Introduction

The English Disc Golf Association (EDGA) acknowledges its duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk. EDGA is committed to ensuring its safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance, Sport England requirements, and best practice.

For the purposes of this policy, ‘children’ means persons under the age of 18. ‘Adults at risk’ means adults who may be at risk of harm due to disability, mental ill-health, illness, addiction, or other circumstances that reduce their ability to protect themselves.

EDGA recognises that the welfare and interests of children and adults at risk are paramount in all circumstances. Regardless of age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, or socio-economic background, all children and adults at risk involved in EDGA activities should:

• have a positive and enjoyable experience of disc golf in a safe and supportive environment
• be protected from abuse whilst participating in EDGA events and activities.

EDGA acknowledges that some children and adults, including disabled people and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds, may be at greater risk of harm. EDGA accepts responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure their welfare.

Commitments

As part of this policy, EDGA will:

• promote and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children, young people, and adults at risk
• ensure that everyone involved in EDGA activities understands their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding, and is provided with appropriate learning opportunities to recognise, identify, and respond to signs of abuse, neglect, and other safeguarding concerns
• ensure appropriate action is taken in the event of incidents or concerns of abuse, and that support is provided to those who raise or disclose a concern
• maintain confidential, detailed, and accurate records of all safeguarding concerns, stored securely
• prevent the deployment of unsuitable individuals in roles involving children or adults at risk
• ensure robust safeguarding arrangements and procedures are in operation at all EDGA events and activities
• promote awareness of Sport England safeguarding training resources to affiliated clubs and event organisers.

This policy and its procedures are mandatory for everyone involved in running EDGA events. Failure to comply may be addressed under the EDGA Member Conduct and Disciplinary Regulations and may result in exclusion from the organisation.

Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy

EDGA has appointed a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and a Deputy DSL. These are the first people that staff, players, volunteers, or members of the public should approach with safeguarding concerns.

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) & Board Safeguarding Sponsor:

Role: National Director & Board Director

Name: Iain McDougall

Contact: [email protected]

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (Deputy DSL):

Role: Secretary & Board Director

Name: Connor Harvey-Ward

Contact: [email protected]

Having both a DSL and a Deputy means that if one is unavailable, or if an allegation is made against them, concerns can be reported to the other.

The DSL and Deputy DSL are responsible for:

• acting as a first point of contact and source of advice on safeguarding matters
• co-ordinating action within EDGA
• recording all allegations and reported incidents appropriately
• liaising with Children’s Social Care, the Police, or other relevant statutory agencies about suspected or actual cases of abuse
• ensuring this policy and associated procedures are implemented and kept up to date.

The DSL assesses whether EDGA roles involving children are eligible for a DBS check and keeps restricted records of checks obtained for EDGA roles (see DBS and Safer Recruitment below).

Contexts

There are three main contexts in which safeguarding concerns may arise under EDGA:

1. EDGA-sanctioned tournaments
2. Non-tournament events (e.g. training clinics, come-and-try days)
3. EDGA-affiliated clubs

EDGA-sanctioned Tournaments

Parents, carers, and guardians are responsible for their children during EDGA-sanctioned events. Event staff are not responsible for the children of tournament players, spectators, or other attendees. Parents, carers, and guardians must not leave unaccompanied children at or near the scoring area, clubhouse, or tournament venue.

Age rules during tournament rounds:

• Players aged 13 or under must be accompanied by a parent, carer, or guardian during their tournament round.
• A single parent, carer, or guardian may be responsible for more than one junior player (aged 13 or under) in the same group, provided all relevant parents/carers/guardians have agreed in advance and this has been communicated to the Tournament Director (TD).
• Players aged 14–17 may play in a group without their parent, carer, or guardian immediately present, provided that person remains present at the event venue throughout.

Stand-in guardian:

If a player under 18 wishes to attend an event and their parent, carer, or guardian cannot attend, a stand-in guardian may be appointed. To do this:

1. The player’s parent, carer, or guardian must write to the EDGA DSL and the relevant TD, stating their permission and identifying the stand-in guardian.
2. The stand-in guardian must also write to the EDGA DSL confirming their acceptance of this responsibility.

Safeguarding Lead at each event:

Every EDGA-sanctioned event must have a named Safeguarding Lead, identified in the published event information. The default Safeguarding Lead is the Tournament Director. The TD may delegate this responsibility to another named person, provided this is clearly stated in the event information.

Adult players and officials have a responsibility to look out for the welfare of children at the event, and must report any concerns as set out below.

Non-tournament Events (e.g. Training Clinics, Come-and-Try Days)

All children attending non-tournament EDGA events must be accompanied by a parent, carer, or guardian unless EDGA has made specific alternative safeguarding arrangements in writing.

The event organiser must appoint a named Safeguarding Lead who must be present throughout the event. The default Safeguarding Lead is the event organiser.

EDGA will set out specific requirements for any non-tournament event involving unaccompanied children in advance, including DBS check requirements and a named contact for parents and carers.

Affiliated Clubs

EDGA expects all affiliated clubs to have their own safeguarding policy appropriate to their activities. EDGA will provide guidance and signpost clubs to current safeguarding learning and resources from Sport England, the Child Protection in Sport Unit, and UK Coaching.

Clubs running activities involving children or adults at risk, including junior sessions, coaching, and come-and-try events, should:

• appoint their own Designated Safeguarding Lead at club level
• assess each role involving children against current DBS eligibility guidance and obtain the appropriate check where the role is eligible
• have a clear reporting route for concerns, both internally and to statutory agencies
• adopt a code of conduct for anyone involved in club activity with children.

EDGA will consider minimum safeguarding requirements as part of the club affiliation process and will support clubs to meet these.

Photography, Social Media and Event Coverage

EDGA publishes event reports, results coverage, and photographs on its website and social media channels. Tournament Directors and event volunteers may also share event content on their own channels. Where images or content may include children, the following applies.

EDGA and official event coverage:

• Written consent from a parent or carer must be obtained before publishing photographs or video of any child on the EDGA website, EDGA social media, or any other public channel.
• Consent should be collected at event registration. TDs must ensure a consent mechanism is in place before the event and must not publish images of children without it.
• Children must never be identified by full name alongside a photograph in any public channel.
• If a parent or carer withdraws consent after publication, EDGA or the TD must remove the image promptly.
• Event write-ups on the EDGA website that include images of children must follow the same consent requirements. Where consent is uncertain, use images of adults only or crop to exclude identifiable children.

Tournament Directors and volunteers posting on personal or club channels:

• TDs and volunteers share the same consent obligation as EDGA. Images of children posted on a TD’s personal social media as event coverage are subject to this policy.
• If a TD is unsure whether consent was obtained for a specific child, they must not publish the image.

General guidance:

• Photographs should focus on activity and action, not individual children.
• Images that could be used to identify a child’s location or routine should not be published.
• If a child or young person objects to being photographed, that wish must be respected regardless of parental consent.

DBS and Safer Recruitment

DBS eligibility depends on the duties, setting, supervision, and frequency of a role. EDGA will assess each role against the current DBS guidance for sport roles working with children and will request only the level of check that is lawful and appropriate. A role involving regulated activity must not begin until the required enhanced check and children’s barred-list check, where applicable, have been completed.

A DBS certificate is one part of safer recruitment and does not by itself establish that a person is suitable. EDGA must also use appropriate role descriptions, references, induction, supervision, codes of conduct, and reporting arrangements.

The DSL must keep a restricted record of checks obtained for EDGA roles, including the role, check level, certificate date, and review action. Full certificate information must not be copied or retained unless there is a lawful, documented reason.

Where EDGA engages a partner organisation to deliver an EDGA activity involving children, responsibilities for safer recruitment and DBS eligibility must be agreed in writing before delivery begins.

Action Following a Concern

If any player, official, spectator, or other person has a concern about the welfare of a child or adult at risk at any stage of an EDGA event or activity, they should:

1. If there is immediate danger or a crime is in progress: contact the emergency services by calling 999.
2. If the concern is not an immediate emergency but may involve a crime: the person may report to the police via 101 or online. EDGA may continue or pause its internal process depending on circumstances.
3. In all cases: report the concern to the event Safeguarding Lead or the EDGA DSL as soon as possible.

Reporting routes:

All concerns must be recorded in writing by the person receiving the report, as soon as practicable after the concern is raised.

If a complaint or criminal proceeding involves children or adults at risk, EDGA will treat the matter with the utmost urgency. All concerns, disclosures, and allegations are handled by the DSL or Deputy DSL in the first instance.

Link to Member Conduct and Complaint Handling Process

Where a safeguarding concern also involves a conduct matter (e.g. behaviour of an EDGA member, volunteer, or TD), the EDGA Member Conduct and Disciplinary Regulations will apply alongside this safeguarding policy. In cases of conflict, the safeguarding of the individual takes precedence. Where an external statutory process (police investigation, Children’s Social Care assessment) is underway, EDGA will take guidance from those agencies before progressing its internal process.

Monitoring and Review

This policy will be reviewed at the intervals below, or sooner if circumstances require:

• Annually for the first three years of adoption
• Every three years thereafter
• Following any significant safeguarding incident
• In response to changes in legislation or government guidance
• As required by Sport England or other relevant bodies.

Appendix 1: Designated Officers

See the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy section above for contact details. These should be updated whenever roles change, without requiring a full policy review.

Appendix 2: Definitions

Staff: EDGA board members and other officers of EDGA, as appointed.

Players: any participants in EDGA-sanctioned events.

Volunteers: Tournament Directors and their staff, coaches at training events, and other people supporting EDGA-run activities.

Partner or client organisations: organisations (disc golf businesses, coaching providers, etc.) delivering EDGA-sanctioned services.

Children: persons under the age of 18.

Adults at risk: adults who may be unable to protect themselves from harm or exploitation due to disability, mental ill-health, illness, addiction, or other circumstances.

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): the named EDGA board member with primary responsibility for safeguarding.

DBS check: Disclosure and Barring Service check (England and Wales).

Appendix 3: Code of Behaviour

3.1 Code of Behaviour for Staff, Volunteers, Players and Partner Organisations

EDGA has developed this code of behaviour to ensure the safety and welfare of children and adults at risk. It outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviours that all staff, players, and volunteers are expected to follow. The code will be made available to all those involved in EDGA events and activities.

Always:

• Be supportive, approachable, and reassuring.
• Show respect, be patient, and listen to children and young people.
• Respect a young person’s right to personal privacy.
• Treat and value children as individuals.
• Treat children with consistency, fairness, and equality.
• Set a good example through appropriate attitude, demeanour, and language at all times.
• Wear clothing appropriate to disc golf activity.
• Offer support and empathy in a manner appropriate to the age, stage, and needs of a child, always in an open and visible manner, preferably in view of others, and within context (for example, if a child is distressed).
• Ensure that any time spent with children takes place in as open a setting as possible.
• Provide clear instruction, clarify meaning, and establish clear boundaries.
• Encourage children to do as much as possible for themselves, supporting them to make choices and find acceptable ways to express their feelings.
• Consider carefully any communication with children, including on social media. As a guideline: assume anything you do or say could appear on the front page of a national newspaper; is it appropriate in that context?

Please see the Physical Contact guidance in section 3.3 below.

Never:

• Show favouritism towards a child.
• Promise to keep secrets.
• Belittle or demean children or other workers.
• Shout at or argue with children or other workers in a humiliating, patronising, or threatening manner.
• Embarrass, ignore, or single out a child.
• Give orders that humiliate or instil fear.
• Allow or engage in inappropriate touching (hugging, kissing, hitting, smacking, etc.).
• Engage in sexually provocative or inappropriate games, including horseplay.
• Make sexually suggestive comments about or to a child, even in jest.
• Abuse your position or privileges.
• Give your personal contact details to children; use organisational contact details instead.
• Communicate with a child directly one-to-one by text, telephone, or email. All non-urgent communication should be directed to the child’s parent, carer, or guardian. Where disc golf-related communication with an older young person is unavoidable, copy in the parent or carer and keep it on organisational channels only.
• Leave allegations or concerns unrecorded or issues unresolved.
• Leave children unsupervised.
• Allow children to use language that is inappropriate or offensive to others.
• Take children to your home, or to their own home if a parent, carer, or guardian is not there to receive them.

Staff, volunteers, players, and partner organisations should be positive role models. Praise and encourage desirable behaviour. Shouting at a child in a threatening, patronising, or derogatory manner is never acceptable; however, raising one’s voice appropriately within the context of an activity (for example, at tournaments or on a busy course) may be necessary for safety reasons.

3.2 Code of Behaviour for Children

A code of behaviour should be made available to children attending EDGA events, outlining appropriate and inappropriate behaviour and language.

Always:

• Wear clothing appropriate to the activity.
• Include and encourage other participants.
• Listen to others.
• Ask questions if you are unsure about something.
• Respect other children and adults at all times.
• Use the allocated toilets and changing facilities.
• Tell a leader straight away if you or another child feels uncomfortable or frightened by the actions or words of any adult or child.
• Say ‘no’ if you feel uncomfortable at any time during an activity.
• Follow safety guidelines and instructions.

Never:

• Shout at others.
• Swear or use inappropriate language.
• Make fun of others.
• Exclude or make assumptions about others.
• Fight, push, pull, hit, or bite, even in fun.
• Tell jokes or stories that are rude or may offend or hurt others.
• Keep bullying or inappropriate behaviour a secret.
• Promise to keep secrets.

Adult participants aged 18 and over should be made aware of the importance of appropriate behaviour, including language and topics of conversation, and of being a positive role model to younger participants.

3.3 Physical Contact

There will be instances when physical contact between an adult and a child is unavoidable. The following guidance sets out what is and is not acceptable.

Appropriate physical contact includes:

• Context-dependent touch within a controlled and supervised environment (e.g. a demonstration of throwing technique).
• Administration of first aid, with parental consent and only by a trained first-aider.
• Assistance to avoid embarrassment (e.g. helping a child to their feet if they fall).
• Offering comfort to a distressed child, in response to the child’s needs.
• Preventing injury (e.g. catching a falling child).
• A handshake or high-five.
• Personal care for very young or disabled children, only with the full consent of the parent, carer, or guardian, and where possible by a worker of the same gender. In an emergency, personal care should only be undertaken with the consent of a supervisor, and the parent, carer, or guardian should be informed as soon as possible.

Inappropriate physical contact includes:

• Touch that is unnecessary, unexplained, out of context, or in response to the adult’s needs rather than the child’s.
• Sustained or prolonged physical contact beyond what is needed.
• Kissing or hugging.
• Touch in the breast, groin, or buttocks area.
• Horseplay between adults and children, or between peers.
• Sexual gestures.
• Slapping or hitting, even in jest.
• Holding hands (unless contextually necessary, e.g. assisting a very young child to cross a road safely).

In addition, physical touch should only occur:

• After the reason for contact has been explained to the child.
• When the child’s consent has been given.
• In an open and visible setting, preferably in view of others.
• When appropriate to the age and developmental stage of the child.
• In response to the particular needs of the child.
• As lightly and sensitively as possible.
• Taking care to avoid standing closely behind a child wherever possible.

This policy has been developed with reference to: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026; Sport England and Child Protection in Sport Unit safeguarding guidance; UK Coaching safeguarding resources; the EDGA Member Conduct and Disciplinary Regulations (June 2026); and current Disclosure and Barring Service guidance.