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NWBA Launches 2019-20 Athlete Safety Procedures & Certification Training

By NWBA Team, 08/15/19, 3:00PM CDT

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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - The NWBA continues to put significant emphasis on athlete safety and ensuring appropriate procedures and certification trainings are in place for the 2019-20 NWBA season. The NWBA is dedicated to taking measures to ensure the safety of all athletes, particularly our youth. The following are educational resources for our members, designed to ensure a safe environment for our athletes while they are competing and having fun.

Background Check
In partnership with the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI) and SportsEngine, background checks are fully integrated into the Non-Athlete Registration session. All Non-Athlete members of the NWBA must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check. This is because they may interact directly, regardless of frequency, with young athletes as a regular part of their duties. All background checks must be completed through National Center for Safety Initiatives. No other form of background checks will be accepted. For more information on background checks visit
https://www.nwba.org/backgroundcheck.

SafeSport
The U.S. Center for SafeSport is designated by Congress through the
Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 to serve as the independent national safe sport organization, with the responsibility for developing policies and procedures to prevent the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of amateur athletes.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport has updated the SafeSport Code and Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP) on April 15, 2019. The new Code and MAAPP make the following individuals subject to the mandatory training requirements and jurisdiction of the outlined Code and MAAPP:

  • All members of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association that are 18 years or older
    • Individuals that are 17 years old must complete the U.S Center for SafeSport training, with parental consent, no later than their 18th birthday

The SafeSport Course "core" requirement is valid for one (1) year after completing it. In subsequent years, users must take a Refresher Course. In the first year after completing the “core” requirement, users will take Refresher 1. In the second-year users will take Refresher 2. A new refresher course will be rolled out each year and follow this pattern. Upon logging into SafeSport to complete training, you will be prompted on the course offering you should complete. Members are encouraged to allot ample time and put forth their undivided attention when completing a SafeSport training course.

The NWBA requires uploading the master “SafeSport Trained” certificate, Refresher 1 certificate or Refresher 2 certificate to your entry for Individual Registration. All SafeSport certificates are accessible from your SafeSport dashboard. You may edit your Individual Registration to include this certificate at any time. Please note, you must complete your Safesport certification prior to participating in NWBA activities (e.g. practice, team building, games, etc.), whether you interact with youth regularly or not. Please click here to learn how to edit a registration entry.

Please review the resource materials including the Code, MAAPP and other information provided by the U.S. Center for SafeSport at https://www.nwba.org/safesport. There is no more important asset than our Membership.

Coach Certification
All head coaches are required to complete the NWBA Level I Coach Certification; assistant coaches are strongly encouraged to complete Level 1, as well. Please visit
https://www.nwba.org/coachcertification to review the training presentation slides and access the test. Please complete the multiple choice test regarding the various topics presented in the presentations. This is an open book test; please reference the presentations if necessary. Certificates are valid for two years from the date of completion. This program was made possible through a generous grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.

Team Classification Reviewer
The team reviewer manages and administers the initial proposal and approval of player classifications for teams. A team reviewer can be any registered member of your team; there is no limit to how many team reviewers in your program that may be certified. All teams for all divisions of play must have at least one person certified as a Team Reviewer, except Prep teams in the Junior Division. There is no cost to become a Team Reviewer. Certificates are valid for two years from the date of completion. The Team Classification Reviewer Course is NOT available at this time but will be available soon and shared with all registered Team Reviewers and Team Representatives with entry on file for the Non-Athlete Registration. Thank you for your patience. For more information on Team Classification Reviewer please visit
https://www.nwba.org/teamreviewer.

Floor Officials
The Officials Exam is NOT available at this time, but will be available soon and shared with all registered Floor Officials with entry on file for the Non-Athlete Registration. Thank you for your patience.


Concussion Safety
The NWBA understands the severity of concussions, and is dedicated to preventing them within our organization. We have utilized the practices of the ‘HEADS UP’ Program from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help educate our members on the prevention of concussions, and what to do in the case of suspected concussions. All members while registering as an Athlete and/or Non-Athlete will be required to acknowledge that this concussion information has been provided to them. For more information on concussion safety visit
https://www.nwba.org/concussionsafety.

All individuals must have a verified and complete NWBA Athlete and/or Non-Athlete Registration 10 days prior to their first competition at a NWBA sanctioned event. All individuals registering within 10 days of an NWBA sanctioned event may NOT be eligible to participate. The results of a competition in which an unregistered Member(s) competes will not count towards Nationals. A Complete Non-Athlete Registration includes the successful completion of the following certifications: Background Check, Safe Sport Certification, Coaches Certification (if applicable), Officials Certification (if applicable), Team Reviewer Certification (if applicable).

For any questions, please contact Brandon McBeain at,
brandonmcbeain@nwba.org or (719) 266-4082 ext. 108.