Safe Sport Frequently Asked Questions

The following individuals are required to take SafeSport training:

• USA Cycling Staff
• USA Cycling Board of Directors
• USA Cycling licensed Coaches
• USA Cycling licensed Officials
• Adult athletes selected by USA Cycling to attend events at which minor athletes selected by USA Cycling will also be in attendance (minor athletes who will turn 18 years of age while at such events must also take the training with parental permission)
• UCI Support License categories:
  • Managers
  • Sports Directors/Assistant Sport Directors
  • Soigneurs/Trainers
  • Team Doctors and Paramedics
  • Coaches
  • Mechanics
  • Any other UCI support licensee
    • Whom a team authorizes, approves or appoints:
      • To a position of authority over, or
      • To have regular contact with athletes.
• Collegiate Conference Directors
• Local Association leadership (Employees and Board Members) and those individuals the LA authorizes, approves or appoints:
  • To a position of authority over, or
  • To have regular contact with athletes
• Club leadership (Employees and Board Members) of any Club and those individuals the Club formally authorizes, approves or appoints:
  • To a position of authority over, or
  • To have regular contact with athletes
• Independent contractors USA Cycling formally authorizes, approves or appoints:
  • To a position of authority over, or
  • To have regular contact with athletes
• Any non-athlete individual authorized by USA Cycling to train, stay, or work at an Olympic Training Center

Congress passed the Protecting Young Victims From Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, which authorizes the U.S. Center for SafeSport to develop training to prevent abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, of any amateur athlete. Federal law also authorizes the Center to develop policies and procedures (including policies to limit one-on-one interactions) for implementation by NGBs to prevent abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, of any amateur athlete. Training is required to be completed by certain adults; and, subject to parental consent, is required to be offered and given to minor athlete members. The policy details the specific adults who are required to take the Center’s training. Other individuals who are not required to take the Center’s training are nonetheless encouraged to take the Center’s training because they, at a minimum, need to comply with federal law and complete training concerning child abuse prevention.

No. There is only one SafeSport Training, so if you have already done it for another NGB, please forward your certificate of completion (you can return to your SafeSport portal to retrieve it) to USA Cycling and will be updated in the USA Cycling system.

Take the training here: https://usacycling.org/safespo...

The training is free through USA Cycling.

SafeSport Training is good for 12 months. You will need to refresh each year.

Your USA Cycling account should be automatically updated when you complete the training. If it is not reflected in your account, please send a copy of the completion certificate to USACyclingSafeSport@usacycling.org

Please contact the Center's Technical Support: 720.676.6417

USA Cycling cannot do anything to help with technical issues related to the training.

You should expect contact from USA Cycling within 48-72 hours. Rarely, but occasionally, USA Cycling may be unable to respond for up to a week. If you believe you or someone else’s safety is at risk please call local law enforcement immediately.

After a report is filed online, by email or by phone, the first step for USA Cycling is to determine if the evidence suggests a policy violation or code of conduct violation has occurred. If the evidence supports a violation finding, USA Cycling will hire an experienced third-party investigator to conduct an investigation. The investigator will seek contact with the reporting party as well as the accused and any witnesses.

1. Log into your USA Cycling account.

2. Click on "My Account" in the upper right corner of the webpage.

3. Under the “Welcome” banner, there are several links - click on "Account".

4. Within the Account screen, under your Personal Information, there is an information box entitled "Background Check".

• If you do not have a background check, your background check is not current or it is nearing expiration, there will be a "Click Here" link for you to use to start or update your background check. Using this link is important as it transfers your USA Cycling ID to NCSI. By using this link your account information will be automatically updated when your background check is completed.
• If you have a background check and it is current, your account will show you the expiration date of your background check. You will not receive a "Click Here" link until you are within 90 calendar days of your expiration date. USA Cycling will automatically send a reminder email to the email address listed in your account information when your background check is within 30 days of expiration to remind you to update. Remember, if your background check expires, any license requiring it is then suspended until the background check is brought current.

No. A green light background check is good for 2 years and is good for any license requiring it. For a list of licenses requiring a background check, click here.

The following individuals, irrespective of age, are required to complete a background check and are responsible for the associated cost:

• USA Cycling Staff*
• USA Cycling licensed Coaches and Officials
• UCI Support License categories:
  • Managers
  • Sports Directors/Assistant Sports Directors
  • Soigneurs/Trainers
  • Team Doctors and Paramedics
  • Coaches (Must be a USA Cycling Licensed Coach)
  • any other UCI support licensee who the team authorizes, approves or appoints
    • to a position of authority over, or
    • to have frequent contact with athletes.
• Collegiate Conference Directors*
• Local Associations
  • The LA President MUST have a completed CBC
  • and other members identified by the LA where the LA formally authorizes, approves or appoints
    • to a position of authority over, or
    • to have frequent contact with athletes.
    • to have frequent contact with athletes.
• Independent contractors USA Cycling formally authorizes, approves or appoints
• Any non-athlete individual authorized by USA Cycling or the USOC to train, stay, or work at an Olympic Training Center.

*USA Cycling Staff and Collegiate Conference Director background checks are currently paid for by USA Cycling.

Find out more about the USA Cycling Background Check Policy here.

If you completed a background check through NCSI for USA Triathlon you must tell NCSI to release the information using the following procedure:

1. Click on this link to sign in to your legacy USA Cycling account.
2. Click on ‘Account’ and you will find a ‘Background Check’ toolbox below your personal information.
3. You will either see an expiration date (still valid) or a ‘Click Here’ link that takes you to the NCSI site.
4. When asked “is this your first time using NCSI?”, click “no”.
5. Identify yourself in one of two ways (last name, DOB and SSN or applicant ID and DOB).
6. Sign off on the consent forms to allow NCSI to share your USA Triathlon screen with USA Cycling.
7. Email USA Cycling at safesport@usacycling.org to confirm that the results have been released (NCSI does not notify USA Cycling automatically).

1. If you've received a pre-adverse action letter from NCSI, it indicates NCSI sourced a criminal record in your background check and unless the record is inaccurate, your background check will result in a red light.

2. If you believe the criminal record sourced by NCSI is incorrect, please contact NCSI immediately to dispute the sourced record. The letter should provide the appropriate contact information.

3. You can only appeal an inaccurate record, you cannot appeal a red light determination based on an accurate record.

Occasionally, while going through the background check process, NCSI may require additional information from an applicant to help source accurate records. Most often, NCSI requests the information because the applicant has a common name. If you question the validity of an email sent to you by NCSI, please do not hesitate to call their office: 866.833.7100.

1. Log into your USA Cycling account.

2. Click on "My Account" in the upper right corner of the webpage.

3. Under the “Welcome” banner, there are several links - click on "Account".

4. Within the Account screen, under your Personal Information, there is an information box entitled "Background Check".

• If you do not have a background check, your background check is not current or it is nearing expiration, there will be a "Click Here" link for you to use to start or update your background check. Using this link is important as it transfers your USA Cycling ID to NCSI. By using this link your account information will be automatically updated when your background check is completed.
• If you have a background check and it is current, your account will show you the expiration date. You will not receive a "Click Here" link until you are within 90 calendar days of your expiration date. USA Cycling will automatically send a reminder email to the email address listed in your account information when your background check is within 30 days of expiration to remind you to update it. Remember, if your background check expires, any license requiring it is then suspended until the background check is brought current.