Premier Club/Clubmark club
Clubmark is a cross-sport quality accreditation for clubs. Premier Club is BADMINTON England's Clubmark standard. We believe it is vital that our club serves individuals well. We will:

• Ensure the well-being of players whilst in our care
• Encourage players to enjoy sport and active recreation to build a healthy and active lifestyle
• Enable players to use their leisure time creatively
• Allow players to optimise their talents and personal ability
• Identify and support the development of talented players

Child Protection Policy

The Club places a high degree of importance on the protection of children who participate in the club programme. The Club is committed to ensuring that our young members are able to enjoy badminton in a safe environment. The Club will:

• Accept and operate within BADMINTON England's Child Protection Guidelines
• Implement procedures to provide a duty of care for young people to safeguard their well being and protect them from abuse
• Respect and promote the rights, wishes and feelings of young people
• Ensure that advice, guidance and training is available for all volunteers involved with the management of the Club
• Adopt best practice to safeguard and protect young people from abuse and volunteers from false allegations
• Require all members and visitors to abide by the Club’s Codes of Conduct and Equity Policy
• Respond to all incidents of suspicious poor practice and allegations seriously, swiftly and appropriately
• Report allegations or incidence of suspicious poor practice to the Club's Welfare Officer.

Photographs

Knebworth Sports Club from time to time will take photographs to promote our club. These may appear on our website or in the local papers.

We will ensure, where consent is not obtained, that people are not identifiable in any photograph. We will take all reasonable measures to ensure the images are used solely for the purposes for which they are intended. However we cannot guarantee this and take no responsibility for any consequences arising from publication or personal use.

Videos

Knebworth Sports Club from time to time will take video footage for coaching purposes. These will not be used outside of the coaching sessions. All footage will be deleted at the end of the session, unless the player asks them to be kept.

We will ensure, where consent is not obtained, that people are not identifiable in any video. We will take all reasonable measures to ensure the images are used solely for the purposes for which they are intended. However we cannot guarantee this and take no responsibility for any consequences arising from personal use.

Equity Policy

The Club is committed to ensuring that equity is incorporated across all aspects of its development. In doing so it acknowledges and adopts the following Sport England definition of sports equity:

Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.

The Club respects the rights, dignity and worth of every person and will treat everyone equally within the context of their sport, regardless of age, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religious belief, sexuality or social/economic status.

The Club is committed to everyone having the right to enjoy their sport in an environment free from threat of intimidation, harassment and abuse. All Club members have a responsibility to oppose discriminatory behaviour and promote equality of opportunity. The Club will deal with any incidence of discriminatory behaviour seriously, according to the Club’s disciplinary procedures.

Codes of Conduct for Coaches and Helpers

All Club coaches and helpers must behave properly at all times. The essence of good ethical conduct and practice is summarised below.

All Club coaches and helpers must:

• Consider the well being and safety of participants before the development of performance
• Develop an appropriate working relationship with performers, based on mutual trust and respect
• Make sure all activities are appropriate to the age, ability and experience of those taking part
• Promote the positive aspects of the sport (e.g. fair play)
• Display consistently high standards of behaviour and appearance
• Follow all guidelines laid down by BADMINTON England and the Club
• Hold appropriate, valid qualifications and insurance cover
• Never exert undue influence over performers to obtain personal benefit or reward
• Never condone rule violations, rough play or the use of prohibitive substances
• Encourage participants to value their performances and not just results
• Encourage and guide participants to accept responsibility for their own performance and behaviour
• Only take video and photos with permission of the player and/or parent
• Ensure another adult is present when reviewing videos.

Codes of Conduct for Members

Knebworth Sports Club is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the well being of all its players. The Club believes that it is important that members, coaches, administrators and parents associated with the Club should, at all times, show respect and be encouraged to be open, sharing any concerns or complaints they may have about any aspect of the club with the Club’s Parent Representative, any member of the committee or the Head Coach.

As a member of the Club, you are expected to abide by the following code of conduct:

• All members must show respect to all other members, helpers and coaches within the club and to any opponents
• All members must play fairly and show good sportsmanship at all times
• All members must play within the laws of the game and respect all officials and their decisions
• All members should keep to agreed times for sessions and competitions, and inform the appropriate person if they are going to be late
• If having been selected for a competition or match, a member is required to withdraw, they must inform the appropriate person immediately
• All members must wear appropriate badminton sports clothing for club sessions and competitions
• All members must ensure they have clean trainers
• All members must pay any fees for training and events promptly or by the due date
• No member is permitted to take video or photos without the club’s permission
• Members are not permitted to smoke, consume alcohol or drugs of any kind on the club premises or whilst representing the Club. (Players who are required to take prescribed medicine must discuss this with the Club’s Head Coach.)

Codes of Conduct for Parents/Carers and Other Spectators

It is expected that all parents/carers and other spectators will follow these guidelines:

• Do not interfere with play in games. If you are concerned about some aspect of the game/activity, please speak directly to the Head Coach. Please remember that our coach(es) are busy with all the players
• Discourage unfair play and arguing with officials
• Set a good example by recognising fair play and applauding good performances of all
• Never punish or belittle a child for losing or making mistakes
• Publicly accept officials' judgements
• Use correct and proper language at all times
• Treat fellow parents/carers with respect
• Do not take video or photos without the club’s permission
• Encourage and guide performers to accept responsibility for their own performance and behaviour.

In addition it is expected that all parents/carers will also:

• Please ensure their child has clean trainers and appropriate clothing to take part in sporting activities
• Encourage their child to learn the rules and play within them
• Help their child to recognise good performance, not just results
• Never force their child to take part in sport
• Support their child's involvement and help them to enjoy their sport.

Member Details

Information is held on a card for each member/player. The cards are kept confidential and are accessible by the Coach(es) attending each session. The card includes the following statement:

• Knebworth Sports Club expects all members to show respect to all other members, helpers and coaches. The Club expects all members to play fairly and show good sportsmanship at all times.

Junior membership cards have to be signed by each player and parent/guardian showing they agree to this statement.

A register of attendance will be kept for each coaching session and a visual safety check will be carried out before each session is run.

Session Details

Sessions are organised by age and ability, and are at various locations. If you would like to change your session, please contact the Head Coach.

Tournaments

The Club encourages all junior players from year four upwards to take part in the Herts Schools Badminton Association tournaments. These generally take place at Stevenage Leisure Centre.

Leagues

Juniors: Currently the juniors do not play in a league, but are encouraged to play in tournaments.

Adults: Currently we play in the Stevenage Badminton League Division and a local friendly matches in a league format.

Clothing

Please ensure you wear clean trainers and appropriate sports clothing. You do not need to wear white.

Equipment

The Club will provide rackets of a suitable size, for anyone who needs them, according to their height and ability.

The Club has a deal with a local supplier for purchasing good quality Ashaway rackets at a discounted price and restringing. The Club can also replace the grips on rackets. For more details, contact the Head Coach.