Australian Bike Polo Code of Conduct
We have the rules which do a great job of specifying what is or is not allowed on the court, but what the rules fail to do is capture the spirit of the game.
I'd propose we start a 'code of conduct' document to address this.
This would be a short (one or two pages) written document outlining what is and is not acceptable behavior both on and off the court.
Do people feel this would be of benefit to our community and culture?
I have a few ideas of where to start, but I'd love to hear yours as well.
Mike Critch [PER] Thu 5 Mar 2015 6:22AM
Also it may be easier to target racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic language (i.e. language that targets specific groups) by having a code against "derogatory, inflammatory or abusive language" I think that would cover most 'anti-social' language and behavior. Although any kind of heckling could be considered 'inflammatory'.
It's really going to be about how it's enforced. And it needs to be enforced with consistency!
Sam TIM Mon 9 Mar 2015 4:57AM
Came up today in worlds conversations. Timaru (maybe NZ?) has a very clear no smoking policy at their sports venues. Would a AHPBA code of conduct say anything about smoking cigarettes? Or drugs for that matter?
David Corrin MEL Tue 31 Mar 2015 11:20PM
Great point @samcallander. I'd love to see a smoking area for Worlds away from competition. I'd be behind this in a big way. I'd also like to state that the event will be drug free on the poster. We could pump the smoke from the smokers area into a drug taking area, add a strobe and some speakers and boom! Jokes...
Brook [SYD] Wed 1 Apr 2015 1:15PM
Yes, I'm with this all the way for pushing this aspect and also carefully thinking about how alcohol is managed at the event. We all saw some of the beautiful moments in France that drinking gave us but some pretty shit behaviour too*. If we want legitimacy then this should be at least raised and discussed.
*i.e. the abuse locals gave outsiders, that stupid pitch invasion during the girls demo game and everyone's favourite microphone wielding Edisons fan..
David Corrin MEL Fri 3 Apr 2015 4:43AM
Perhaps we should elect a working group to formulate a first draft for a tournament code of conduct.
It would be good to have a model to work along side. Does anyone have a good Code of conduct that we can model ours on? I'm thinking that roller derby would have something.
We should consider a ban on air horns, whistles and megaphones.
NickDW [CBR] Fri 3 Apr 2015 6:56AM
As long as vuvuzelas are allowed I'm cool with that.
Sam TIM Sat 4 Apr 2015 9:03AM
As long as vuvuzelas are prohibited then I too think that is a fantastic idea
Mike Critch [PER] · Thu 5 Mar 2015 6:11AM
I've been looking at incorporating a code of conduct into Perth Cycle Polo membership forms, so when new members (and old players alike) sign up with their registration and fees they know what is expected of them.
From what I have seen there are different 'codes' depending on where you sit within an organisation/collective. So players, officials (refs at tournaments) and administrators (reps) will have different codes to adhere to.
I think for 'officials' and 'administrators' it is important that our codes are all standardised accross Australia since we all participate in the same competitions and tournaments at National level but some local codes may be applied for players to accommodate regional differences (like WA players aren't allowed to drink South Australian beer for example)
If the code of conduct is spelled out in player's membership (which may be revoked if certain conduct breaks the code) then players will be better informed about their responsibilities and more accountable if they f-up.
Also was there a 'charter' template for AHBPA clubs floating around? Might be useful to incorporate a National level Code of Conduct into our individual club/State charters