Code of Conduct

Article 1 — Why and for whom

We run, swim and celebrate together, and we want everyone to feel welcome and safe at our events, on the site and in our team. This code applies to everyone: participants, supporters and visitors; volunteers, staff, officers and founders; partners, sponsors, photographers and contractors while they work with us. It applies at events and in their preparation, on fundraiser pages, in messages and comments, on our social media accounts, and wherever you act in the name of the association.

By accepting the Event Terms, opening an account, volunteering or working with us you also accept this code. Where this code and another of our documents govern the same point, the stricter one applies.

Article 2 — Our principles

1. Everyone is welcome. Regardless of sex, age, origin, language, religion, disability, appearance, sexual orientation, means or fitness. Our events are for recreational runners, competitors and those who have come to cheer.
2. Nobody gets mocked. Not for being slow, for being in the water for the first time, for wearing a Santa suit or for dropping out.
3. Safety before the programme. When in doubt, we decide in favour of safety, even if that means stopping.
4. Money is public. Every euro that passes through us is visible in the public ledger; none of us handles money outside the rules.
5. Children first. For everything that concerns children the Child Safeguarding Policy applies, without exception.
6. This is our town and our sea. We behave as guests in our own community: towards neighbours, towards venues, towards the shore.

Article 3 — Respect and harassment

Treat people with respect, in person and online. We do not tolerate harassment. By harassment we mean, among other things:

1. insults, humiliation, threats and intimidation;
2. unwanted comments about someone's body, appearance or ability, unwanted touching and pushiness;
3. discriminatory outbursts, "jokes" and symbols on any of the grounds in Article 2;
4. photographing or filming someone who has refused, and publishing other people's photographs or data without consent;
5. persistent interrupting, following, messaging or pressuring after a clear "no";
6. sexual harassment in any form;
7. retaliation against someone who reported a problem or declined to take part in something.

Violence, threats of violence and sexual harassment are the gravest breaches and as a rule mean immediate removal and a ban.

Article 4 — Online

Fundraiser pages, donation messages, comments, team chats and our social media accounts are part of the same space. Write truthfully and civilly; do not publish other people's personal data; do not advertise; do not use our accounts and groups for political, religious or commercial messages. We remove messages that insult, mislead or harass, and we suspend accounts that repeat this, as described in the Terms of Use.

When you post about our events on your own accounts, it is clear that you speak for yourself, unless the association has authorised you. Do not arrange or hold private conversations with children in connection with our activities; communication goes through parents.

Article 5 — Fair play

At races, swims and regattas: start in your own wave, keep to the marked course, do not cut it short, do not use someone else's race number and do not give yours to anyone else, do not accept unauthorised assistance (vehicle, bicycle, boat, towing) and do not obstruct others. A result achieved by cheating is struck, and repeated cheating means exclusion from future events. On platform challenges: log only activities you have really done, and only from your own account.

Winners and fast finishers wait for and cheer the last ones in. That is our custom.

Article 6 — Alcohol and substances

Some of our events, such as the New Year pub crawl, involve alcohol. The rules are clear:

1. alcohol only for adults; organisers and venues check age;
2. nobody is talked into drinking; a non-alcoholic option always exists and is treated as equal;
3. we will not serve any more to a visibly intoxicated person and we may ask them to leave the event;
4. do not get behind the wheel after drinking; we will help you find a ride;
5. at sporting events (races, swims, regattas) alcohol and other substances before and during participation are not allowed; a participant under the influence is not allowed to start;
6. volunteers and staff do not drink alcohol while they have a task, and especially not while working with children, on the water or with money.

Drugs are not allowed at our events in any form.

Article 7 — Children

For everything that concerns children our Child Safeguarding Policy applies: children are always with at least two adults and in view of others; there is no one-to-one contact and no private messaging; photographs only with a parent's consent; a parent is called for any personal need of the child; a concern is reported to the safeguarding lead at the event. These rules also apply to parents and supporters towards other people's children.

Article 8 — Safety

Follow the instructions of organisers, marshals, lifeguards and medical staff, at once and without argument. Do not leave the marked course and do not enter the water outside the designated zones and times. Do not enter the water if you do not feel well. If you see someone in trouble, tell the nearest team member; if they are in immediate danger, call the emergency services, then us. Do not bring glass, open flame or pyrotechnics. A costume must be safe for the activity.

Article 9 — Our town, our neighbours, our sea

We leave nothing behind: waste goes in the bags and bins provided, plastic is not thrown away on land or in the water, and the course and the beach look better after the event than before. We respect the residents, the traffic and the venues we pass through: no noise outside the programme, no blocking of entrances, no damage. We treat animals and the shore with care. Anyone who comes to cheer is welcome under the same rules.

Article 10 — Additional rules for volunteers, staff and officers

Whoever wears our badge represents the association. Volunteers, employees, chapter persons, officers and founders additionally:

1. receive a briefing before a task and do only the tasks they have been briefed for;
2. wear visible identification while on a task and take it off when they finish;
3. do not accept money, gifts or favours from participants, beneficiaries, sponsors or suppliers outside the Conflict of Interest Policy;
4. handle money only under the cash rules, always in pairs, with a receipt and a record;
5. do not disclose data about donors, beneficiaries, participants and children that they learn on a task, neither during nor after the engagement;
6. do not give media statements on policy, finances, beneficiaries or incidents; that is done by the Executive Director or a person they authorise;
7. do not use the association's name, mark, accounts or contacts for personal purposes;
8. report every conflict of interest, incident and breach of this code, including their own.

Anyone with a task involving children signs the declaration from the Child Safeguarding Policy.

Article 11 — Partners, sponsors and contractors

Clubs, venues, sponsors, photographers and other contractors accept this code as part of their cooperation with us. Sponsorship gives no right to an exemption and no say over who receives funds. A partner's person who breaches the code is removed from the event like anyone else, and on a repeated breach we inform the partner and reconsider the cooperation.

Article 12 — How to report a problem

At an event: speak to any identified team member, the event manager or, if it concerns a child, the safeguarding lead; all are visibly identified. In writing: [[PLACEHOLDER: contact email]] or the form on the site. If the report concerns the Executive Director or an officer: to the President of the Board at [[PLACEHOLDER: email]]. If someone is in immediate danger, call the emergency services (112) first, then us.

A report may be anonymous. We treat every report confidentially: we do not reveal the reporter's identity to the person the report concerns. Nobody suffers consequences for a good-faith report, even when it proves unfounded; retaliation is in itself a breach of the code.

Article 13 — What happens after a report

We record the report, protect the person at risk at once (separation, escort, medical help), hear both sides and decide within the deadline in Part B. We inform the reporter of the outcome to the extent that this does not endanger the confidentiality of others. When a report points to a criminal offence, we inform the police; when it concerns a child, we act under the Child Safeguarding Policy.

Article 14 — Consequences

Depending on gravity, intent and repetition:

You may appeal a written measure within 15 days to the address in Article 12; the appeal is decided by a person who did not take the original decision. Removal from an event and immediate safety measures take effect at once and do not wait for an appeal.

Article 15 — Review

We review the code after every major event and at least once a year, together with the Child Safeguarding Policy, and add what we have learned. We publish a short version on the site and read it at the briefing before every event.