USA Gymnastics online meets results policy

As of this notice, it is no longer permissible to list any athlete's date of birth, age or personal contact information on public access pages for online meet results. We also request the meet director lists only the club's name and state and does not publish the address of the club.

Meet Directors must state on their entry form that the results of the competition will be posted online on their club site or state/regional site. Club owners/directors /coach must state to the parents that meet results will be posted on line at club/state/regional/national websites

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. งง 6501-6506) allows parents to control what information is collected about their child (younger than 13 years old) online. Operators of websites that either target children or knowingly collect personal information from children are required to post privacy policies, obtain parental consent before collecting information from children, allow parents to determine how such information is used, and provide the option to parents to opt-out of future collection from their child.

Although the meet director is not getting the information directly from the child, it is in the best interest of our members to respect their privacy in the areas of specific information such as birthdates, addresses, social security number and phone numbers.

Dear all,
The intent of the memo is to state that athlete’s birth dates are not to be posted online at a public access website. It is because of the federal law. This includes pre-roster information, club listing of athletes and meet results. There are exceptions for approval avenues to the federal law with regards to age of the athlete, parent permission, athlete permission etc. but it is not in the best practice of this organization to try to interpret or define a federal law. It is the best practice for our meet directors not to show the date of birth.

Please note USA Gymnastics is reviewing its policies with regards to publishing birth dates of the national team members. I hope this helps clarify. I want to thank you all for paying attention to this. Although there have been a tremendous amount of questions, the good news is that people are paying attention and our communication channels are open and working. Thank you!

Kathy Feldmann
USA Gymnastics
Vice President - Member Services

MEMORANDUM
TO:	MEET DIRECTORS, NATIONAL CHAIRS, REGIONAL CHAIRS, STATE CHAIRS AND TECHNOLOGY SCORE SUPPLIERS
FROM:	Kathy Feldmann, Vice President - Member Services Kathy Kelly, Vice President - Program
DATE:	January 11, 2009
RE:	Allowed information for posting meet results on-line. No Athlete birth dates, addresses, club address or personal contact information is allowed.
As of this notice, it is no longer permissible to list any athlete's date of birth, age or personal contact information on public access pages for online meet results. We also request the meet director lists only the club's name and state and does not publish the address of the club. Meet Directors must state on their entry form that the results of the competition will be posted online on their club site or state/regional site. Club owners/directors /coach must state to the parents that meet results will be posted on line at club/state/regional/national websites The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. งง 6501-6506) allows parents to control what information is collected about their child (younger than 13 years old) online. Operators of websites that either target children or knowingly collect personal information from children are required to post privacy policies, obtain parental consent before collecting information from children, allow parents to determine how such information is used, and provide the option to parents to opt-out of future collection from their child. Although the meet director is not getting the information directly from the child, it is in the best interest of our members to respect their privacy in the areas of specific information such as birthdates, addresses, social security number and phone numbers. Dear all, The intent of the memo is to state that athlete’s birth dates are not to be posted online at a public access website. It is because of the federal law. This includes pre-roster information, club listing of athletes and meet results. There are exceptions for approval avenues to the federal law with regards to age of the athlete, parent permission, athlete permission etc. but it is not in the best practice of this organization to try to interpret or define a federal law. It is the best practice for our meet directors not to show the date of birth. Please note USA Gymnastics is reviewing its policies with regards to publishing birth dates of the national team members. I hope this helps clarify. I want to thank you all for paying attention to this. Although there have been a tremendous amount of questions, the good news is that people are paying attention and our communication channels are open and working. Thank you! Kathy Feldmann USA Gymnastics Vice President - Member Services

MEMORANDUM