Code of Conduct

[arena_gal]

One club that I am barely involved in (one kid, one day a week) has requested that parents sign a code of conduct form. This is besides the code of conduct form that the skaters sign and of course the standard club code of ethics and coaches code of ethics.

I haven't seen the parent document yet, but it has to do with harrassment, I guess there's problems between parents, I really don't know and aren't involved enough to care.

Has anyone else heard of such a thing? Maybe in hockey, eh, there's a sport where parent activity can get out of hand. I've never heard of this before in figure skating.

[Raye]

It is a good idea, and it can get just as out of hand in Figure Skating as it can in Hockey

[2sk8]

Generally, I'd say it's a good idea too - being on the receivng end of some of the behavior from other parents can be pretty nasty. With my kids, I've actually found figure skating to be far worse in this regard - sorry - than the other kids' sports! Sad but true..
On a good note, it's nice you refer to certain codes of conduct as "standard" - I'm in an area where that is definitely not the case & boy, is it needed!

[Isk8NYC]

As for needing one, yeah, you do. I've seen too many parents at figure skating competitions that are out of line and think they own the rink. One actually threatened the asst. manager and, as a result, the family was asked to stay away from the rink. (Backed up with the threat of a restraining order.)

If you want an example, which may have started the Club's policy change, I think you should start with the one from USFSA. (www.usfsa.org (http://www.usfsa.org)) Susan Wehrli (USFSA) stated :

The Parent Committee of U.S. Figure Skating has also written a parents code of conduct for our clubs and programs to use. It will be published in the October issue of SKATING magazine or you can download it from the
web.

Thank you,
Susi Wehrli
Director of Skating Programs
U.S. Figure Skating



Also, take a look into the Positive Coaching Alliance. They're sort of affiliated with the ISI, but they don't focus on figure skating primarily, which is unfortunate. (www.positivecoach.org (http://www.positivecoach.org/))

[arena_gal]

Thank you Isk8NYC !

I found the USFSA Parent Code of Conduct (http://www.usfsa.org/content/parent-conduct.pdf) to be a even handed document and I'm going to pass it along to the particular skating club that I am dealing with in Canada.
Unfortunately the document that they have provided me with to sign is nothing like what USFSA has. It has nothing to do with the conduct of parents at test days or competitions, which I believe is a good idea and what I was expecting . I will sign my club document so my skater can get on the ice session, but it's full of small-minded club specific rules which I won't get into here.

[Skate@Delaware]

My club has one also, it's pretty much the same as the USFSA Code. We also had a few "problems" with parents and this is a way of backing up the club and saying "Well, you promised to behave" before taking stricter action. Helps keep them in line. Most people don't want awful people in their clubs (or rinks) anyway! It's bad for the kids!

[plinko]

:oops: I should have checked my PM's first.

[devilmaycare]

As far as a code of conduct, the rink where we started, the coaches and skating director needed one a lot more than the parents. They were and are a bunch of incompetents who cover their lack of skating/coaching ability with nasty vindictive behavior (lying to parents about what USFS rules/regulations are, making up stories about families, just general unprofessional behavior). You can PM me if you want to know what rink houses this bunch of losers.

[Isk8NYC]

... the document that they have provided me with to sign is nothing like what USFSA has.

Our rink's code of conduct is only for hockey, but they've mentioned expanding it to figure skating. Perhaps that's why yours is so different - maybe it was created from another sport's code of conduct.

[arena_gal]

Our rink's code of conduct is only for hockey,

I think that's it. For example, there's an emphasis on where parents are instructed to sit in the arena and about access to offices and dressing rooms that when I think about it are perfect for hockey so that opposing parents don't kill each other or get in the way of the officials. I raised my eyebrows when I read where I was instructed to sit. It didn't make sense and I sat where everyone else sat, the warm room!

Now I'm thinking, have I violated something because I didn't sit in the sections designated for visiting parents? Arrgh!