Conflict Resolution Policy

Preamble

We are committed to being a welcoming community of diverse, open-minded individuals seeking a welcoming place for all Hydras’ players and families. 

The intent of this policy is to outline a clear process for managing any Hydras related conflicts that arise among team members, coaches, managers, board members, or parents. 

The essence of this policy is to support healthy interactions and to offer guidance in dealing with behavior that is antithetical to the team’s health and vitality. Procedures for addressing bullying, harassment, abuse, intimidation, and other behaviors considered noxious or threatening to the common good are outlined here. We prioritize the wellbeing of Hydras as a whole over the privileges and inclusion of an individual whose behavior is dangerous or noxious.

Our beliefs remind us that revelation is ongoing and that disruptive behavior is often necessary to uproot traditions and habits that exclude or marginalize people who have traditionally not been included, or have been underrepresented in our community. For that reason, we do not consider disruptive behavior defined as necessarily destructive or noxious. Behavior that has a noxious impact, as defined by the Hydras Board, is behavior that is aggressive, mean-spirited, or intimidating to the point that the behavior causes others to avoid interaction with our community.

I. Policy Procedures 

The following is the Hydras policy if and when behavior that has a noxious impact occurs in our midst: 

A. Situations involving noxious behavior will be brought to the attention of the team Manager, or a Board member. Either party may choose to seek a mutually agreeable resolution that remedies the concern, or may refer the situation to the whole Board of Directors. An example of a simple remedy may be to acknowledge an imbalance of intention and impact which is remedied simply by raising awareness. The unintentional impact can be corrected with communication of a simple, genuine apology. If there is no acceptance of the apology and agreement about impact, the situation may require a more complex response as outlined below. 

B. If the situation is referred to the Board, they will designate a subset of at least three individuals to address the situation. The team will be formed in such a way as to avoid any conflicts of interest. At the time of its formation, a team lead will be designated by the Board and appropriate forms of communication will be determined. For example, a phone call, meeting in person, or written communication with the parties involved will be initiated. The team will be referred to as the Conflict Resolution Committee (CRC).

C. Guided and informed by policy, the Conflict Resolution Committee’s job, individually and collectively, will be to offer confidential support, advice, and counsel with concern for the safety of all parties involved.

D. If an immediate response to noxious behavior is required, this will be undertaken by the team Manager and/or the Board when necessary. This may include asking the offending person or persons to leave a Hydras activity, or suspending the activity until such a time as it can safely be resumed. At the time any of these actions are undertaken without the team Manager or Board members being present, those entities must be notified. All plans for follow-up steps will be the responsibility of the Board.

E. Persons identified as having behaved noxiously will be responded to as individuals of dignity and worth and their inclusion in the community will continue to be embraced. They will be offered opportunities and pathways to maintain their place in the team community.

F. Information concerning the alleged incident(s)that led to concern will be systematically collected from the concerned parties by delegated Conflict Resolution Committee members and documented before any action is taken. 

G. The Conflict Resolution Committee will meet to assess the findings and decide on a course of action, with the following four levels of response recommended to them. 

1. Level One: A Conflict Resolution Committee member(s) will contact the person named as the source of the noxious behavior and inform them of the nature of the concern. The person’s viewpoint of the matter will be explored and understood (not implying agreement of perspective) to the satisfaction of the person whose behavior is being investigated. Documentation of the conversation will include date, time, individuals present, and any specific information related to the incident. The documentation will be filed confidentially and shared with the Board and they will then assess the situation. 

2. Level Two: If the basis of the original concern is determined to be valid, this finding will be clearly communicated to the person in question and a contract for clearly defined behavior change will be negotiated. The contract will be signed by the person in question and the team Manager or Conflict Resolution Committee lead, and filed confidentially with the Board. 

3. Level Three: If the person in question refuses to negotiate and sign a contract, refuses to abide by their  signed contract or is engaging in behavior of sufficient severity, they may be excluded from Hydras for a specified period of time with reasons for such action and conditions for return clearly communicated and documented. 

4. Level Four: The Board can decide to permanently exclude the person in question from Hydras, with steps taken as needed to enforce the integrity of this decision. The coach and team manager will be alerted first of the decision.

II. Policy Considerations and Explanations 

Should the Conflict Resolution Committee decide that exclusion or expulsion from Hydras is necessary, they will consult the coach, team Manager, and Board to confirm a plan before communicating it to the person whose behavior has been deemed noxious. The Conflict Resolution Committee lead will communicate the decision to all person(s) directly involved in the incident. 

  1. The four levels of response recommended by this policy may be applied in the order determined by the Conflict Resolution Committee, in their judgment. 

  2. If considered as relevant by the Conflict Resolution Committee, it may offer recommendations for professional services such as counseling or anger management. 

  3. All documentation developed in the course of investigating and resolving allegations of noxious behavior will be kept confidential. The Manager or Board President will be responsible for determining access to such documentation and for ensuring its security. 

  4. To aid in evaluating the problem and determining the appropriate response, the following points will be used in assessing the nature and severity of referred problems: 

a. Dangerousness: Is the individual a source of threat or harm to persons or property? In the case that the Conflict Resolution Committee does not agree, outside counsel should be sought. 

b. Destructiveness: How destructive is the behavior to Hydras’ mission or functions? 

c. Integrity: How likely is it that the alleged behavior would make others—especially those who hold marginal identities—feel unsafe or unwelcome?

d. Causes: Why is the noxious behavior occurring? Is it due to a conflict between two or more individuals that is not team-wide? Is it due to a  struggle with personal or individual issues that can be addressed? 

e. Probability of Change: How likely is it that the problem behavior will diminish in the future? 

f. History: Does this individual have a history of behaving in noxious ways in the past? 

III. Possible Reinstatement of Removed Individual

Any request for reinstatement must be made by the individual who was removed from the team. The request must contain information concerning the rationale for the reinstatement: 

  1. A statement of understanding of the reasons for which they were removed from the team and

  2. An explanation in detail how personal circumstances and conditions have changed, such that a reinstatement would be justified. 

The request shall go to the Board of Directors which will review the request and respond within two weeks as to whether or not to reinstate the removed individual. The decision of the Board shall be final and not subject to further appeal. A reinstatement request may be made no sooner than one season following the removal. In the event that a reinstatement request is not granted, any subsequent reinstatement requests may be made no sooner than the beginning of the next season following the member being informed of a negative decision on the previous request. This second reinstatement request must include statements in response to the information requested as listed in number 1 and 2 above, with additional substantiating information beyond what was included in the first request of reinstatement. 

Passed by Hydras Board on 2/20/2023.