The Irish Athletic Boxing Association is celebrating Sport Ireland’s Children First Awareness Week by highlight the role Safeguarding plays in supporting children and young people in boxing.
Children First Awareness Week runs from September 15th to 21st – today, we’re sharing how Safeguarding is defined.
What is Safeguarding?
- Creating a Safe Environment: The primary aim is to ensure that all children and young people can participate in boxing and physical activity in an environment that is safe and supportive.
- Compliance and Best Practice: Safeguarding helps sporting organisations, including the IABA, meet their legal obligations under the Children First Act 2015 and adopt best practices in child protection.
- Risk Management: This involves developing and implementing policies and procedures to identify, assess, and minimise risks of harm, as well as establishing a process for ongoing compliance and vigilance.
- Education and Training: The IABA provides resources and training workshops (Safeguarding 1, 2, and 3) for coaches, volunteers, and parents to raise awareness about child protection and poor practice.
- Shared Responsibility: Safeguarding is presented as a shared responsibility involving parents, guardians, coaches, volunteers, and clubs working together to foster a protective environment for young boxers.
What is Safeguarding in IABA?
IABA provides all member clubs will access to Safeguarding training, and vetting required to coach children and young people.
We also provide access to vetting here and a suite of club and parent safeguarding resources, including polocies and guidance here
Contacts
IABA’s National Safeguarding Manager, Stephen Flynn, can be contacted on +353 86 074 8867, via stephen@iaba.ie