Social media, imagery and travel guidelines

Social media guidelines

Table Tennis England takes its responsibility in terms of providing advice and guidelines in respect of safeguarding our young people and vulnerable adults very seriously.

In recent years the use of social media networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace, YouTube, Tumblr and Bebo have become immensely popular with both adults and young people alike. Used safely they provide an incredible tool to enable us all to promote our sport, publicise events and make contact with our members whether that be at club, league, county or national level. In addition, sites like YouTube allow us to be able to upload clips and videos to share moments from our sport which can reach tens of thousands of people at the click of a button.

Unfortunately whilst the use of these, and other, types of social media offer exciting opportunities they bring with them dangers and the ability for abuse if not used safely.

The guidelines attached below are intended to be used by both young people and adults alike in order to use social media safely and in a manner that makes the most of the advantages. For the purposes of this policy young people are defined as under the age of 18.

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Livestreaming video

Table Tennis England are aware that many of our coaches and clubs are looking to provide activities to keep their membership involved in our sport during this time of Covid-19. Many people are using the virtual platforms that have become available to access and provide that means of engagement. Clubs have been running quizzes, meetings, social evenings and attending education courses. It is vitally important that we all remember that safeguarding, even if coaches, officers, and staff are not meeting face to face, still needs to be of paramount importance when engaging with young people and adults at risk.

As Covid restrictions relax, the demand for online video streaming is still prominent with events and competitions being live streamed. To ensure the safety of our athletes of all ages, we have set out guidelines and a parental consent form which are attached at the foot of this page.

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Photography guidelines

Table Tennis England is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable environment for young people to play and compete in their chosen sport. Part of this is recognising that both Table Tennis England and the player’s relatives will want to celebrate their success and promote table tennis whilst at all times protecting our young players and, therefore, asks that everyone abides by the following:

• Consent must be given by parents/carers for the taking and publication of photographic images of young people.
• Young people should be appropriately dressed for table tennis.
• Photography should focus on the activity rather than the person and any personal details e.g. address should never be published.
• Any concerns should be passed on to Table Tennis England’s Safeguarding Manager.

For more information, please download the documents attached below.

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Travel guidelines

Table Tennis England as an organisation is working to ensure that our sport is played in safe and secure environments. We want to reassure parents and carers that every effort is made to help their young people not only gain great enjoyment from taking part in table tennis, but they may also be confident that measures are in place to ensure their safety. At the same time we have tried to take a common sense approach throughout all of our guidelines, processes and procedures.

Table Tennis England operate an extensive competition programme within England in addition to organising training camps and travel abroad for the elite players, and want these experiences to be exciting and enjoyable for the participants. In addition, many clubs and leagues also arrange trips, so it is hoped that these guidelines will not only assist those with responsibility for organising and implementing trips for groups of players, but also provide a resource for inclusion in parents/carers information packs.

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