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Athlete Conduct

Last updated: 3rd August 2023

Participation in sport, especially one they love, is an important part of each child’s educational development. As well as acquiring a sound knowledge of the sport through focus & dedication, they also gain invaluable personal benefits, develop self-respect and self-discipline.

Ski race camps are a unique opportunity to develop new and long-lasting friendships, and a spirit of generosity and respect towards others. With this in mind, the Scottish Ski Club expects all of its athletes to uphold certain behavioural standards, laid out in the following Code of Conduct, in order to get the most out of their training.

This Code applies to all participants engaging in any Scottish Ski Club training, whether in the UK or abroad. When training at Cairngorm, trainees are representing the club in and amongst CMSL staff, other clubs and members of the public and must abide by the Athlete Conduct set out here. On camps abroad, they are also representing Scotland and the UK in a foreign country.

Code of Conduct

Once you’ve committed to a ski camp, make the most of it and give it your best. Get to know other athletes, especially the new and younger members. They need you to be friendly, welcoming and supportive. Remember what it was like when you were first on a camp. Your coaches are professionals, they have a lot to teach you. Take advantage of their knowledge and show them your respect and appreciation. Respect means, amongst other things, being on time for all activities.

  1. Respect the members of your camp; fellow trainees, adult members, coaches, mountain staff, hotel & restaurant staff, and treat all of those people courteously. Be kind.
  2. The Head Coach will determine the training groups. Their decisions are to be respected and are based on athletes’ age, training history and experience, projected attendance, maturity, skills, etc.
  3. Look after your skiing equipment. Make sure your equipment is well maintained. Put your name on everything. Only you are responsible for not losing it!
  4. Always act in a sportsperson like manner. Wish all competitors the best of luck and congratulate all performances. Good wishes boost everyone’s spirits. 
  5. It is only natural that you will be disappointed if you fall or crash during a race or on a training run. Do not however exhibit unsportsmanlike conduct. Throwing equipment or using bad language is not acceptable and will result in disciplinary action. Thank the race officials and helpers for volunteering for race day. Without them, there would be no races.
  6. Use of abusive or obscene language is not acceptable on the mountain, on the race course, on line, on social media, nor at any time during a ski camp or an ATC training session.
  7. While travelling to/from a ski camp, and after formal training hours, athletes are expected to be good citizens in public. Poor behaviour by a few often reflects badly on the ski camp as a whole. Be sensitive to local codes and customs. Be kind. Be respectful to those hosting us.
  8. Involvement with, possession, use or distribution of alcohol is prohibited. Involvement or taking of drugs, performance enhancing drugs is considered illegal by all national sporting bodies and will be treated by ATC as a basis for expulsion.
  9. Athletes will not engage in sexual relationships, nor access inappropriate materials online or otherwise, whilst on a ski camp.
  10. It is each member’s responsibility to keep his or her room tidy. Athletes will not enter the room of athletes of the opposite sex without coaches’/house parent permission. Coaches and House parents will set curfew, reflecting the age and needs of each trainee and their programme. Athletes will respect the decisions of the coaches and the house parents and will respect the other athletes’ right to rest.

On residential camps abroad, the following process applies to disciplinary action:

The SSC Discipline Committee is made up of the Head Coach and another member of staff, usually the house parent. The Committee will be involved in any decisions involving breaches of the Code of Conduct. Any decisions made by the Discipline Committee will be binding on an athlete should they break the Code of Conduct, and may include:

  • Sitting out from training
  • Withdrawal from a race or races
  • Sending the athlete home immediately – expulsion from the camp at the parent’s expense

If the Training Member is under the age of 18, The Discipline Committee will discuss any issues and with their Guardian(s). If any Training Member (over the age of 18) or Guardian(s) of a Trainee (under the age of 18) has a problem or an issue, you must approach the Head Coach (in the first instance) to discuss. Such discussion should take place in private after skiing, but never on the hill or in front of other Trainees.

Sending an athlete home is absolutely a final resort, and will be avoided wherever possible. If it is necessary, and an athlete has to be sent home, a parent/guardian will need to make themselves available to collect the athlete from an appropriate UK airport (as determined by the availability of flights and proximity of both the departure and arrival airports). If it is not possible for the athlete to travel home unaccompanied, then the athlete will need to be collected by a parent/guardian from the destination of the training camp.