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all. One cannot however effectively legislate common sense and common courtesy toward one another, and sometimes additional education may be needed for those who may have come from a differ- ent geographical or cultural background or upbringing. Clubs and Regional As- sociations also have by-laws and vari- ous rules to abide by. These should be utilized first and foremost when situa- tions arise. Prompt and clear attention by local leadership who understand and witness first hand problems developing may be able to head them off and save a great deal of trouble down the road. En- suring the local authorities are brought in when a threat or actual physical act of violence is witnessed is the correct course of action, as USS jurisdiction is no substitute for these situations and societal laws.
From the national aspect, USS has ad-
opted coach background checks in the past year to ensure that to the extent possible, we are certifying individuals as “fit” to be coaching our membership. We have adopted a Coaching Code of Eth- ics, offer Coaching Certification Courses where we attempt to educate common- ly accepted and appropriate coaching techniques, and a USS Code of Conduct should we require a behavioral guideline to what is generally acceptable behavior in our organization. We are also a taking a proactive approach toward strengthen- ing the role and emphasis of such items in our coaching education courses. The organization’s ability, however, will al- ways be limited by the willingness of membership who witness such incidents to act. Without adequate first-hand wit- nesses, and sometimes multiple ac- counts from membership, our ability to intervene and be effective in assisting is greatly reduced. While we cannot take back what has happened in this instance, it is certainly a teachable moment for all, and hopefully a time to take a minute and reflect on our daily ways of working in our sport. We all want to see our sport be a positive ex- perience and environment, inclusive, re- spectful, safe and fun for all, and all must work together toward that end if it is to be achieved. n
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For your information, we’d like to share excerpts from our newly revised Level 1 and Level 2 US Speedskating Coaching Manuals available here.
www.usspeedskating.org Summer 2012 RACING BLADE 5
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