A Sportsmanship Ratings How-To Guide

A Sportsmanship Ratings How-To Guide

Beginning Sunday, October 6 and running through October 20, the CIAC begins it fall sportsmanship ratings period. This process takes place three times per year, once during each sports season, and is an important part of the CIAC’s emphasis on sportsmanship. Schools can find and submit the reports through the CIAC on-line eligibility center, and can provide hard copies of the ratings survey to coaches.

The program itself is very simple and is intended to provide valuable opportunities for member schools to address areas of sportsmanship concerns. Following every game during the ratings period coaches can work with their teams to fill out a survey rating the sportsmanship of the opponent. The ratings survey includes 19 questions and allows the team to rate opponents in a scale of four areas. The areas focus on behavior of the coach, the players, officials, and the parents and fans. There is also an area where a team can provide additional comments, either positive or negative, about the sportsmanship demonstrated in that particular contest.

The ratings system and process were developed by the CIAC Sportsmanship Committee, a group comprised a wide-range of interested parties including athletics directors, coaches, officials, and CIAC staff people. The Committee believes that the ratings process can provide great benefits to all member schools that participate in a variety of ways. The ratings data is compiled and shared with all member schools, providing members with a tangible view of areas in which it has excelled or needs to improve in regard to sportsmanship. The compilation of the ratings also allows members to discuss best practices for approaching sportsmanship issues by communicating with other schools that may have different approaches to addressing sportsmanship concerns.

However, the committee believes the most important aspect of the process is that it strongly encourages athletics directors and coaches to engage in a dialogue with their student-athletes about sportsmanship, in the hope that it will foster a greater awareness on the topic. If coaches take the opportunity for brief communication with their teams to complete the ratings after a game, it demonstrates the school’s commitment to sportsmanship.

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