*For Level 1-2 only, coaches can also hold a GfA Intermediate Accreditation.

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Supervising a Beginner or Fundamental Coach

A Beginner or Fundamental Coach can only coach on the competition floor for Levels 1 and 2, relevant to their level of competency and Gymsport.

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A beginner/Fundamental coach must be under the direct supervision of an appropriately qualified certified supervising coach, who is responsible for and must remain with the athletes at all times.

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Minimum requirements for a certified Supervising Coach:

• Current Technical Member

• Current Coach Accreditation at Intermediate Level or above in relevant Gymsport

• Successful completion of the Gymnastics Australia Online Supervisor Training course

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The supervising coach must ensure the Beginner/Fundamental coach is supervised at all times and must exercise a duty of care to the athletes.

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Requests to Supervise a Beginner/Fundamental Coach on the competition floor for a Level 1 and/or 2 competition must be submitted on the official form on the GNSW website.

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No supervised coaches are permitted on the competition floor for any other levels.

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Coach Behaviour 

Coaches are governed by the ‘NSW Coach Code of Behaviour’ policy found on the GNSW Website. Any coach who is found to be in breach of these rules will be warned by Competition Coordinator/Technical Director or EPPO. Further infringements will result in the coach being removed from the competition arena for the duration of the competition.

The code of conduct and behaviour requirements apply to all events and activities conducted by GNSW.

Coaches are responsible for training their gymnasts in gymnastic etiquette and to behave with sportsmanship and cooperation during competition.

Coaches must not act in an intimidating or un-sportsperson like manner. Intimidating or un-sportsperson like behaviour as observed by officials, judges, or competition jury will be reported to the GNSW EPPO / Floor Manager. Un-sportsperson like behaviour towards judges, gymnasts, or officials will incur the following consequences:

1. First Warning (known as a YELLOW CARD) - Coach notified by EPPO / Floor Manager.

2. Second Warning (known as a RED CARD) - Coach is removed from the competition floor.

Note:

• If there is no other club coach available for the gymnasts, the red carded coach may remain on the competition floor in fairness for the gymnasts. However, the offending coach will then be ineligible for accreditation for the next GNSW sanctioned event their gymnasts enter. If the coach continues their un-sportsperson like behaviour, they will then be removed from the floor as well as the gymnasts.

• Abusive behaviour towards judges, gymnasts or officials will incur an automatic red card, with no additional warnings, and the Coach will be removed from the competition floor.

• These penalties will be upheld throughout the entirety of the competition and any coach removed due to a red card, may not attend any following sessions for that event.

Un-sportsperson like behaviours, in addition to the above carding, will be referred to the GNSW CEO and the GNSW Board for further action which may include, but is not limited by the following:

• Be banned from future competitions for a period of time

• Apologise to the offended parties

• Disqualified from membership to any State Team

• Or any other reasonable and appropriate sanction

The offender has the right of appeal as provided by the Association

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LINK: GNSW Coach Code of Behaviour

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Coach Attire 

To ensure professional presentation, all coaches attending GNSW event/competition must be suitably attired and adhere to all GNSW rules and regulations. Coaches who do not meet these guidelines may be refused entry onto the competition arena.

All coaches at an event are required to be in the following approved attire:

• Club Tracksuit (tracksuit pants, tracksuit jacket, club sweat shirt or hoodie)

• Club T-shirt or Polo Shirt.

• Respectable club branded shorts (at least mid-thigh length and in keeping with club colours) are allowed.

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• Appropriate closed toe footwear must be worn at all times (runners or trainers).

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The following attires is not approved and will not be permitted into the warm-up or competition area:

• Bike pants, cargo pants or cargo shorts, leggings, street wear, singlet or short tops are unacceptable on the competition floor.

• NSW State uniform (past or current).

• Ugg Boots.

• Thongs, crocs, street shoes or bare feet.

• Hats.

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Coaches must be easily identifiable on the field of play by means of either a wrist band or stamp to ensure they have presented their WWCC.

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Arrival at Events – Entry and Exit Procedures 

Clubs must organise a meeting point outside the venue where the parents will meet the coaches and drop-off their gymnasts. This point must not be the entrance door or within any ingress/egress points or thoroughfares which must be kept clear and free of congestion at all times. Coaches are to collect their gymnasts at this meeting point and will escort their group of gymnasts into the venue and sign-in for the session they are entering. Athletes must not enter the venue without their coach.

Athletes and officials cannot enter the Competition zones of a venue including the marshalling areas, warm-up spaces, officials’ zones and field of play earlier than the designated time prior to their session. If a previous session is running late, athletes and officials cannot enter the venue before the participants and officials of the previous session have departed. Participants who arrive early should wait in an appropriate space outside the venue. Gymnasts are not allowed to enter the warm-up area without a coach and cannot commence warm up until the specified time.

At the conclusion of each event session, the club coach must escort all their athletes from the competition zones outside the venue through the designated exit to the club meeting point for collection by the athlete’s parent/guardian(s). Coaches and officials must ensure that they and their athletes have all their belongings with them before the group leave the venue, and that the venue has been left clean and tidy.

The athletes will remain the responsibility of the coach from the time that they are dropped-off by their parents until they are collected by their parents after the end of the session from the club meeting point.

Parents/guardians and spectators must not enter any athlete or official zones. Participant and spectator groups to remain separate at all times. Clubs are responsible for ensuring the parents from their club are aware of the rules and remain off the field of play and official zones.

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Confirmation of Preparation for Participation - Medical Clearance & Skill Competency

Each coach must confirm that all athletes under their control are medically fit when signing in on the coach attendance register upon arrival at the event. With the commencement of warm-up and competition for each athlete, clubs and coaches acknowledge and declare that all athletes under their control at an event are physically and medically fit to take part in the event and have no current or previous medical conditions which will affect their participation and that each athlete is appropriately prepared for competition with the required preparation, skill development, skill level and competency.

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Coach Technical Briefings 

A coaches technical briefing will occur prior to the start of each competition. The coaches technical briefing may be held online or through a digital platform in the lead-up to the event starting date. It is required that a minimum of one coach per competing club be in attendance at this meeting. Clubs not attending the technical and safety briefing will be withdrawn from the event. Attending coaches must relay all information to any other coaches from that club who will be attending the competition or who may be assisting on the competition floor. All coaches have a responsibility to ensure they are aware of all policies, procedures and all information provided in the technical briefing and to ensure they have received the event information from their club representative.

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Additional coach technical briefings may be held prior to each competition session. It is required that a minimum of one coach per competing club be in attendance at these meetings to relay all information to other coaches from their club. Coaches are required to attend the coaches briefing for each session they have athletes participating throughout the event.

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Additional competition session information for coaches may be communicated electronically prior to the start of a competition session or during a competition session if required through the GNSW Team App. It is the responsibility of each coach who will be coaching during an event to ensure they have read the information prior to the event.

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Back Up Music 

Coaches must ensure an appropriate back-up of all competition music is made available at the event on a device (such as a mobile phone) with an auxiliary (AUX) output port (headphone port) in case of technical difficulties. Back-up music must not be provided on USB.

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Skills Performed Unsafely  

The athlete is expected to include in their exercise only elements that they can perform with complete safety and with a high degree of aesthetic and technical mastery. Coaches may be advised by the Competition Jury or GNSW Event Management to withdraw an unsafe skill from a athlete’s routine if the Apparatus Jury, in consultation with the Competition Jury and/or GNSW Event Management, deems the skill unsafe. If the coach receives such advice, the skill must not be performed in the competition. If the skill is performed against advice the athlete will be disqualified from the competition and the coach may be asked to leave the competition floor and/or subject to disciplinary action.

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LINK: Judge Policies and Protocols - PART E Judge Gymnast Safety Protocol

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Injury and Incident Management - Escalation Process 

All coaches on the competition floor are required to hold a current First Aid certificate in accordance with their level of accreditation.  

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In the event of an injury or other accident at a GNSW event the GNSW Event Escalation Process will be followed. The Designated First Aid Officer (DFO) shall implement treatment in accordance with first aid training. At GNSW events the DFO will usually be the event physiotherapist if present, or if not present, will be the senior staff member present or their delegate. 

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Athletes who have a diagnosed health care need, allergy or relevant medical condition at events must have with them their medical management plan and any prescribed or emergency medication. This includes for conditions including but not limited to asthma, diabetes and athletes diagnosed at risk of anaphylaxis.   

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Should a gymnast sustain an injury during the competition or warm-up time, the coach is responsible for alerting the Designated First Aid Officer and the GNSW staff member in the first instance. The coach is responsible for taking the gymnast to the first aid station or calling for assistance as necessary. In the event of a serious accident, the injured person must not be moved by any person other than the DFO unless it is a life-threatening situation. Keep the injured/unwell person calm and wait for the DFO to arrive. 

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The instructions of the DFO and Event Management must be followed. The Event Manager will ensure that all gymnasts are appropriately supervised and moved away from the incident, if considered appropriate by the Event Manager. This may require the Event Manager asking a nearby coach to supervise the gymnasts from the club of the injured athlete while the coach remains with the injured athlete. The Event Manager shall conduct a risk assessment of the competition to determine whether it is safe for the event to proceed. In the event of a critical situation, the Event Manager will take all reasonable steps, actions and provide directions as they determine to ensure the interests, wellbeing and safety of all parties. 

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The club/coach of the injured athlete should notify and liaise with the parent/guardian of the injured athlete to provide information as required and to keep relevant parties informed. If the parent/guardian is at the venue, the coach should liaise with them in the designated spectator zones. No unaccredited persons are permitted entry onto the competition floor. In the event an unaccredited person is required to enter the competition area, this will be under the direction of the GNSW management.  

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The Designated First Aid Officer will complete an Injury Report Form. The athletes’ coach and witnesses will be required to complete attached statements. The reports should be completed as soon as possible following the incident. The privacy of all parties will be respected at all times and no non-essential information will be disclosed, subject to the need to comply with GNSW policies, and/or the need to fully investigate the matter and/or any legal requirements for disclosure. 

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LINK: GNSW Event Escalation Process

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Withdrawals 

It is then the responsibility of the club coach to inform the Event Manager of any withdrawn athletes. The name of any athlete, who has been entered but is unable to compete, must be given to the EPPO/Event Manager prior to the end of general warm-up. The athlete withdrawal must be made on the official withdrawal form available at the score table.