YMCA Swimming and Youth Protection

[OldGrayOwl]

My troop would like to do some swimming at our local YMCA. How do you handle Youth Protection at a public place like the YMCA?

[Eagle92]

In what aspect? Do you mean the changing rooms? If that's the case, what I have seen done is everyone shows up in their swim gear, so no need for changing rooms at that point. When everyone get's ready to leave, youth first, then adults. or I've seen some adults get dressed while the scouts are finsihign up, then scouts get dressed, then the remaining adults.

[eagle90]

We do this a couple times a year, in fact, havce one coming up next week. Usually the scouts wear their suits under their street clothes on the way there. When we are done, the adults usually change first and then the scouts. The scouts also have a remarkable way of changing out of their bathing suits and into clothes under their towel. If I would try that I would fall flat on my face. Oh to be young again!

 

 

[Twocubdad]

How does your troop go to the restroom when you stop at McDonald's?

 

Eagle92's method works if the troop has exclusive use of the facility, but are you suggesting you have to lock out adult Y members so the boys can change?

[Kahuna]

I think you can get kind of carried away with this stuff. The Y is a public place. The dressing room situation is what ever it is, but there's no reason that I know of that adults and boys can't change clothes in the same dressing room in a situation like that, as long as the other guidelines are followed. I think biggest concern I'd have would be protection of the boys among other adults and older boys who aren't Scouts or Scouters. Seems to me it's just a matter of supervision. I don't have my copy of G2SS handy, since I don't work directly with boys anymore, but I don't think there's any YP violations in that scenario. I don't think you want Scouts wearing wet swimsuits under their clothes or going to the Y in swimsuits in the Winter.

[Oak Tree]

The G2SS rule that would seem to apply is:

 

Respect of privacy.

Adult leaders must respect the privacy of youth members in situations such as changing clothes and taking showers at camp, and intrude only to the extent that health and safety require. Adults must protect their own privacy in similar situations.

 

The YMCA changing room may feel like a violation of the spirit of the rule, but it's not clear that you would be violating the letter of the rule. In order to maintain discipline and protect your Scouts from older boys and other adults, you need to be in there with them. It's a public place. I think you're fine.

[GKlose]

Just a data point -- our local YMCA has four locker rooms total: women, girls, men and boys. Youth are not allowed in the adult locker rooms but adults are allowed in the youth locker rooms, with their children.

 

I've only visited the mens' and boys' locker rooms, but while the adult locker room is wide open, the youth locker room has rows of lockers and a few "privacy screens".

 

Not long ago, I saw a young dad carrying a toddler, talking to one of the Y people. I think they were on a tour. The dad was asking the Y guy why kids were not allowed in the adult locker room, and the Y guy thought for a moment and said "it is a youth protection issue" and left it at that. I'm not so sure that the dad understood that the men's locker room is a wide open room, with lockers on the perimeter and a few chairs around.

[ASM59]

Happens a couple of time per year with us. I am a Swimming MB Counselor and will typically offer the opportunity once per year for boys to take the MB. We do one session at our Scout Shelter and two or three sessions at the local HS or YMCA pool (The YMCA will not let us do clothes inflation, so we definately schedule the HS for this part although the HS is more expensive). I have never had an issue with the problem noted. The boys never change in the open locker room. They always go into the toilet stalls to change. To respect the G2SS guidelines ("Adults must protect their own privacy..."), I always duck into a stall to change also.

 

The only other thing to worry about are the other YMCA members. There may be Y members showering or changing, but I do my best to keep the boys in an isolated part of the locker room. The most I've ever heard were some snickers from the boys.

 

I should also point out that I only go to the pool with at least one other parent and/or leader. This is easy to do as this is not really run as a Troop outing, but rather a MB opportunity and I make it the parents responsibility to get their Scout to the pool. Most parents stay at the pool for the couple of hours that we are there.

 

ASM59

[ASM59]

GKlose,

 

While our local YMCA only has two locker rooms, I have been to YMCA's that have the 4 locker rooms too. While it's nice, it also worries me that I am not allowed in the youth locker room while other adults are (parents of youth). If I were to take Scouts to a facility with such a locker room, I'd recruit a trusted older Scout to attend and ask him to make sure everything in the locker room goes OK.

 

ASM59

[OldGrayOwl]

Thanks for your replies. Since this is a public place and not a camp, then the G2SS doesn't apply, so we are going to on from there.

 

[ScoutNut]

WHOA!

 

The G2SS applies to ALL SCOUTING ACTIVITIES!

 

It does not matter if you are at camp, at a local baseball game, at your Den/Pack/Troop meeting, or in the middle of Times Square. If you are on a Scouting activity the Guide to Safe Scouting applies.