Welcome to GCCYS Compliance
Welcome to our new GCCYS Compliance page. This page will serve as a source of information for parish coordinators, coaches, and parents to ensure that they are in compliance with rules, regulations, and training that are required by the league, the Archdiocese of Greater Cincinnati, or the State of Ohio.
And Jesus said to the Disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all of creation.” – Mark 16:15
Most of us don’t think of ourselves as “Disciples”. Many of us probably consider ourselves rather good Catholic Christians when it comes to our faith life. The Lord, however, doesn’t call us to be just good. He calls each of us to a greater good by being disciples and ministers to all and God has a plan for each of us in His Church and a mission for us in the world.
The GCCYS asks everyone associated with Catholic Youth Athletics to further the mission of the Catholic Church by providing sports experiences for our youth that are firmly rooted in the Catholic faith tradition, based on the goals of Catholic youth ministry, and aligned with the evangelizing mission of the Catholic Church.
So, please take a few moments of your busy lives and sports schedules by becoming very familiar with all of the requirements and information associated with the GCCYS’ Compliance page.
Index
While everyone should be aware of the following areas of compliance, items in green apply only to coaches and items in orange apply to parents. Parish and schools need to provide oversight on all items.
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati web site has an abundance of material regarding providing a safe environment for our children. This is in conjunction with the already in place Child Protection Decree Program that the Archdiocese has sponsored for the past several years. Even if you have already completed the Child Protection Decree Program, all people who intend to work or volunteer in any of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati parishes, schools, or institutions, must also attend (or have already attended) a SafeParish for the Decree on Child Protection before you are approved to work with children.
"One of the greatest responsibilities adults ever face is the protection of children under their care. That is a duty that falls heavily upon those who minister in the name of the Church because children are entrusted to us in so many ways – in schools, in religious education, in Scouting, on field trips and in sports. Parents have a right to expect that their children are as safe as humanly possible in all of these situations." - Archbishop Schnurr
SafeParish Training
All coaches MUST be SafeParish trained
This is in conjunction with the already in place Child Protection Decree Program that the Archdiocese has sponsored for the past several years. Even if you have already completed the Child Protection Decree Program, all people who intend to work or volunteer in any of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati parishes, schools, or institutions, must also attend (or have already attended) SafeParish training for the Decree on Child Protection before you are approved to work with children.
Youth Athletics Charter
Please take a moment to familiarize yourslef with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Charter on Youth Athletics.
Catholic Youth Athletics furthers the mission of the Catholic Church by providing sports experiences for youth that are firmly rooted in the Catholic faith tradition, based on the goals of Catholic youth ministry, and aligned with the evangelizing mission of the Catholic Church.
Mission of Catholic Youth Athletics, Archdiocese of Cincinnati Charter on Youth Athletics
Rules and Conduct
To participate in the GCCYS, we expect all parents, players, coaches, and referees to abide by the rules and behave in a manner becoming of our Catholic faith. Please take time to read the Rules document for the different leagues we offer as well as our Sportsmanship document and Ten Things Parents of Athletes Should Know.
Basketball League Rules
Girls Volleyball League Rules
Boys Volleyball League Rules
Codes of Conduct (NEW ... as ratified by member parishes on January 1, 2020)
Sportsmanship
Ten Things Parents Need to Know
Liability Waivers
In order for your child to participate in the GCCYS, ALL parents/guardians must fill out a Liability Waiver form for each of their children playing in our league once per school year. We try to help out our coordinators by matching up waivers with roster entries so please double check the spelling of your child's last name, verify date of birth, and make sure you choose the correct organization. It is the responsibility of parish coordinators to make sure their parents have filled out a waiver and to make sure the waiver matches up to the team roster based on organization, player last name, and player birth date. In some cases, the information is different and coordinators need to correct rosters OR ask the parent to fill out another waiver (if the information on the waiver is incorrect).
Lindsay's Law
The Ohio Department of Health has announced new legislation referred to as Lindsay's Law which addresses Sudden Cardiac Arrest in youth athletes. The law went into effect on August 1, 2017. GCCYS sent an email to all parishes during the week of August 1st to provide guidance regarding how this should be implemented for our member coaches, athletes, and parents. You can read more about Lindsay's Law on the Ohio Department of Health web site:
We have included links to resources below which might be helpful for our members, but please note that it is the obligation of the parish/school to make sure everyone for their program is trained and in compliance with the Ohio state law.
The following resources were developed to implement Lindsay’s Law:
For parents/guardians and youth athletes:
For coaches:
If you are a coach for an interscholastic sport and are licensed by the Ohio Department of Education, please visit their website for information about their training requirements around Lindsay’s Law.
If you are a coach in a community program, please use the following resources:
Concussion Training
All head and assistant coaches must complete the NFHS Concussion Training course before their respective season begins. Coaches will communicate their completion of the course by editing their GCCYS user account and specifying the course completion date (if this is how the parish would like to track it, it is not a GCCYS requirement to track it in this way). This training is valid for up to 3 years upon completion of the course so if any coaches have completed the course in the past 3 years, they should simply enter their course completion date.
Please note that it is the obligation of the parish/school to make sure everyone for their program is trained and in compliance with the Ohio state law.