  Dear USEF Competition Organizers, Managers and Secretaries, USEF thanks you for your continuous efforts to support our shared mission to ensure we provide the safest environment possible for our athletes and other participants. Strategies for safeguarding athletes continue to evolve, and we are fully committed to keeping pace with best practices. As you are preparing for OREGON HIGH DESERT CLASSICS beginning on 7/20/2022 and 7/27/22, we are reaching out to provide you with the USEF Safe Sport Competition Quality Control System details and other information and valuable resources to assist you in navigating the SafeSport-related requirements to ensure you, your competition, and your participants remain in compliance. PRIOR TO THE COMPETITION 1. NEW: PARTICIPANT COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS a.Competition Managers will need to send a direct communication to all participants within 30 days prior to the start date of each competition to remind them: i.That they are bound by the U.S. Center for SafeSport Code, USEF Safe Sport Policy, and Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP). ii.How to report concerns involving alleged violations of the MAAPP or U.S. Center for SafeSport Code or USEF Safe Sport Policy. iii.For concerns that are non-sexual in nature, use the USEF Safe Sport Incident Reporting Form available on the USEF website. For concerns regarding sexual misconduct, report to safesport.i-sight.com/portal and the authorities if a minor is involved. All of this information can be found in the USEF Safe Sport Policy. USEF has developed sample language, which can be used to send to participants to meet this new MAAPP communication requirement. b.Communication Delivery i.This direct communication should be sent to all participants 6/20/2022 for the OREGON HIGH DESERT CLASSICS. ii.The direct communication to all participants must be in the form of a written letter or email sent directly to the participants. **Note: While posting this communication to the competition’s website and social media accounts is a suggested and welcomed additional step, that alone will not comply with this requirement. Competitions Not Able to Communicate Directly with Participants as Described Above We recognize the challenges of our competition environment, including that many competitors do not pre-enter events, contact information may not be available, or an email platform may not be accessible. Therefore, when a competition cannot notify participants directly by email within 30 days prior to competing, and when participants enter at the competition, we suggest the following reasonable process to ensure competition organizer and USEF compliance with this notification requirement. Print the USEF MAAPP poster along with the USEF suggested letter and post them in a conspicuous location for the participants to read when they check-in or register at the competition. Please kindly request that they read it. Additionally, we recommend that you include the content from the USEF suggested letter in the prize list as well as on your website, if applicable, or where the show information is made available to participants. 2. ADDITIONAL NOTES/RESOURCES The required USEF prize-list ad has been updated and can be found here. The new MAAPP poster required for display in the show office can be found here. The Safe Sport Awareness and Resources poster required for display around the competition venue can be found here (in English) and here (in Spanish). For your convenience, all of these resources and more can be found under the USEF Competition Management Safe Sport Toolkit. AT THE COMPETITION 1.ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE a.SafeSport Training: All adult members and participants who have regular contact with or authority over minor athletes must be in compliance with the SafeSport Training for eligibility to participate. All participants who are members must be checked against the SafeSport Training ineligibility list. This can be done by comparing the participant list against the ineligibility list published on the USEF website or automatically by initiating an API data transfer. Non-member participants required to satisfy the training requirements must show proof of completion by either producing a certificate of completion or be verified through the USEF Safe Sport Directory, which includes everyone currently compliant with the training requirement. Any participant on the ineligibility list for failure to take or refresh their training cannot participate in any role other than as a spectator. b.USEF Safe Sport Sanctions List: All participants must be checked against the USEF Safe Sport sanctions list, which includes all individuals temporarily suspended, or suspended or permanently ineligible to participate for safe sport related misconduct. Such participants must be prohibited from entering the showgrounds. If someone on the USEF Safe Sport sanctions list is on the grounds, they must be removed by competition management or law enforcement if necessary, for trespassing. IMPORTANT REMINDERS Individuals on the USEF Safe Sport sanctions list are not permitted on competition grounds. If someone enters the grounds who appears on the USEF Safe Sport sanction list, they must be removed. Participants who are on the ineligibility list for failure to take SafeSport Training, are permitted on the grounds, but they are not permitted to participate in competition until they have successfully completed the training. Please encourage the competition announcer to remind all attendees about the USEF Safe Sport Policy and Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies, as well as where they can find additional information. Encourage them to look for the posters on site with QR codes linking them to important information. Refer to Section 2 above for signage display requirements for the following: MAAPP poster USEF Safe Sport Awareness Poster – English USEF Safe Sport Awareness Poster – Spanish Please take a moment to review the new USEF Safe Sport web pages on USEF’s website. You will find comprehensive resources to answer any questions your competition participants may have regarding Safe Sport. Please contact Sarah Gilbert, USEF Safe Sport Program Coordinator, at sgilbert@usef.org for any questions or concerns relating to the USEF Safe Sport program. For questions about the requirements for competition organizers, please contact Lisa Owens at lowens@usef.org. We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining compliance with these requirements and in joining our efforts to maintain a safe competition environment for everyone.Best regards,   Thomas F.X. O’MaraPresidentWilliam Moroney CEO |
 US Equestrian Federation4001 Wing Commander Way | Lexington, KY 40511P. 859 258 2472 , F. 859 231 6662 |
