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Safeguarding & Wellbeing
Safeguarding at the London Mets
At the London Mets we are proud of our inclusive culture, welcoming any and all into our baseball community. To protect that culture, we have guidelines and processes to insure that everyone can play baseball in a safe and caring environment.
There two key planks of our safeguarding platform.
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The club’s governance structure. The inclusive nature of the club is spelled out in aims and objectives of our club constitution. The responsibilities of our members to uphold the constitution are clearly defined there as well. A key role of the board of directors is the Safeguarding role, which is currently held by Gabi Martens.
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The expectations that govern our behaviours which are laid out in to codes of conduct for players and managers. We encourage all memebrs to have a look at these documents as a reminder of how we expect London Mets players and coaches to represent the club in all our baseball activities. You can also find these documents on our dedication governance page.
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Reporting
All breaches of the code of conduct should be reported to a member of the board of directors of the club. Such reports will rapidly trigger a process of thorough investigation by a subcommittee of the board. This group, upon completion of the investigation, will report back to the full board with the recommended actions to be taken (if any), based upon the guidelines that are laid out in the code of conduct.
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We sincerely hope that we will never have any cause to use this process but it is in place for the comfort and safety of all of our members.
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There are 2 ways to report a safeguarding issue to the London Mets.
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Please follow the link here. All reports go to a special secure form to an account that has limited access. To help keep your reports anonymous.
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E-mail us directly on safeguarding@londonmets.org.
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You can also report issues of safeguarding directly to BSUK through the link here
What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is a vital process that protects children and adults from harm, abuse, and neglect. The safety and wellbeing of adults and children in sport is important as it provides a safe space in which to play sport and be active. A key part of safeguarding is spreading the message about keeping participants, especially children, safe and building a culture of always acting in the best interest of all children.
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Sport can have a powerful and positive influence on its participants, especially young people. Not only can it provide opportunities for enjoyment and achievement, it can also develop valuable lifelong skills and qualities, including [ positive self-esteem, leadership and teamwork. However, these positives can only occur if the sport is in the right hands – under the protection of those who place the welfare of all participants first and adopt practices that support, protect and empower them.
The reality, however, is that abuse does sometimes take place in sport and in some cases coaches and other trusted adults have been convicted of criminal offences and/or disciplined by the National Governing Body (NGB) of their sport.
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The British Baseball Federation (BBF), the British Softball Federation (BSF) and BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK) are committed to working together and in partnership with all relevant agencies to ensure that all three bodies fulfil the legal and moral obligations to safeguard and promote the welfare of all participants, and specifically young people and adults at risk.
Mental Health in Sports
Competitive Sports can be intense and can be great for mental health but sport can also have have a negative impact on Mental Health. The following websites can offer support for mental in sports.
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LGBTIQ+ Inclustion at the London Mets
The London Mets promotes the active participation LGBTIQ+ people in baseball, many of our teams players and members identify under the LGBTIQ+ umbrella and we are proud to create a safe space for all people to take part in baseball.
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Baseball in the UK is unique in that teams across all levels from Single-A - NBL are all gender leagues. Meaning that all people regardless of your gender identity can participate in baseball.
Gabi Martens
"I joined the London Mets 5 years ago through the B4B program and have been in love with baseball ever since. I was really nervous about coming to play sports but the London Mets were welcoming and supportive.
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I am am about to enter my 4th year as a player, I am a member of London Mets Board of Directors, & the club's Safeguarding Officer.
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I encourage LGBTIQ+ people to give basbeall a try and come take part."
Documents
Please see below the documents relating to Safeguarding Policy and Procedure.
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The first document is to be used as guidance for a committee investigating a safeguarding report
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The Second document is a report form to be filled out by the investigation lead.
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The third form is a template of the Letter of Conduct which is sent to a member being investigated,