British Aikido Board (BAB) tires of child protection policies

Eric Tweedie reports back on a meeting of the British Aikido Board:

‘I attended a meeting in Warwickshire to discuss “the way forward” as regards the BAB future policy on Safeguarding. Several things have become clear:-
a/ Everyone is now completely fed up with regulation and governmental interference and there is now great resistance to anything further in this direction.
b/ Everyone now agrees that adults have become estranged from children evidenced by the fact that no-one is willing to touch a child in any way even to comfort them after a fall or injury.
c/ Everyone is terrified of the possibility that an adult’s life could be completely ruined by the mistaken and/or malicious allegation of assault by a child.

Everyone at the meeting condemned the costs muted for the ISA check and regarded this all as a money-making racket in the name of Child Safeguarding. It is now obvious that everyone just wants to get on with enjoying their own particular sport with out any further needless complications.

At the meeting it was noteworthy that no-one was willing to volunteer for any post offered or for any work project to be completed so I am wondering where we go from here. The situation generally in all sports appears to be that most clubs etc now have no volunteers willing to become involved, and as regards my own organisation, there are only one or two minors training in Aikido throughout the whole country.
Everyone is now precluding minors from their respective clubs.’