GBR U18 ATHLETE – PARENT MEMBERSHIP

From 1st September 2019 any parent of an U18 athlete participating in the Athlete Development Programme or wishing to be selected for GBR at Cadet & Junior Euros/Worlds and all JWCs must be a member of British Fencing if they wish to communicate with BF regarding that athlete. (The cheapest membership is the Supporter membership).

The BF membership system is in the process of being linked to a member support ticketing system which will mean that all emails that parents send will be logged in one place. Telephone queries that can’t be dealt with immediately will also be logged on the system.

This will ensure that:

• BF record the information and discussions in relation to an athlete against the membership record of the athlete or the parent which will help us comply with the requirements of GDPR.
• Parent questions are assigned and dealt with by the right person in the organisation, in order, according to the resources that BF have at their disposal.
• BF can put processes in place to ensure that queries are appropriately prioritised and as much as possible dealt with in turn.
• FAQs can be identified and answers published on the website
• Data can be collected in regards to the volume/type of queries that BF receive and this will inform the work that we do in a statistically meaningful way.

Parents intending to travel to support their children at GBR representational events at FIE and EFC level must also sign up for BF membership.  This helps us to support parents in ensuring that the participation experience of young athletes is aligned to individual and GBR squad development goals. It also helps us support the EFC and FIE in their goals to create a safe environment for children to compete internationally.

Athletes over 18

We recognise that some athletes may need extra parental support despite being 18 and over. However, once an athlete reaches 18 (unless the athlete has specific welfare needs) BF will only communicate directly with the athlete using the email address stored against their profile in the BF Membership platform. It is the responsibility of the athlete to forward or share their emails with their parent.

If parents wish to continue communicating with BF regarding their child’s participation in GBR activities they must continue to be a supporter member and BF will need to receive an email from the athlete authorising us respond to their parent in relation to their GBR activities. All emails from parents must be cc’d into the athlete. BF reserve the right to directly contact the athlete to confirm that they wish us to either take instructions from the parent or share any personal information as requested.