Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (MAAPP)

UPDATED: December 22, 2021

The MAAPP applies to Adult Participants and their interactions with Minor Athletes in conjunction with USA Cycling activities. USA Cycling LAs and Clubs must adhere to MAAPP.

Establishing clear boundaries reduces the risk of physical, sexual, and emotional misconduct as well as opportunities for bullying, harassment, and hazing. Furthermore, the majority of child sexual abuse is perpetrated in isolated, one-on-one situations. By reducing such interaction between children and adults, programs reduce the risk of child sexual abuse. However, one-on-one time with trusted adults is also healthy and valuable for a child. Policies concerning one-on-one interactions protect children while allowing for these beneficial relationships. 

The U.S. Center for SafeSport and USAC recognize that youth-adult relationships can be healthy and valuable for development. Policies on one-on-one interactions protect children while allowing for these beneficial relationships. As child sexual abuse is often perpetrated in isolated, one-on-one situations, it is critical that organizations limit such interactions between youth and adults and implement programs that reduce the risk of sexual abuse.

The following policies have been adopted by USA Cycling (USAC) to establish clearly defined boundaries between participants in cycling and to reduce isolated one-on-one interactions between children and adults in cycling.

Part II: Organizations Requirements for Education & Training and Prevention Policies

USAC and its LAs and Clubs must implement proactive policies designed to prevent abuse. These organizational requirements are described below.

A. Requirements for Education & Training

  1. USAC must track whether Adult Participants under their jurisdiction complete the required training listed in Part I.
  2. USAC, LAs and Clubs must, on an annual basis, offer and, subject to parental consent, give training to Minor Athletes on the prevention and reporting of child abuse.
    1. For training to Minor Athletes, USAC, LAs and Clubs must track a description of the training and how the training was offered and provided to Minor Athletes.
    2. USAC, LAs and Clubs are not required to track individual course completions of Minor Athletes.
  3. USAC, LAs and Clubs must, on an annual basis, offer training to parents on the prevention and reporting of child abuse.

B. Required Prevention Policies and Implementation

  1. USAC must develop minor athlete abuse prevention policies that contain the mandatory components of the Center’s model policies in Part III. These model policies cover:
    1. One-on-one interactions
    2. Meetings and training sessions
    3. Athletic training modalities, massages, and rubdowns
    4. Locker rooms and changing areas
    5. Electronic communications
    6. Transportation
    7. Lodging
  2. The policies must be approved by the Center as described in subsection (C) below. The policies may include the recommended components in Part III and the recommended policies in Part IV. Given the uniqueness of each sport, however, some recommended components or policies may not be feasible or appropriate. USAC may choose to implement stricter standards than the model policies.
  3. USAC must also require that its LAs and Clubs implement these policies.
  4. USAC, LAs and Clubs must implement these policies for all In-Program Contact.
    1. At sanctioned events and facilities partially or fully under USAC, an LA’s or Club’s jurisdiction, the organization must take steps to ensure the policies are implemented and followed.
    2. For In-Program Contact that occurs outside USAC’s, an LA’s or Club’s sanctioned event or facilities, implementing these policies means:
      1. Communicating the policies to individuals under USAC, the LA’s or Club’s jurisdiction;
      2. Establishing a reporting mechanism for violations of the policies;
      3. Investigating and enforcing violations of the policies.
  5. USAC must have a reporting mechanism to accept reports that an Adult Participant is violating the minor athlete abuse prevention policies. USAC must appropriately investigate and resolve any reports received, unless the violation is reported to the Center and it exercises jurisdiction over the report. This requirement is in addition to requirements to report abuse under the SafeSport Code.

C. Policy Approval and Submission Process

  1. USAC may adopt the MAAPP as-is or adapt it to fit its needs. Regardless, USAC must submit their policies to the Center at compliance@safesport.org for review and approval by January 31, 2021. The Center will approve, approve with modifications, or deny the policies. If the Center denies the proposed policy, the mandatory components of Part III become the default policy until the Center approves the policy.
  2. USAC must require its LAs and Clubs to incorporate the mandatory components of Part III. USAC may require that its LAs and Clubs implement USAC’s policies, which may be more stringent than the policies in Part III.
  3. An NGB may, in its discretion, require its National Member Organizations (NMO) to implement these policies.
    1. An NGB that chooses to require its NMOs to implement the Education & Training Policy must obtain advanced, written approval from the Center to expand the training access to additional persons. Requests must be submitted to ngbservices@safesport.org.
  4. The mandatory components of Part III will serve as the default policy for any organization that fails to develop its own policy as required by this section.