The sport has been aware of bullying in the staging areas of a lot of events and tries to contain this the best it can with the small amount of volunteers that put their hand up to help. We are now aware that this has become a bigger issue and we want to make the sure all riders & parents/guardians are aware of the issue and that it is completely unacceptable in the sport.
What is Bullying?
Bullying is a form of harassment. It is behaviour directed towards a person or group of people that is:
– Repeated; and
– Unreasonable; and
– Creates a risk to health and safety to others.
The repeated behaviour is persistent and includes a range of actions and behaviors over time.
One off incidents of unreasonable behaviour are not generally considered to be bullying. However a single, serious incident constitutes as harassment and is a breach of BMXNZ Conduct policies, such behaviour in either form is not acceptable.
Violent behaviour is a highly objectionable form of direct bullying. However, bullying can be manifested in more subtle ways that impact on the health and well being of the victim.
Examples of bullying include (but are not limited to);
– Physical assault or threats;
– Verbal abuse or name calling;
– Practical jokes;
– Teasing/inappropriate comments;
– Intimidating actions;
– Psychological abuse such as excluding or isolating participants;
– Giving unachievable tasks/impossible goals;
– Persistent and/or public criticism
So in the lead up to a stressful time for both riders and parents at Nationals, it’s time to take a step back and learn about the code of conduct for both riders and parents. Please see them attached. The principals on these codes is to build a better place to ride, that is the sole goal of these rules.
For Parents & Guardians on the sideline
Officials will not tolerate bad language or aggressive sideline calls e.g. “take him out” “T-bone him”… Parents who refuse to calm down their aggressive attitude will be asked to leave the BMX site for the remainder of the day.
For Riders
In staging we will be focusing on all riders and their behaviour to others. The officials will not tolerate bad behavior, language, spitting, pushing and shoving or violence. Any noted bad actions will be warned once only and excessive use of these behaviors will result in the rider being removed from staging and told not to come back till the following round with a better attitude.
Missed motos will be the riders fault.
Remember the codes of conduct are there to make the environment as good as possible for ALL participants.
Two of the sports KEY PRINCIPALS are to create an environment;
– that is free from harassment
– where people show respect for others and their property
We are all here for the riding. Lets make it a good event.
Downloads:
BMXNZ Rider Member Code of Conduct Jul2016
