Basketball England’s safeguarding children policy emphasises duty of care across the sport and the role of coaches, officials and volunteers in recognising and reporting concerns. Clubs also need practical communication hygiene: who can message the squad, who sees youth player details, and where parents get fixture updates.
An open WhatsApp with last year’s parents, random numbers and no admin ownership is a weak control even when everyone means well.
Source: Basketball England Safeguarding Children Policy.
How Run5 helps: team chat is tied to membership of the team. Invites are deliberate. That does not replace reporting pathways, but it reduces accidental access and chat sprawl.