Members of Witham Rugby Union Football Club enjoy the opportunities and rewards of a community-based sports club combined with affiliation to county and national rugby union associations. It is subsequently expected that members will uphold the ethos of the club in all social media interactions. Members will not act in such a way that the image of Witham RUFC is brought into disrepute nor in a way that harms it’s immediate and wider rugby community.

Social media can be, when appropriate, an effective tool and is commonly used by the Witham RUFC community to disseminate information, express their views, comments, ideas and criticism on a whole range of issues. Witham RUFC expects members to use social media in a respectful and responsible manner. Social media should not be used to insult, present offensive or inappropriate content or to misrepresent the club or any member of Witham RUFC or the external rugby community.

The purpose of this policy is to set standards of behavior for the use of social media that are consistent with the broader values and expectations of the Witham RUFC community.

Social Media – refers to all social networking sites such as (but not limited to) Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Formspring, YouTube and MySpace, MSN, Stumbleupon, WRFC Website, Team sites such as Pitchero, and includes email and mobile devices. All bulk emails / communication should be ‘BCC’ or sent in such a way that members’ emails are not made public.

This Policy applies to all members of Witham RUFC
1) Members are expected to show respect to others, always, including members of the Witham RUFC and wider rugby community and act within the core values of the game.
2) Members are also expected to give due respect to the reputation and good name of Witham RUFC.
3) When using Social Media, members are expected to ensure that they:

Respect the rights and confidentiality of others;
Do not impersonate or falsely represent another person;
Do not bully, intimidate, abuse, harass or threaten others;
Do not make defamatory comments;
Do not use offensive or threatening language or resort to personal abuse towards each other or members of the Witham RUFC or the wider Community;
Do not post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic or incites violence against others;
Do not post content that harms the reputation and good standing of Witham RUFC or those within its community;

4) Members are expected to report any content that they encounter that is in breach of this policy to the Club Secretary.

5) Any Member wishing to set up any social media interaction which contains any Witham RUFC branding, whether explicit or implied, must seek approval of the Executive Committee and agree to moderate the content in accordance with this policy.

A breach of this policy may also involve a breach of other Witham RUFC policies, and should be read in conjunction with the RFU, and Witham RUFC, codes of conduct, which apply to all members regardless of category or role.

A breach of this policy will be considered by the committee, or their delegates, and will be dealt within the current disciplinary structure on a case-by-case basis.

All reports of cyber bullying and other technology misuses will be investigated fully and may result in notification to the police where the Witham RUFC is obliged to do so. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, suspension, or banning from membership of Witham RUFC. Members must be aware that in certain circumstances where a crime has been committed, they may be subject to a criminal investigation by the police over which Witham RUFC will have no control.

The final section of this document sets out guidelines regarding the operation of social media sites which incorporate Witham RUFC as full or part as its title.

Any age group that wants to set up or already has and is using a social media site which includes Witham RUFC in its name must inform the Executive committee of its existence or the intention to set up such a site.

To start or continue to run such sites/pages the group must adhere to the following directives: -

Each social Media site must have two moderators. At least one should be the club Honorary Secretary or Chairperson.
The moderator(s) that run the site on behalf of an age group must have valid RFU DBS from Witham RUFC at least one moderator should be Head Coach and/or Manager of the age group.
The moderators must ensure site / page should consist of a private group / closed group with all members verified by the moderators. No site or page should be open. The potential disclosing of personal information about a child to people accessing the website should be strictly monitored and removed.
Moderators must agree to moderate the page / site regularly (once a day) so that abusive, derogatory or inappropriate content (photos, videos or text), on the site or linked sites, including adverts especially from Google or other sponsored links should be taken down immediately. It must be remembered that content can potentially be copied and resent via other platforms which are open.
If a moderator receives a complaint about any content on the site it must be removed immediately. They must keep a copy of the offending content and make a report to the Executive Committee for any future investigation. If the offending content relates to or concerns a child (U18) a copy of the content in question must be sent to the Club CSO (Club Safeguarding Officer)
Any child under the age of 13 is not allowed to use social media sites. Only their parents are allowed.
All contact with mini and youth players (up to the age of 18) whether it be by social media, email or text, must be copied to their parent or guardian. Under no circumstances is direct, exclusive contact between an adult and a minor allowed.