Athletics Otago - Safeguarding


Safeguarding at Athletics Otago

At Athletics Otago, we are committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for everyone involved in our sport—especially tamariki and rangatahi. Safeguarding is about protecting the wellbeing of all participants, ensuring they feel safe, respected, and empowered.

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding refers to the actions we take to promote the welfare of everyone involved in our sport—particularly children, young people, and vulnerable adults—and to protect them from harm, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It includes:

  • Creating safe spaces for participation
  • Promoting positive behaviour and respectful relationships
  • Ensuring all coaches, officials, and volunteers are trained and vetted
  • Responding appropriately to concerns or incidents

Our Current Approach

Athletics Otago currently follows Athletics New Zealand’s Safe Sport Policies, which outline national standards and expectations for safe sport environments.

While we are in the process of developing our own safeguarding policy tailored to our region and community, we are actively embedding safeguarding practices across our programmes and events.

Safeguarding Officer

Athletics Otago has a dedicated Safeguarding Officer. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.


Safeguarding Officer

Holly Robinson 

development@athleticsotago.co.nz

027 262 1268

Raise a Concern

At Athletics Otago, we want everyone—athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and whānau—to feel safe and supported. If something doesn’t feel right, we encourage you to speak up.

We’ve created a Raise a Concern Form to help individuals confidentially report any issues or incidents related to safety or wellbeing.


Raise a Concern


All concerns are taken seriously and will be managed with care and confidentiality. Even if something just doesn’t feel right, we encourage you to let us know. Speaking up helps us monitor potential issues early and ensures that what you’re experiencing isn’t part of a wider problem affecting others too..

Our goal is to resolve issues early and respectfully, before they escalate. Everyone—Clubs, Centres, and individuals—has a role to play in creating a safe and positive sporting environment.


Formal Complaints Procedure

If you would like to lodge a formal complaint, please click here to access Athletics Otago’s Complaints Procedure.

Any concerns submitted—whether formal or informal—will be acknowledged within 5 working days and managed according to the same timeframes outlined in our complaints process.

Please take a moment to review the Athletics Otago Code of Conduct and Complaints Procedure here, which outlines the expected behaviour within our environment.

These documents help ensure that everyone involved in our community—athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and supporters—feels safe, respected, and supported.