The BMRC Code of Conduct
Overarching Principle: Inclusion
Brentford Masters Rowing Club (BMRC) (the Club) is an inclusive organisation and has a team culture which actively welcomes and values the differences we have. An inclusive culture makes everyone feel respected and valued at the Club and informs our Good Ethical Conduct & Practice. As a result, people feel comfortable taking part, which is important for personal performance, team learning and having fun on the river.
- Authenticity - being able to bring your best self to the Club and encouraging others to do the same. Acting with integrity ensures you deal with situations and people in a fair and principled way.
- Belonging - feeling a sense of belonging at the Club. It's important to make everyone you participate with feel they belong in the Club. This can be achieved by considering other viewpoints and needs.
- Voice - being able to speak up and be heard and encouraging others to do the same.
Good Ethical Conduct & Practice
- Consider the well-being and safety of athletes before the development of performance.
- Establish supportive, positive environments for the purpose of healthy competition, skill development, fun and achievement.
- Avoid favouritism.
- Treat athletes fairly and avoid discrimination against athletes.
- Ensure language is appropriate and not offensive or discriminatory.
- Set a good example of behaviour and conduct.
- Challenge or report unacceptable behaviour towards other squad members.
- Avoid patronising athletes or belittling them.
- Avoid acting in a way that could be perceived as intimidating or threatening.
- Develop an appropriate working relationship with athletes, based on mutual trust and respect.
- Ensure that all activities are appropriate to the age, ability and experience of the athletes taking part. Promote the positive aspects of rowing and fair play by showing considerate regard for athletes, personnel, spectators and officials; abiding by the rules of racing; and abiding by officials' decisions.
- Display consistently high standards of personal behaviour and appearance.
- Where appropriate, hold valid leadership or coaching qualifications and insurance cover.
- Follow all guidelines laid down by the British Rowing including Row Safe and safeguarding Policy and Procedures.
- Ensure all incidents on or off the water are reported and recorded in the appropriate manner.
- Comply with any rules, advice and guidance given by the club, British Rowing, Club Water Safety Adviser, Regional Water Safety Adviser, competition organisers and coaches to ensure that the risks to yourselves and others are adequately managed.
- Show respect for other club members and participants, opponents, spectators and officials and their decisions.
- Be considerate of other members and treat them with respect at all times.
- Be on time for training and competitions or inform the coach / club captain if going to be late.
- Wear suitable kit for training and racing as advised by the coach / club captain and always bring a change of clothes.
- Pay any charges for training or events promptly.
- Help with all club fundraising activities.
- Abide by the club rules and the rules of racing.
- Report any collisions, damage to equipment etc to the club captain / coach / equipment committee member within 24 hours and fill in any incident reports necessary.
- Ensure the clubhouse is left in a safe and secure state when leaving the building.
- Always clear equipment away when finished with, leaving the boathouse and training areas in a clean and safe state.
- Help maintain equipment by cleaning boats, oars and ergs each time after use and replacing missing/damaged parts where necessary. More serious damage to boats etc should be reported to club captain / coach / equipment committee member immediately so that repairs can be carried out as necessary.
- Willingly volunteer to help with marshalling, catering and other duties at all club events, especially when competing.
- Show loyalty to their club and fellow members.
- Attend all relevant meetings which may concern you or your section when called in order that you can be kept up to date with any matters arising.
- Regularly monitor club notice boards, member's portal, email notifications, social media and take notice of any relevant information.
Failure to comply with the Club Code of Conduct
- Minor breach of club policies.
- Refusal to follow instructions e.g. from a club or race official.
- Obscene language or other offensive behaviour.
- Unlawful discrimination, bullying or harassment.
- Bringing the club into serious disrepute.
- Causing loss or damage or injury through serious negligence.
- Theft or fraud.
- Serious breach of health and safety rules and misuse of safety equipment.
- Serious breach of confidence.
- Serious breach of club or British Rowing's policies and procedures.
- Use of banned or illegal substances.
- Unauthorised use or disclosure of confidential information.
- Unauthorised use of, access to, or hacking of the club websites, email, social media and other computer systems.
Bullying and harassment
The Club's Committee and Officers are committed to providing a welcoming, inclusive, and safe environment for all of our members. Bullying of any kind is not tolerated at the Club. We take a proactive approach to prevent bullying of anyone from occurring and will respond to all concerns and disclosures of bullying, prioritising the well-being of all adults at risk. We believe that in most cases, addressed early on, bullying can be effectively stopped and everyone can continue to enjoy rowing. We strongly encourage all members to report incidents of bullying to the Club Welfare Officer to enable us all to work together to address it. Bullying and harassment constitute a serious breach of the Club Code of Conduct (see below).
Bullying and harassment creates an offensive and intimidating environment for the person who is being bullied or harassed. The Club follows the Anti-Bullying Policy (October 2020) of the British Rowing Association, which defines bullying and harassment as:
"behaviour that is repeated, intended to hurt someone either physically or emotionally, or often aimed at certain groups, e.g. because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, family situation, or anyone considered to be 'different' "
- Unfair treatment.
- Picking on or regularly undermining someone.
- Denying someone's training or promotion opportunities.
- Deliberately excluding members or leaving them out.
- Being repeatedly disrespectful to others.
- Spreading malicious rumours and criticising people to others.
- Using inappropriate or intimidating language or behaviour.
- Using any physical violence.
- Name calling.
- Cyberbullying - bullying via social networking sites, chat rooms, or anywhere online with abusive comments, sharing images without consent, hacking, spreading malicious rumours or pressurising someone to do something they do not want to do.
- Our club makes this Anti-Bullying Statement easily available to all members and visitors
- Our introduction to new club members and visitors includes outlining our anti-bullying stance
- We raise awareness of bullying in our club - this may be through anti-bullying posters; and/or celebrating Anti-Bullying
- All rowers must adhere to and sign the Club's Code of Conduct upon joining
- A member who does not adhere to the Code of Conduct may be the subject of the club's disciplinary process and ultimately have sanctions applied, such as suspension or withdrawal of membership
- Our Club Welfare Officer is responsible for raising awareness of our anti-bullying statement and following our procedures (see 'what to do if bullying occurs').
- clearly communicate that bullying is not tolerated in the club;
- be a contact point for children and adults to speak to about bullying concerns and disclosures;
- talk to the child or adult to ask them what is happening and what they can do to help;
- if bullying is taking place, to follow the club's anti-bullying procedures;
- talk to the British Rowing Governance and Welfare Team if support is required.
- Talk to our Club Welfare Officer (or a Club Committee member if the CWO is not available). We cannot promise to keep the bullying secret if we are concerned about someone's safety and well-being, but we will do our best to handle all concerns and disclosures sensitively, working with you to find practical solutions that keep everyone safe and enjoying rowing.
- Our Club Welfare Officer will meet with the adult being bullied to agree how to address the bullying
- The following steps will be taken:
- If the victim chooses to handle the bullying themselves, ideas for doing so will be discussed with victim unless there are concerns that this puts them or someone else at risk of (further) harm
- If the victim agrees, or there is a concern that others may be at risk of harm, those bullying will be asked to meet with the Club Welfare Officer. Notes after the meeting will be taken
- If both parties agree, a meeting between the victim, the person bullying and Club Welfare Officer, will be held to agree how to prevent further bullying and an agreement made and put in writing. This is likely to include informing the coach of decisions so that the coach can monitor the situation
- Follow-up meetings will be scheduled (where feasible) to check in on everyone involved and ensure the bullying has ceased
- If the bullying continues, our club may request the person bullying to leave the club, either temporarily or permanently
- Where there is a concern that either the bully is a person who may be at risk of harm themselves; or the bully may be (at risk of) harming others; or the bully is an adult at risk who agrees the issue can be reported so they can access support, our club will report the concerns to the British Rowing Governance and Welfare Team, who will work with us in line with the British Rowing Safeguarding and Protecting Adults at Risk Policy.
It is important to remember that the person bullying may be experiencing, or have experienced bullying, other harm, and/or challenging personal situations themselves. Our club works with the person bullying and the person being bullied, with the aim of ending the bullying where both parties can learn from the incident, become advocates for preventing and responding to bullying and continue to enjoy rowing. However, in some instances we recognise that the bullying may not be resolved and/or someone may continue to be at risk of bullying. Our zero-tolerance approach to bullying means that our club may ask someone who is bullying to leave the club temporarily or permanently.
- If the person bullying is the Club Welfare Officer, concerns should be reported to a Committee Member or directly to the British Rowing Governance and Welfare Team
- The British Rowing Governance and Welfare Team must always be informed
- Where applicable, the case will follow the British Rowing Disciplinary procedures
- The case may be referred to the Case Management Group and/or the police
- Where a coach or teacher is employed by an outside organisation, the British Rowing Governance and Welfare Team will also inform the person's employer.