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State Announces New Convention & Sports Bureau HARTFORD, Conn.—State and business officials announced in June the devel- opment of the new Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau to market the state for meetings, conven- tions and sporting events. The private, nonprofit
agency is a partnership between the state Department of Economic and Community Development and the Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau. It will pro- mote venues in Connecticut through a $1.3 million mar- keting contract with the state. Michael Van Parys will
serve as president of the new agency.
City Emphasizes Sports With New Hire DECATUR, Ala.—Leonard Morris II has been hired as new director of special events and sports marketing for the Decatur-Morgan County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). Formerly
working to pro- mote Chick-fil- A restaurants and serving on the company's grand opening marketing team in five cities, Morris also worked as a member of the company's corporate event staff during the CFA Bowl/Kickoff games in Atlanta. He also serves as an official for basketball, baseball and football and as an assistant
Morris
baseball coach for Dixie Youth in addition to other volunteer youth sports coaching roles.
Youth
New Course: Sports Safety For Youth Coaches DALLAS—The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) announced the release of its online Sports Safety for Youth Coaches course, which offers youth sports coaches a comprehensive
review of the latest information on health and safety issues fac- ing young athletes.
The 14-section online course includes the most recent expert information on the prevention and care of concussion, heat illness, conditioning, overuse
injuries, and other sports- related illnesses. Other mod- ules address emergency plan- ning, equipment fitting and safe playing conditions. For more information, log on to www.nata.org/ Sports-safety-for-youth- coaches-course.
Events
Softball's Top Recruits To Convene In Round Rock ROUND ROCK, Texas—The National Fastpitch Coaches' Association (NFCA) has part- nered with the Round Rock Convention and Visitor Bureau to host a girls' U16 and U18 Summer Top Recruit Tournament at Champion Fields in Old Settlers Park July 20-22.
The tournament was set to host 48 to 64 teams for a
AAU Mandates Background Checks For Coaches & Volunteers
he Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) announced in June it would begin requiring all adults involved in AAU activities to undergo detailed background checks; adopt clear poli- cies and procedures designed to ensure that young athletes are never left alone with individual adults; and require all AAU volun- teers and staff to report any incidents of suspected child abuse to law enforcement and to officials of the AAU and related sports clubs. The new requirement will go into effect upon membersʼ renewal this year.
T The new requirements follow the recommendations of the
Youth Protection and Adult/Volunteer Screening Task Forces, which provided a 31-page report to AAU offering 42 recommen- dations for changes in policies, procedures and protocols, all designed to make young athletes safer. The recommendations cover six broad subject areas: culture, protocols, screening, participation, training and reporting. AAUʼs actions come after a six-month policy review that followed the November 2011 dismissal of former CEO Bobby Dodd, who was publicly accused of but never charged with sexually abusing boys as a coach during the 1980s.
In conjunction with the start of the AAUʼs next membership year on Sept. 1, LexisNexis will perform background screenings, upon the AAUʼs request, whenever a coach, volunteer or other individual registers for or renews AAU membership. Almost all AAU memberships will expire and need to be renewed during the registration period, which opens on Aug. 15. Depending on the person, the background check could take just a few minutes or several days to complete. To ensure that all adults involved in AAU activities are familiar with the guidelines, the organization is developing a manual on child protection that will be available online at www.aausports.org and distrib- uted through AAU district organizations, national events, coaches meetings and local activities. ■
The full task force report is available at
http://image.aausports.org/dnn/ pdf/TFreportfinal.pdf.
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S.P.O.R.T.S. 2012
10 July 2012
www.sportseventsmagazine.com
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