Adult Athletes Must Complete APT Program By Summer or Risk Ineligibility

USA Swimming will require all of its adult athletes to complete an “Athlete Protection Training” (APT) program by June 23, 2019, or risk ineligibility. An adult athlete who gets an Olympic Trials cut without completing the training could invalidate that qualifying time.

The APT is not part of USA Swimming’s new Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (MAAPP), the organization says in its informational document. The Athlete Protection Training is now provided through the U.S. Center for SafeSport, and must be completed annually by all non-athlete members (coaches, officials, other non-athlete roles) and by all adult athletes (any athlete over 18 years old). The APT is a free program you take online, and automatically connects to each athlete’s entry in USA Swimming’s SWIMS database.

USA Swimming’s document says that all adult athletes will be required to take the training by June 23, though later, the document says there will be a 30-day grace period to “complete this initial training requirement.” USA Swimming also makes clear that any adult athlete who competes in a meet without completing the training would have all of their swims at that meet invalidated – including qualifying times for meets like Olympic Trials, U.S. Nationals or U.S. Open.

That would mean that we could see some Olympic Trials cuts achieved this summer that are ultimately invalidated if the athlete doesn’t complete these courses in time.

You can find the instructions and login information for the APT here.

The APT includes three courses: sexual misconduct awareness education, mandatory reporting and emotional and physical misconduct. The APT is not the “Free Safe Sport Training for Minor Athletes” program, and that program does not satisfy the APT requirement.

Also of note: athletes who are 17 and about to turn 18 must complete this training before their 18th birthday, or will risk ineligibility. USA Swimming says that failing to complete the requirement “will result in an athlete’s inability to swim in a meet or at practice.”

Here are some of the important points about this new requirement:

  • All adult athletes (18 years or older) must complete the APT.
  • Any 17-year-old athlete must complete the APT by their 18th birthday or risk ineligibility once they turn 18.
  • Adult athletes must complete the APT every year – it expires 12 months after you complete all three courses.
  • Athletes who do not fulfill this requirement will be ineligible to compete in meets or practice, and times swum while ineligible will not count for qualification to any meets.
  • This requirement takes effect June 23, though USA Swimming says there will be a 30-day grace period for the “initial training requirement.”

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awesome
4 years ago

The how to not get caught corse

Pags
4 years ago

I understand the value of annual “SafeSport” recertification requirement for coaches, but is it really necessary for adult athletes to do the same 3 courses every year (likely the same 3 videos, with no new content) to maintain eligibility? Seems a colossal waste of time. The “must be done by 18th birthday or you’re ineligible” will become an equally colossal management headache for teams.

Daniel Jablonski
4 years ago

Wow I hate being 18 now

Patrick
Reply to  Daniel Jablonski
4 years ago

Welcome to life as an adult. It’s full of things like this.

Yolo
4 years ago

As a swimmer aged 18 or older I can’t wait to waste my time clicking through this🤪

RenéDescartes
Reply to  Yolo
4 years ago

Thank you for your service.

College Swimmer
Reply to  Yolo
4 years ago

Took it over the weekend. You can’t just click through it. Have to watch every. single. video. Incredibly annoying and tedious, and makes me wonder, “to what end?”

Paul B.
4 years ago

Thanks Brock!

ATW
Reply to  Paul B.
4 years ago

If you think “Thanks Brock!” is an appropriate reaction to this, then one of two things is true: 1) you’re trying to make rape jokes, or 2) you’re incredibly naive about the rape and sexual assault culture in America.

It’s only too bad that every adult isn’t required to take this training.

Ragnar
4 years ago

Sounds like most of military online training, click click click. Good check in the block for the higher ups to say “we met our annual training requirements”!

Tupperware
Reply to  Ragnar
4 years ago

I was just about to say, sounds like I’ll be utilizing the double-window functionality of my computer for this one

Editor
Reply to  Ragnar
4 years ago

C’mon — you don’t find the online cyber awareness or anti-terrorism courses riveting, especially with their cutting-edge use of flash technology?

BWPolo
Reply to  Robert Gibbs
4 years ago

*completes 80-hour course in 6 hours.

Ragnar
Reply to  Robert Gibbs
4 years ago

Lol cyber awareness training, I picked chase down the dude who stole my phone everytime

hookem91
4 years ago

This just seems horribly ineffective to me. Like another commenter said I think it would be better to educate minors on what is acceptable rather than make adult athletes aware of this behavior because a lot of times it’s the adults making the bad decisions and the minors not being aware, not vice versa. It also seems like those mandatory programs at colleges that aren’t all that effective at preventing sexual misconduct either – even though the programs exist abusers are operating under the assumption that they won’t be reported for their behavior, especially if they get away with more “minor” infractions. Barring athletes who don’t complete the program from participating is not going to curb ingrained patterns of abusive… Read more »

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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