TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Pro Spirit membership is a privilege; as a private organization, we expect our members, athletes and parents, to uphold the highest standards in the gym and our community. Pro Spirit takes our participation guidelines serious therefore please read our handbook in its entirety and ask any applicable questions.

Pro Spirit Inc. is committed to creating a safe and fun environment for our athletes, athlete parents and guardians, our employees/staff members, and participants of United States All Star Federation (USASF). As such participation in our athletic program requires acknowledgement of review and acceptance our collective terms and conditions on all athlete enrollment forms.

As the guardian of your athlete, YOU are the TEAM behind the TEAM!

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

ATHLETIC SPORTSMANSHIP CODE OF CONDUCT

ATTENDANCE POLICIES

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION / MEDIA USE

INDEMNIFICATION

OUR PROGRAMS

PARTICIPATION RELEASE

PAYMENT TERMS

PRO SPIRIT INC PROPRIETARY COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK

PRO SPITIT INC SEXUAL ABUSE POLICY

TERMINATION/CANCELATION OF PARTICIPATION

UNIFORM RENTAL POLICY

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY:

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at PRO SPIRIT INC. and will not be tolerated. Bullying is counterproductive to team spirit and can be devastating to a victim. The Program is committed to providing a safe, caring and friendly environment for all of our members. If bullying does occur, all athletes and parents should know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively “on a case by case basis”. Anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell a coach, program owner or staff member of PRO SPIRIT INC..

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM'S POLICY AND ACTION PLAN:

To make it clear that the Program will not tolerate bullying in any form.
To define bullying and give all program owners, coaches, parents and athletes a good understanding of what bullying is.
To make it known to all parents, athletes and coaching staff that there is a policy and protocol should any bullying issues arise.
To make the process of how to report bullying clear and understandable.
To spread the word that PRO SPIRIT takes bullying seriously and that all athletes and parents can be assured that they will be supported when bullying is reported.

WHAT IS BULLYING?

PRO SPIRIT INC has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy related to bullying. Generally, bullying is the use of aggression, whether intentional or not, which hurts another person. Bullying results in pain and distress. Bullying is the severe and/or repeated use by one or more individuals of oral, written, electronic or other technological expression, image, sound, data or intelligence of any nature (regardless of the method of transmission), or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at any other member that to a reasonably objective person has the effect of:

Causing physical or emotional harm to the other member or damage to the other member’s property;
Placing the other member in reasonable fear of harm to himself/herself or of damage to his/her property;
Creating a hostile environment for the other member at any U.S. All Star Federation activity;
Infringing on the rights of the other member at any U.S. All Star Federation activity; or
Materially and substantially disrupting the training process or the orderly operation of any PRO SPIRIT activity, which for the purposes of this section shall include, without limitation, practices, workouts and other events PRO SPIRIT attends, including but not limited to: team activities, team parties, competitions, etc.

REPORTING PROCEDURE:

An athlete who feels that he or she has been bullied is asked to do one or more of the following things:

Talk to your parents;
Talk to a Team Coach, Director, or Gym Owner, or other designated individual; and/or
Write a letter or email to the Team Coach, Program Owner, or other designated individual.

There is no express time limit for initiating a complaint under this procedure, but every effort should be made to bring the complaint to the attention of the appropriate program leadership as soon as possible to make sure that memories are fresh and behavior can be accurately recalled and the bullying behavior can be stopped as soon as possible.

HOW WE HANDLE BULLYING:

If bullying is occurring during team-related activities, we STOP BULLYING ON THE SPOT using the following steps:

Intervene immediately. It is ok to get another adult to help.
Separate the kids involved.
Make sure everyone is safe.
Meet any immediate medical or mental health needs.
Stay calm. Reassure the kids involved, including bystanders.
Model respectful behavior when you intervene.
Notify the parents/guardians of the athlete(s) involved.

TAKING ACTION / FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED:

PRO SPIRIT WILL take action. If bullying is occurring at our program or is reported to be occurring at our program, we address the bullying by FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED and SUPPORTING THE KIDS INVOLVED using the following approach:

First, get the facts.
Keep all the involved children separate.
Get the story from several sources, both adults and kids.
Listen without blaming.
Don’t call the act “bullying” while you are trying to understand what happened.
It may be difficult to get the whole story, especially if multiple athletes are involved or the bullying involves social bullying or cyber-bullying. Collect all available information.

There are many behaviors that look like bullying but require different approaches. It is important to determine whether the situation is bullying or something else. We will:

Review the PRO SPIRIT definition of bullying.
To determine if the behavior is bullying or something else
We ask: What is the history between the kids involved?
We ask: Have there been past conflicts?
We ask: Is there a power imbalance? Remember that a power imbalance is not limited to physical strength. It is sometimes not easily recognized. If the targeted child feels like there is a power imbalance, there probably is.
We ask: Has this happened before? Is the child worried it will happen again?
We review the PRO SPIRIT definition of bullying to determine if the behavior is bullying or something else:

Our emphasis is to stop any negative actions and support the kids Involved.

Listen and focus on the child. Learn what’s been going on and show you want to

help. Assure the child that bullying is not their fault.
Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents, and fellow team members and coaches may all have valuable input. It may help to:
1. Ask the child what can be done to make him or her feel safe. Remember that changes to routine should be minimized. He or she is not at fault and should not be singled out. For example, consider rearranging formations for everyone. If bigger moves are necessary, such as switching practice groups, the child who is bullied should not be forced to change.
2. Develop a game plan. Maintain open communication between the Program and parents. Discuss the steps that will be taken and how bullying will be addressed going forward.
Address bullying behavior
Make sure the child knows what the problem behavior is. Young people who bully must learn their behavior is wrong and harms others.
Show kids that bullying is taken seriously. Calmly tell the child that bullying will not be tolerated. Model respectful behavior when addressing the problem.
Work with the child to understand some of the reasons he or she bullied. For example:
1. Sometimes children bully to fit in or just to make fun of someone that is a little different from them. In other words, there may be some insecurity involved.
2. Other times kids act out because something else-issues at home, abuse, stress-is going on in their lives. They also may have been bullied. These kids may be in need of additional support.
Involve the kid who was bullied in making amends or repairing the situation. The goal is to help them see how their actions affect others. For example, the child can:
1. Write a letter apologizing to the athlete who was bullied.
2. Do a good deed for the person who was bullied, for the Program, or for others in your community.
3. Clean up, repair, or pay for any property they damaged.
Follow-up. After the bullying issue is resolved, continue finding ways to help the child who bullied to understand how what they do affects other people. For example, praise acts of kindness or talk about what it means to be a good teammate.

Pro Spirit will support bystanders who witness bullying. Every day, kids witness bullying. They want to help, but don’t know how. Fortunately, there are a few simple, safe ways that athletes can help stop bullying when they see it happening.

Be a friend to the person being bullied.
Tell a trusted adult – your parent, coach, Level Director, All-Star Director, or Program Owner.
Help the kid being bullied get away from the situation. Create a distraction, focus the attention on something else, or offer a way for the target to get out of the situation. Example: “Let’s go, practice is about to start.”
Set a good example by not bullying others.
Don’t give the bully an audience. Bullies are encouraged by the attention they get from bystanders. If you do nothing else, just walk away.

ATHLETIC SPORTSMANSHIP CODE OF CONDUCT:

OUR PROMISE

Play by the rules. I will learn and obey the rules of my sport and train to perform routines within those guidelines.

Respect myself, my coach, other teams and event officials. I will treat all other teams and team members, with the utmost respect in every possible circumstance. I will respect myself enough to agree to train and compete with my safety and the safety of my teammates as first priority. I will behave within every Event’s code of conduct, recognizing the authority of event officials and workers in every possible circumstance. I will appreciate honest efforts that are made fairly in the quest of victory.

Optimize my experience by meeting athletes from other gyms. I understand that all- star cheerleading and dance offers great opportunities to travel meet athletes from other programs and learn to respect my competitors.

Make pursuit of victory more important than winning. I understand that winning isn’t everything, but rather my will to train to win that matters most. While victory shall be my expected goal, defeat is not a disgrace.

Interact, in person and on the internet, with integrity. I will not comment negatively about my opponents on any form of social media: FaceBook, Youtube, message boards, etc. I understand that doing so reflects poorly upon the image of my sport, my program and myself.

See the big picture and exercise self-control in adverse circumstances. I will increase focus and intensity at practice rather than retaliate or blame others. I understand that I am responsible for my behavior, and I will not allow profanity, anger or disrespect to be a part of any of my interactions. I will not allow the prospect of defeat to be an excuse for unethical or unsportsmanlike behavior.

Exemplify sportsmanlike conduct. I will be a positive role model on my team and within my community. I understand that I am leader and that every choice I make affects those who follow me. I will uphold the promise to the best of my abilities and always work to improve myself, my team and my sport. I understand I am expected to be a positive example in my private and public settings.

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ANTI-BULLYING POLICY:

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ATHLETIC SPORTSMANSHIP CODE OF CONDUCT:

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ATTENDANCE POLICIES: