Policies and behaviour

Online behaviour associated with the club's web presence

Sporting clubs have adopted a number of different approaches with regards to governing the online behaviour of (mainly) members and supporters:

• They develop adapt a specific club policy, or adapt an exsiting fgeneral policy, for online behaviour. Sometimes this is confined to a social media policy as this is where the possibility for inappropriate behaviour mainly exists.
  • Some clubs assume that the behaviour of members and supporters is governed by the online behaviour policy or social media policy enacted by their league, association or major sporting body.
• They assume that the online behaviour of members and supporters falls within a club's generic code of conduct.
  • Or, some clubs use a code of conduct developed by their league, association or major sporting body.
• They do not see a need for an online social media policy as they describe themselves as a club with 'good values' and/or have not come across any problems yet, or perhaps they do not use social media.
• They have not thought about having an online or social media policy.

It should be noted that having such policies in place provides an indication of what is acceptable behaviour within the club. Policies can also advise as to what sanctions can be applied when behaviour is inappropriate. Their existence can also play a role in assisting with achieving club accreditation or certification and in resolving disputes that may arise as a result of questionable online behaviour.

The following examples relate specifically to online or social media behaviour.

• Play by the rules - Social media toolkit (Australia)
• Social media safety - Club Matters (UK)

On a more general level, researchers from Victoria University in Australia have developed a Sports Integrity Readiness Kit to assist clubs to deal with issues such as match fixing, drug use and inappopriate behaviour by members, administrators and supporters.

Making general club policies and codes of conduct available online

When distributed online, club policies are usually stored on the club's website. Members and supporters can then be notified via (say) social media and/or email that they are available on the website - perhaps also providing a direct link to the policies. This could occur on a regular basis (at the start of a particular season or at key times) and when new members join the club. Another common method of online distribution is to email policies directly to members and supports (as attachments).