More people are trying to get into sports than ever before as the general public understands how physical exercise is beneficial to their health. Sports clubs are flourishing in Australia and many young people want to sign up as athletes, a trend which is to be encouraged by all means. Yet, clubs need to exercise a degree of caution in signing up new athletes as one rotten apple could ruin the whole basket.
Unsuitable characters can damage a sports club’s reputation
The first thing a coach looks at when assessing a new member is, of course, athletic performance. There’s a lot of competition out there and you want to get your hands on the best athletes so your club can win in competitions and increase its reputation.
However, one should also consider the personality of the new recruits as they will be representing your club after all.
Let’s say one of your members wins in boxing competition or establishes a new record in weight lifting and is then charged with drunk driving, battery, or any sort of criminal offence. The guy that made you proud just a week ago could end up tarnishing the reputation of your club. It doesn’t matter that the coach or the club president had nothing to do with their athletes’ criminal behaviour. It’s still on them as they were the ones to sign him up and somehow vouch for their character.
How many parents will reconsider their kids for the club’s junior league when one of the club’s stars is involved in a scandal? Would they want their children to look up to a guy who got drunk and beat his girlfriend to a pulp? Definitely not and this is why conducting a background check on a new athlete is an insurance policy for the club.
A suitable background check for Australian clubs
Signing up a new athlete takes a few days anyway. After assessing that individual’s athletic potential, there are still physical checks to be done and there’s plenty of time to conduct a background check as well.
We have found that a suitable way for Australian clubs to perform a background check on a new athlete is to use the services of an online agency like the Australian National Character Check, who can provide a valid national criminal history check on someone in 2-3 days. The benefit is that there is no need to visit a local police station and is completely online. The new athlete has to provide his or her identity information and a recent photo which is then uploaded on the website. It only takes a few minutes to fill in the online form and the agency will search through the police databases in all Australian states and territories to see if the individual has committed any sort of criminal offence anywhere in the country.
By the time the physical tests are completed, the police check report is sent back via email so the club’s management can have proof of their new member’s good character. It’s such a simple thing to do and it will save the club a lot of headaches down the line!