Social Media Policy
The electronic age in which we live causes every member of the Kamehameha Swim Club to be aware
of the far reaching effects of data posted to web sites, sent via email, and other electronic
mediums. This includes photos posted to web sites, text messages between teammates, or
information that is on blog sites, and messages posted to sites like Twitter, Facebook, etc.
No team member’s future should be jeopardized due to a careless or thoughtless action. We
must recognize that the words and photos that we post on-line are there for everyone to read
and view, as well as know the consequences of public communication.
Why this is important: By now many have seen and heard of the mistakes people have made
using social media. In constructing this policy, we hope to help our athletes avoid taking these
missteps that could negatively impact their future. Here are some recent examples.
- A high school student-athlete is expelled from school after tweeting racially
charged and sexually explicit messages.
- Multiple members of a high school team are suspended after posting sexually
provocative pictures on social networking sites.
- A college program suspends a player after he tweets that classes are pointless.
- Another program bans its players from Twitter after one of its student-athletes
tweets song lyrics about killing cops, drawing the ire of local police.
- A high school player takes the bait and gets into a war of words on Facebook
with a student at a rival school, leading to the player’s suspension.
- A little league softball team is kicked out of the playoffs after a picture is posted of
4 teammates making an obscene gesture to a rival team.
Representing the Club
Swimming for Kamehameha Swim Club is a privilege, and the club expects those
affiliated to portray themselves, Kamehameha Swim Club, and the community in a positive and
respectful manner.
No matter where you are, who you are with, or what you are doing, you are a member of this
team. Your actions can reflect on this club, even when engaging in activities outside of the pool
or team functions.
Posts are always visible
Once an athlete posts or tweets a message, it is captured and indexed by any number of search engines
that crawl the Internet. This means that a message never actually goes away. Text messages and photos
can be saved or screen shot without the sender’s knowledge. Colleges, coaches, and employers will
research potential recruits, and turn them away based on social media findings.
Rules and Guidelines
- Using social media to attack, degrade, or demean any person, team or
organization is not allowed.
- Profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, sexism, racism, homophobic and sexual
references will not be tolerated.- Do not engage with fans or members from other teams if they are making
derogatory comments online. Anything deemed inappropriate or upsetting should
be brought to the attention of an adult.
- Athletes may not create pages or accounts that represent Kamehameha Swim CLub unless given
permission by the Kamehameha Swim Club staff. The page will need to grant a Kamehameha Swim Club
employee admin privileges for the duration of the page’s existence.
- Athletes will not engage in posts, pages, tweets, etc. that are anonymous, meant
to be “confessions,” or an outlet for hurtful material. If you don’t want people to
know you are the owner of a statement, then that statement shouldn’t be made.
- Use some common sense. If you are not sure whether a post or tweet is
appropriate, then it probably is not. Never tweet or post when you are emotional.
The decisions we make while emotional are myopic and rarely look ahead to
potential consequences. Chances are the action will have a negative outcome.
- Be cautious when retweeting or reposting someone else’s content. Such action
can appear to be an endorsement of the message, even if you are not the
original author.
- Never assume that a message or post is protected from public view, even if you
have the “private” settings turned on for your profile.
- Do not give out personal contact information to a “friend” or “follower” that you do
not know, and never post that information publicly.
USE OF CELL PHONES & CAMERAS
Under no circumstances will cameras or cell phones be allowed in locker rooms or behind the
starting blocks. No cell phones will be allowed out of swim bags during practice without coach’s
permission to make or accept a call (this includes dryland activities). Cell phones are NOT
permitted on the competition pool deck at swim meets. It is recommended that athletes use
iPods or MP3 players to store music because phones cannot be used. Cell phone use during a
meet session will result in a minimum penalty of phone confiscation.
CONSEQUENCES
Any action that Kamehameha Swim Club deems to be harmful to another athlete, coach, staff member,
or the Kamehameha Swim Club image will be subject to consequences as outlined in the
Kamehameha Swim Club swimmer’s code of conduct
