SPORT IS A PRIVILEGE

RESPECTING THE 'RIGHT TO PLAY' POLICY

Sport is a Privilege, not a right. The Director of Sport, sports coaches, teachers-in-charge and school management reserve the right to intervene if a student’s attendance rates or engagement in class (as reported on LERs) are below expectation. In this case, a student’s ability to participate in sporting, arts, cultural and any other extra-curricular activities may be reviewed.

Rationale: Respecting the Right to Play is about meeting a standard of Grace, personal excellence and attendance to be eligible to play sport at Columba College.

Expectation: Columba College asks that all students show their commitment to their chosen sport by attending all training and games, and committing to the sport for the entire season. If a player is consistently not attending training or games, the coach or manager will alert the Teacher in Charge or Sports Coordinator.

Behaviour: Players are asked to put in their best effort at the training sessions and to respect and listen to the coach at all times. Normal school expectations of behaviour and code of conduct are in place for sports training and games. This applies to Players, Coaches, Managers, Parents and Spectators. No negative language or attitude will be tolerated. If negative behaviour continues after a warning is given, the coach or team manager may contact the school Teacher in Charge or Director of Sport.


So how will this work?

Each week on a Friday, Mrs Harris (Head of Schools) will filter through the absences and our Deans will check LERs every fortnight to ensure everyone is meeting requirements. If someone is below expectation the following will occur:

  1. Head of Schools and Deans will inform the Director of Sport

  1. The Director of Sport will meet with the student to discuss protocols.

  2. The Director of Sport will notify the Coach, Parent and Player - this is likely to be via email letter outlining the concern and level they are at. At this point, the player is ‘on notice’. This means that in the next reporting period the engagement report/attendance must be above expectation or the player will be ineligible to play. This gives the Coach at least 1 week of notice they may possibly have a player unavailable.

  3. Should the player be made ineligible, then they will be stood down from sport for one week. However, they are still required to attend games and training to support their teammates. Please note - they can not play for any sports teams for the week they are stood down. They may play the following week before the next round of reporting comes through. Should the grades still be below expectation the process will repeat and further consequences may result in withdrawal from the team.

  4. Students that become ineligible to play during the season for not ‘respecting the right to play’ may become ineligible for a specific award in that sport at Sports Awards.

  5. Students that are ‘stood down’ from school for behavioural issues may become ineligible to play and or practice for school sports teams if the stand down applies over the practice and or game times.