Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Table Tennis NZ recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi as Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document and is committed to upholding the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the principles of Partnership, Protection and Participation.
Policy 7: Intimate Relationships
Table Tennis NZ believes consensual, healthy, and respectful relationships are essential to the wellbeing of people involved in Table Tennis. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure they act professionally and in the best interests of Table Tennis in NZ when performing their duties, in training, at matches, on tour or otherwise involved in its activities. Healthy boundaries are important and need to be respected.
Table Tennis NZ believes intimate relationships and associated conflicts should be disclosed and managed because:
- they could have harmful effects on the people involved and/or other people within the sport
- they could be perceived as exploitative, particularly if there is a power imbalance between the people involved (e.g., in terms of relative age, authority, maturity, status, influence, or dependence)
- the public image of Table Tennis NZ could be negatively affected (e.g. conflict of interest affecting perceptions of professionalism and fairness).
Purpose:
The purpose of this policy is to:
- promote professional and ethical behaviour
- avoid actual and perceived conflicts of interest
- make it clear that coaches and other supervisors of young people should not use their position to enter into intimate relationships with them
- minimise the risk of accusations of bias, favouritism or prejudice
- ensure that Table Tennis NZ provides a safe environment where people are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect
- ensure Table Tennis NZ has a clear and practical framework, which identifies any concerns or perception issues at an early stage and seeks to manage those issues to assist everyone involved.
Application
Intimate relationships that could give rise to a conflict of interest are relationships where there could be some bias or impact, either positive or negative, resulting from that relationship. The conflict arises from the relationship itself – it doesn’t depend upon any specific action.
The existence of intimate relationships where there could be a perception or reality of bias or conflict of interest needs to be disclosed so any risks can be safely managed. This policy applies to Table Tennis NZ’s employees, service providers, contractors, volunteers, athletes, and members.
The relationships covered by this policy include:
- past or present boyfriend/girlfriend, marriage, or de facto relationship
- past or present sexual partners
- someone you are dating or have dated in the past
- any kind of intimate or romantic interaction, including, for example, a one-off sexual interaction or a romantic relationship.
Guidelines for intimate relationships
For the purposes of this policy, coaches/supervisors will be considered to be supervisors of participants.
- Supervisors are not allowed to seek, encourage, or enter into intimate relationships with young people they are coaching/supervising. Young people means people of or over the age of 14, but under 18 years of age.
- Supervisors are discouraged from seeking, encouraging, or entering into intimate relationships with participants older than 18 who they coach. If such relationships do arise, they must be disclosed by the supervisor to the CEO of Table Tennis NZ and or relevant leadership position in an affiliated table tennis organisation.
- Supervisors are discouraged from entering into intimate relationships with parents or guardians of young people they coach/supervise.
- It is not acceptable for supervisors to continue to supervise, including coach, someone they are in an intimate relationship with, unless Table Tennis NZ or its affiliated table tennis organisations expressly approves this in writing. Approval is likely to be subject to conditions and ongoing obligations to ensure the conflict is managed.
- Table Tennis NZ and its affiliated table tennis organisations strongly discourage intimate relationships where one person is in a significantly more senior position than the other (even if there is no direct reporting line).
- Where an intimate relationship exists, it should be kept separate from the work, training, or competition environments.
- Conduct of both parties must remain professional at all times.
- If an intimate relationship ends, both parties are expected to behave professionally towards each other. Table Tennis NZ and its affiliated table tennis organisation may still need to manage the situation and should be advised.
Disclosing intimate relationships
Intimate relationships must be disclosed so Table Tennis NZ can assess the impact on the people in the relationship, their roles at Table Tennis NZ and other people who work/volunteer at or are associated with Table Tennis NZ.
The people who this policy applies to have an ongoing obligation to disclose:
- intimate relationships between themselves and another employee, service provider, contractor, volunteer, participant, or member
- intimate relationships between themselves and the parent or guardian of a participant they currently coach/supervise
- intimate relationships between other people who work/volunteer at or are associated with Table Tennis NZ that they become aware of any change in their intimate relationships where the intimate relationship could, or could reasonably be perceived, to impact on either person in the relationship, their roles or other people associated with Table Tennis NZ. If a person is in doubt about whether a relationship must be disclosed, it should be disclosed.
Disclosure should be made to the Chief Executive Table Tennis NZ or the chairperson of the affiliated organisation immediately (or as soon as the conflict, or potential conflict, is identified). If one or both people in the intimate relationship is a member of the management team or senior leadership team, then disclosure must be made to the Chief Executive Officer. Information about intimate relationships will only be disclosed to those people within Table Tennis NZ or affiliated organisation who need to know in order to manage the actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest. Anyone who is informed of an intimate relationship in the course of their work or activity within Table Tennis NZ must be reminded they need to keep it confidential.
Steps following disclosure
Where an intimate relationship is disclosed or identified, Table Tennis NZ may:
- advise the relevant supervisors (if any and if not already advised/aware) of the existence of the relationship
- consult with people in the relationship (and any other relevant parties) to develop a plan to manage actual or potential impacts. The steps to manage any risks may include an independent person being involved in selection decisions, monitoring, changes to reporting lines, changes to roles and/or disclosure to other relevant people at Table Tennis NZ.
There may be situations where the adverse impact cannot be adequately managed and ongoing employment (or association) with Table Tennis NZ is not possible. In such cases, this will be discussed with the people affected.
Reporting a breach
Individuals who wish to report an alleged breach of this policy should follow the complaints procedure outlined in the Policy 19: Complaints, Disciplinary, Disputes and Appeals Policy.
Version: February 2025