This week, 8-14 September, in Aotearoa New Zealand is Child Safeguarding Week 2025. The Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui is honing in on the importance of safeguarding our digital spaces in sport and recreation.

The Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui supports the collective safeguarding of sport and recreation, and recognises that digital spaces are increasingly woven into these experiences for our tamariki and rangatahi.

In recent years, taking photographs and videos of our tamariki and rangatahi playing and enjoying sport and recreation to share with friends, whānau or the community on social media, as well as communicating with children online, has increased. It has become as common to the experience as preparing half-time oranges or washing the team kit.

And while this is usually done with the best of intentions – to celebrate achievements, commemorate milestones, communicating logistics or to build group cultures – if used carelessly, digital content and communications can carry the risk of causing or exacerbating harm to tamariki and rangatahi. What might seem like a well-intended post or message to celebrate success, highlight opportunities or provide information can also become harmful as online bullying, trolling and grooming have risen.

Similarly, posting content that has the potential to identify participants or disclose personal information about them (such as what team they play for at their local club, and therefore their whereabouts at a given time), and can provide opportunities for people looking to harm.

Online communication tools can also facilitate harm, with private messaging a key method used by groomers to access and manipulate a young person. Online communication with tamariki and rangatahi should always take place through group messaging with at least two adults in the chat group and consent of parents and caregivers. If a child or young person is being contacted directly, their parent or caregiver needs to be included in the message. Messaging should be age appropriate and only include content directly about the sport or recreation activity the group is for, such as logistics or planning.

We are all collectively responsible for safeguarding all digital spaces, and being mindful of potential consequences of online activity, intended or otherwise. Organisations, parents, caregivers and other adults involved in child and youth sports need to model behaviours that are safe, hold each other to account, and set expectations for tamariki and rangatahi too.

As sport and recreation organisations expand and evolve their digital presence, whether to attract sponsorship, emulate professional clubs and athletes or to simply be part of the experience for participants, it’s also important that they keep their members and communities informed as to how they are doing so, what involvement this might take, and how they are safeguarding people. For example, that photos and videos taken during activities may be posted on the organisation’s social media or used in marketing material to recruit new members and the organisation has policies and guidance to do this safely, including gaining people’s consent to share their images.

No generation before has had the potential for their childhood to be documented in so much detail online. We need to be mindful that our tamariki and rangatahi have digital footprints that are difficult to remove – both those created by them directly (such as their personal social media accounts), and created of them by others (such as when they appear in content on club or organisation social media platforms).

As digital spaces and communications are increasingly used to facilitate sport and recreation, and engage current and potential participants, we can’t overlook the risks that these spaces can also pose.

Let’s ensure that, for our tamariki and rangatahi, the digital space is another positive experience for them woven into sport and recreation.