Important Message_Nomination and Validation Result Vs Competition Day_28052023

Dear APU Members,

We would like to advise of a situation which occurred at a competition on the weekend and has possible implications for the athlete, meet director and referees.

During the competition, the referees were made aware that a lifter who had nominated as coaching themselves was being coached by an unapproved coach. Attention was drawn to this situation due to another lifter in the warm-up area was accidentally injured. After further investigation, one of the parties involved in the injury was a coach who was not included in the nomination/validation list and/or on the APU approved coaches list and/or the APU membership list.

The unapproved Coach was immediately removed from the event venue and the athlete will not be able to use the results to progress.

The APU board holds safety as an extremely high priority. There are very clear safety reasons why we require all coaches at a competition to be validated. This means we can confirm they have passed a Working with Children Check (WWC Check) as well as the APU coaching course which includes a section on risk management. The deeply unfortunate situation of another lifter being injured could have been avoided had the lifter followed the correct procedures.

It has been made very clear to all lifters that their coach MUST be validated to be able to coach them at a competition. We are aware that it is extremely difficult for referees to run checks on coaches during a competition, so we will be providing a notification to all meet directors that they need to demarcate approved coaches in some way, via wristbands, lanyards, or similar. These fall under routine competition costs and can of course be included in applications for reimbursement.

Regardless, the athletes shall not accept assistance from any person who has not been validated as a coach into the warm-up area or waiting area.

The APU board would like to thank you all for your assistance in ensuring the safety of all APU lifters, coaches, referees, and volunteers.

Contributor: Rosie Wilson, APU Communication Commitee & APU Provisional Referee.

Acknowledged by The APU Board