team sports handbook for parents version 1
CHAPTER 1
Team Sports
Our programme is based on the fundamentals of participation, endeavour and sportsmanship and both pupils and coaches alike take the responsibility of providing good role models for others. 1
SECTION 1
Introduction
The British School of Paris views sport as an essential part of every child’s education and personal development. Sport allows pupils to experience a wide range of vital life skills as well as the opportunity to fulfil their physical potential. Our programme is based on the fundamentals of participation, endeavour and sportsmanship and both pupils and coaches alike take the responsibility of providing good role models for others.
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The School has a comprehensive fixture list, allowing our teams to play a number of other international and British schools. This often requires pupils to travel abroad and experience being hosted by a fellow player from another team; something that is reciprocated when teams come to play in Paris. The senior teams are also afforded the opportunity to take part in annual ISST tournaments involving other schools on the same sports’ circuit which provide a culmination for the year’s efforts.
Whilst competition and success is a very prominent feature of any competitive sports programme, sport at the BSP is first and foremost a tool of education. Our mission is to install the positive qualities that underpin sports’ participation and promote the playing of sport in the correct manner with the ideals of respect and responsibility. That is not to say that our teams will be any less competitive than their counterparts; our coaches and players will be striving to do their best against all opposition. However, our mission is to instil qualities in young people that they can take with them once they have left the School and that will stand them, and sport, in good stead for the future.
The following information has been designed to inform staff of essential information regarding our sports’ programme here at the British School. We trust that the pupils will have a very enjoyable and rewarding time through participation in Sport and that parents can also support their children and be a part of our School sport community.
The British School promotes a variety of sports activities, both recreational and competitive, and every pupil in the School has the opportunity to take part. Unlike many of our counterparts, we do not have a policy of ‘cutting’ whereby trials are held and only those reaching a certain standard are asked to continue with the activity. We promote a culture of inclusion where any pupil, regardless of ability, is able to access the various sports’ clubs throughout the year.
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SECTION 2
Code of Conduct
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All those involved in sport at the British School of Paris, whether as a player, coach, parent, official or spectator, are expected to uphold the core values of our sports’ programme:
RESPECT
Respect opponents, officials and spectators
ENDEAVOUR
Endeavour to always do your best Win with dignity, lose with grace
SPORTSMANSHIP
Play to win, but not at all costs
DISCIPLINE
Work with others so that they can get the best from themselves
TEAMWORK
Value the help that all those around you have given Enjoy the experience
ENJOYMENT
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SECTION 3
The Sports Programme Below is an outline of the main competitive sport seasons at the BSP:
SEASON 1
SEASON 2
SEASON 3
SEPTEMBER - MID NOVEMBER
MID NOVEMBER - APRIL
APRIL - JULY
Boys Football - U12, U14, U16 and U18
Boys Rugby - U13, U15 and U18
Athletics - U15 and U18
Girls Football - U15 and U18
Girls Netball - U15 and U18
Cricket U15 and U18
Girls Hockey - U15 and U18
Running Club - U15 and U18
Girls Softball - U15 and U18
Cross Country - U15 and U18
Climbing Club - U14 and U18
Climbing Club U14 and U18
Cricket Nets - U15 and U18 (from Feb half-term)
Fitness, Strength and Conditioning - U18
As well as these competitive sports activities, there are also a number of recreational sport sessions that pupils can attend. Please consult the complete sport activities timetable that is available on the School’s website and the Parental Portal on Frog.
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SECTION 4
School and the ISST Organisation
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circuit. Schools within the ISST organisation share the responsibility of hosting these large tournaments and the BSP is proud to have held a number over the past few years. The ISST Tournaments are the pinnacle of a sports’ season for our senior teams and it is the goal of every player and coach to do as well as possible with one eye always on a medal. The younger teams play a number of ISST member schools and also face opposition from within Paris and the UK.
Most of our school teams play a number of fixtures throughout their season and the opposition is made up mainly from other International and British Schools based in Europe. The School is a member of the ‘International Schools Sports Tournament’ organisation, otherwise known as ISST. This is an organisation of 26 International schools across Europe. The purpose of the organisation is to provide major tournaments for senior teams at the end of each playing season where all schools competing in a particular sport come together to discover who is the strongest. Currently the BSP takes part in the following ISST tournaments: football (boys and girls), hockey, cross-country and rugby. Although ISST only officially covers these large tournaments, the organisation oversees a group of International schools with whom the BSP arranges the majority of its fixtures. It also provides a working framework that is largely adopted by most of the member schools and drives much of the practice within our 8
SECTION 5
Sports Practices
A co-curricular activities table outlining when and where all sports practices take place is available on Frog. Please ensure that you are aware of the location of your child’s practice and at what time the session finishes. Practices will either take place at the School or at local facilities. For local facilities, the pupils will either walk to the location (Croissy Stade) or transport will be provided (Banque de France).
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Any pupils who have to stay behind must go to the library and wait until they are collected by their parent at the usual collection time, unless they can make alternative arrangements through the Activities office with the permission of their parents.
It is the pupils’ responsibility to ensure that they have the correct equipment and are changed in time. Any transport leaving the School to go to a local facility will do so immediately after school has finished and will be unable to wait for pupils who are late. Any pupil who misses the transport will be instructed to go to the library where they can wait until the players return after the practice. They will be able to arrange to be collected earlier if possible by speaking to a member of the Activities Department, but no pupil should try to make their way home without prior permission from parents.
Pupils will be made aware of this procedure at the beginning of the first training session.
Parents will be expected to collect pupils from the School at the pre-arranged time as outlined on the co-curricular activities timetable unless other prior arrangements have been made. All coaches will have contact details for pupils attending the practices. Parents will be contacted, either by the coach or the Activities office, should an issue arise. It is the intention of the sports’ staff not to cancel practice sessions. If weather conditions do not permit outside activities and there is sufficient space and equipment within the indoor areas, then an alternative session will be held. However, in the unlikely event that a practice is cancelled, parents and pupils will be notified immediately. If the cancellation is on the same day as the practice, the following procedure will be put in place: If a practice has to be cancelled, pupils will be instructed to make their way home as normal at 16:00. The coach will notify the Activities Co-ordinator immediately in order for a GroupCall to be made to parents.
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SECTION 6
Sports Fixtures
Team selection for BSP teams is based on the following criteria: • Ability • Effort • Practice attendance • Hosting commitment 11
Pupil exclusion from sports’ fixtures
The BSP has a strict ‘no host, no travel’ policy whereby those players who do not offer to host visiting team players will not be chosen for away trips. This will include ISST tournaments.
The opportunity for a pupil to take part in a School sports’ fixture is a privilege and should be viewed as an extension of their curricular studies. If a pupil has been under-performing or misbehaving in School, he or she may be denied the opportunity to take part. This decision will be made in conjunction with the relevant members of staff (subject teacher, Head of Year, Head of Pastoral Care or Team coach).
Fixture Details
Parents will receive a fixture permission letter, either electronically or a hard copy, that will need to be filled in and returned in order for pupils to be able attend a fixture. This letter will have all the relevant details regarding the fixture. The letter will contain an emergency number which is usually the phone number of the team coach. For away trips, the estimated time of arrival back at School can often change due to traffic. The following procedures will be followed in order to keep parents informed: • Parents with smart phones can follow the BSP Sports’ Twitter account that will give real time updates of the progress of the team’s travel. • Players with phones will be requested to ring parents to notify them of any travel time changes. • The coach of the team will have full parental contact details and will personally contact parents. • A telephone tree for each team will be used. • It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that pupils have the correct travel documents and visas in order to be able to travel to matches with the School teams. • A fixture list is available on the School’s website and the Parental Portal - Frog.
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SECTION 7
Kit and players dress code
Only shirts will be provided by the School. These will be collected in after each match and no player should take a playing top home. The senior ISST team players will have the opportunity to buy their shirts at the end of the season if they wish. Pupils will be required to provide their own shorts and socks which are available from the uniform shop.
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Pupils selected for a school team will be expected to buy the official sports’ uniform. This is available from the uniform shop and consists of a hooded top and rain jacket. All pupils are expected to have a school tracksuit as part of their official school uniform. Players’ dress code for travel
Pupils are expected to travel in smart dress for away matches. Junior teams will travel in school uniform unless other arrangements have been made. Senior teams will travel in jackets and ties (boys), skirts and jackets (girls)
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SECTION 8
Hosting
It is expected that all players who wish to represent a School sports’ team will be willing to host visiting players. This will include offering to host when the BSP organises an ISST Tournament. Players will be excluded from away trips, including ISST Tournaments, if they do not host. We ask that families host visitors in pairs wherever possible.
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At the beginning of each sports’ season, families will receive an electronic hosting request form. This will outline all the home fixtures for each team and will request families to identify which fixtures they would be willing to offer hosting if their child were to be selected for that fixture. This will include any ISST tournaments that the School may be hosting. This will then give a hosting profile for each team before the season begins. This will also identify those who are not willing to host and therefore make team selection a fairer process.
Junior Teams BSP players may take their guests out in the evening only if accompanied by an appropriate adult. Curfew for Junior players is set for 21:30. All visiting players are expected to behave in a respectful and courteous manner whilst staying with host families. If a parent has any concerns regarding visiting players during the duration of a visit, they should contact the BSP staff member responsible (emergency contact on fixture letter) who will liaise with staff from the visiting school about the appropriate action to be taken.
Please see below the regulations that are applied when visitors are hosted by BSP families
BSP Hosting Guidelines for Parents
Senior Teams: Year 10 and above BSP players are permitted to take their guests out in the evening as long as this has been agreed by the host parents. No players are allowed to drink alcohol and the set time for curfew is 22:30. In some cases a social event for the evening will have been arranged by the players eg team pizza meal, and players will be permitted to attend this with the same curfew to be applied. It is important to be aware that host parents have to be comfortable with any evening arrangements and they have full power to apply any reasonable rules or restrictions whilst taking care of visitors.
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SECTION 9
Accidents and injuries
For all training sessions and matches the BSP coaching staff will carry First Aid kits. There is a continual cycle of First Aid training run by the nurses at the School and sports’ coaches are expected to renew their First Aid training when necessary. There are procedures in place for injuries to a player and parents will be informed if any notable injury occurs.
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If an injury occurs during a training session or match at home that requires an ambulance (Pompiers), the parents will be contacted either directly by the coach or by the Activities office. If nearby, a parent will be able to accompany the player to hospital in the ambulance. If not, the coach will accompany the player and the parents will be given the details of the hospital which they will need to attend. If a similar level of injury occurs during an away fixture, the host school will arrange the necessary ambulance care and a BSP coach will accompany the player. Parents will be contacted and then appropriate arrangements will be arranged, depending upon the severity of the injury. Following an injury that requires medical treatment (hospital, doctor), the coach responsible will fill in an accident form that will be held at school. This will then be used for insurance purposes. Parental insurance claims must be done through their own insurance policy.
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SECTION 10
Annual Sports Dinner
At the end of the academic year, the School holds separate Senior and Junior Sports’ Dinners. This is an opportunity for all those involved in the programme to come together and celebrate the efforts and achievements of the sporting year. Speeches are made by the coaches of the teams and the evening culminates in the awarding of trophies for the most improved player, team player and overall player of the season. At the Senior dinner, it is also an opportunity to recognise those pupils who have given long and distinguished service to the School’s sports’ programme. The date and details of each dinner are sent to families during the course of the year.
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SECTION 11
Directions to Facilities Aerial views:
Banque de France Ile de la Loge, 78380 Bougival
British School of Paris 38, quai de l’Ecluse 78290 Croissy sur Seine
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Croissy Stade Route de Chemin de Ronde 78290 Croissy sur Seine
After the hotel you pass under a road fly-over having passed through several sets of lights.
Centre Sports et Loisirs de la Banque de France Ile de la Loge, 78380, Bougival
At the second set of lights after the bridge, in between Bougival and Port Marly, there is a restaurant called ‘Chez Clement’ and a hotel called ‘Hotel Villa des Impressionists’ on your left. You need to turn right here on to the island. It is signposted ‘Centre Sports et Loisirs Banque de France’. Cross over the bridge on to the island and then follow the road around to the left. Continue on this road for approx 300 metres where the road opens with parking spaces alongside. This is parking for the sports ground. After having parked, make your way through the main entrance.
The sports ground is situated on an island off the main N13 that runs out of Paris through Nanterre and Rueil Malmaison in the direction of Saint Germain en Laye. From the Paris ‘peripherique’ ring road it is best to take the A86 route and branch off at Bougival, following signs to Saint Germain en Laye. The alternative is to take the D131 out from La Defense. Once on the N13 the route will pass a large Holiday Inn on the left hand side located in Bougival. 21
Banque de France Site Plan
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Parc Omnisports de Croissy Croissy Stade Route de Chemin de Ronde 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine Directions from the Senior School: Exit the School and head along Rue de l’Ecluse until the small roundabout. Take the 3rd exit (left) along the Chemin de Ronde. Carry on for approximately 400 metres and you will see the entrance to the sports facility and car park on your left.
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