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PHOTOS BY USA Hockey Magazine Archives; Steve Quinn Hockey + Health 32 // AUGUST 2019 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM Raising The Bar In The Name Of Safety I t's a shocking statistic, but one o u t o f e ve r y e i g h t c o m p et i t i ve athletes under the age of 18 will experience some form of sexual a b u s e o r a s s a u l t w i t h i n t h e i r respective sport. I n a n e f f o r t t o e n s u r e t h a t all participants have a safe and enjoyable experience in the game, U S A Ho c ke y h a s i m p l e m e n t e d programs and policies to prevent known offenders from joining pro- grams, to deter potential offenders from doing so in the future, and to educate members about the potential signs of abuse or misconduct within the sport. Since its inception in 2012, the USA Hockey SafeSport program has helped establish a culture in which every young ath- lete can participate in a safe environment by requiring background screenings and abuse prevention training for adult coaches, offi- cials and administrators, while implement- ing locker room monitoring policies and codes of conduct as part of a comprehensive program aimed at eliminating misconduct and abuse in USA Hockey programs. Still, more can and needs to be done. With that in mind, USA Hockey has made s e ve r a l c h a n g e s t o i t s S a f e S p o r t p r o - gram, based on changes mandated by the Center for SafeSport and the United States Congress through the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and SafeSport Authorization Act. The changes adopted by the Center for SafeSport are known as the Minor Athlete Abuse Protection Policies and are required to be adopted by each sport's national gov- erning body. USA Hockey has incorporated these policies, as well as changes by the Center to its SafeSport Code, into the USA Hockey SafeSport Program Handbook. Among the important changes to the USA Hockey SafeSport Program are: SafeSport Requirements S a f e S p o r t t r a i n i n g i s r e q u i r e d f o r a l l adults that have regular contact with or authority over minors, including coach- es, officials, team managers, volunteers, administrators and board members of programs. Starting this season, that also includes adult-aged players on the same team with minor athletes. Annual Requirements Beginning this season, SafeSport training is required every year rather than every other year. However, anyone who com- pleted training in the most recent season (2018-19) will retain valid training status for 2019-20, and will complete training annually beginning in 2020-21. The online course generally takes approx- imately 90 to 120 minutes to complete. After that a "Refresher Course" is avail- able each subsequent year for a person that SafeSport Changes Designed To Create Safer Environment For All Inside The Rink