Social Media Guidelines
We recognize that many of our coaching staff and club members are actively using social media in their personal lives. It is important to understand that these personal posts can directly or indirectly impact our skaters and Bedford Skating Club brand. As coaches and club members you are often in the best position to serve as Bedford Skating Club and Skate Canada brand ambassadors.
We encourage you to actively engage in social media and spread the word about Bedford Skating Club, and have created the following guidelines to reduce any risk to personal, skater and club reputation.
Be transparent and authentic. If you are sharing information about Bedford Skating Club or your skater, be sure to tell people you are the coach or club member. You can either do this in your profile or when you are sharing information. Why is this important? Many people use social media sources as part of their decision or to form opinions about a Club. They may weigh a coach's or parent/guardian's comment differently, so it is important to be up front about who you are.
Use a Disclaimer. Social media activities are individual interactions and coaches or club members must not represent or imply that they are expressing the opinion of the Bedford Skating Club. If you publish or share content online related to Bedford Skating Club you should include a disclaimer such as “tweets are my own”.
Be Considerate. The same rules that apply to skater or coaches conduct as it relates to Athlete Conduct or Coaches Code of ethics, including our Club values, apply to the social world. Communicating publicly in any type of forum – including social media channels – should be done with good judgement and common sense. Be positive - your comments are a reflection of you, our skaters and our Club. Before posting any comment, ask yourself would I be OK for my skater, parent/guardian, coach colleague, Club or member of the skating community to read this? Information spreads quickly and there is no true delete button. Never share anything you wouldn’t want the world to know.
Respect Copyright and Trademark. Follow the rules of the social media site you are using and be mindful of others in that space. Coaches and club members are not permitted to use the Bedford Skating Club logos or other trademarks owned by Bedford Skating Club or Skate Canada – unless approved to do so.
Additional references: Skate Canada Nova Scotia Social Media Guidelines and Skate Canada Nova Scotia Social Media and Social Networking Policy. Both documents can be found under Skate Canada Nova Scotia Social Media Policy and Guidelines.
