A Healthier, Safer Sport Experience:

Understanding How Policy Shapes U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Sport

We can all agree that safe sport settings in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement are essential to help athletes thrive. While it’s easy to recognize the impact of a sports environment defined by inclusion, support, and encouragement, understanding the policies put in place by the U.S. Center of SafeSport to set athletes up for success often requires a bit more conversation.

How exactly do the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP) protect athletes within the Movement? How are these policies enforced? And how can you better understand these policies to make sure the athletes in your life are benefiting?

The Impact of the MAAPP

When a youth athlete, recreational or elite, participates in sport within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement, there are policies in place to protect them from abuse and misconduct. These policies ensure they’re treated with respect during all aspects of sport—from team meetings to practice to the locker room to competition.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport is a driving force behind creating, implementing, and enforcing these policies that redefine the sport environment. Following the 2017 Safe Sport Act, the U.S. Center for SafeSport developed the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies, also known as the MAAPP.

The MAAPP sets standards to help protect athletes within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. Sport organizations and local clubs that are part of or affiliated with the Movement are also required to adopt and follow the MAAPP. All National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) are required to tailor their MAAPP, and some choose to build on the MAAPP by adding even more stringent requirements or sport-specific best practices for their Participants to follow.

From equestrian riders to volleyball players, these policies set the bar for safer environments—and they protect millions of athletes in over 50 sports representing the entire U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement.

Is Your Sport in the Movement?

Understanding if your sport, club, or team is part of the Movement depends on the type of sport and its affiliation.

National Governing Bodies, like USA Swimming and USA Field Hockey, are organizations that make up the sports within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. These In-Movement sports are required to follow the MAAPP. To find out if your sport is part of the Movement, start by reviewing this list of NGBs.

Many local clubs across the country are also affiliated with an NGB. Because of this affiliation, these clubs are required to follow the MAAPP and all Movement-specific policies. If you’re unsure about your sport’s Movement status, reach out to your organization’s administrator to find out if your sport or club has an NGB affiliation.

Three Core Elements of the MAAPP

So, what standards does the MAAPP set? Below, we’ve listed three core elements of the MAAPP along with a brief explanation on how the policy protects young athletes.

The MAAPP helps make sport settings safer for young athletes by:

Limiting one-on-one interactions between Adult Participants and Minor Athletes. According to the MAAPP, contact between Adult Participants¹ and Minor Athletes² must be “observable and interruptible.” This helps reduce the opportunity for potentially unsafe or inappropriate conduct during one-on-one interactions, like private lessons or individual meetings.
Setting program requirements for education and training: The MAAPP requires Adult Participants who regularly interact with minor athletes to get SafeSport® Trained. Educating coaches and those who work with minor athletes to be better equipped to prevent, recognize, and respond to abuse helps protect athletes and prioritize their well-being.
Increasing accountability: These policies increase accountability by setting rules and establishing policy violations within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. This can lead to penalties outlined in the SafeSport Code, and may result in an Adult Participant being temporarily or permanently restricted from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement.

Get to Know Your Sport’s MAAPP

The U.S. Center for SafeSport MAAPP sets mandatory minimum standards. But it’s important to keep in mind that many NGBs and organizations go above and beyond these baseline qualifications, implementing their own sport-specific MAAPP which contains additional policies you’ll want to be aware of.

Examples of going beyond the minimum requirements of the MAAPP might be restricting locker room celebrations or requiring all Adult Participants to be SafeSport® Trained regardless of their contact with minor athletes.

We encourage you to get to know your sport’s MAAPP by visiting your sport organization’s Safe Sport webpage or contacting your athlete safety representative.

Policy Matters

Competing within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement is a unique opportunity. It gives athletes the opportunity to grow as individuals, develop skills, and compete on an elevated stage.

With the MAAPP in place, athletes are given the best opportunity to have a healthier and more successful sport experience within the Movement, and in their life beyond sport.

Learn more about the MAAPP, how it works, and access helpful resources by visiting the MAAPP webpage or by watching the video below.

Disclaimers

¹ Adult Participant: Any adult (18 years of age or older) who is: a. A member or license holder of an NGB, LAO, or USOPC; b. An employee or board member of an NGB, LAO, or USOPC; c. Within the governance or disciplinary jurisdiction of an NGB, LAO, or USOPC; d. Authorized, approved, or appointed by an NGB, LAO, or USOPC to have regular contact with or authority over minor athletes.*

*This may include volunteers, medical staff, trainers, chaperones, monitors, contract personnel, bus/van drivers, officials, adult athletes, staff, board members, and any other individual who meets the Adult Participant definition.

²A Minor Athlete is an amateur athlete under 18 years of age who participates in, or participated within the previous 12 months in, an event, program, activity, or competition that is part of, or partially or fully under the jurisdiction of, an NGB, USOPC, or LAO.†

†This term shall also include any minor who participates in, or participated within the previous 12 months in, a non-athlete role partially or fully under the jurisdiction of an NGB, USOPC, or LAO. Examples include, but are not limited to: officials, coaches, or volunteers.