The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), a non-profit membership organization, strives to provide world class youth soccer programs that enrich children’s lives in a safe, fair, fun, family-friendly environment. As such, we pledge our commitment to preserve and protect our members’ rights to privacy and confidentiality as necessary and appropriate. The following Privacy Policy is designed to fulfill this commitment.
AYSO requires all players and volunteers (members) to register with the organization and provide personally identifiable information necessary for participation in its programs. For players, this information includes name, date of birth, home address, parent contact details including phone numbers and email addresses, emergency contact information, and any medical conditions that may affect the player’s ability to participate safely. When a credit or debit card is used as a form of payment for any registration or membership fees, this information is used to complete the transaction and is not stored by AYSO.
Volunteers are required to provide full legal name, date of birth, address, contact information including phone number and email address, a photo identification card number and social security number. The latter two data fields are used for background screening and are encrypted in transmission to a commercial background screening vendor.
Volunteer disclosures and any background check results provided to the Organization are considered private and confidential and are secured with both restricted electronic and physical access limited to only the employees of the Risk Management Department of the National Office for the purpose of determining volunteer eligibility. Background check results are only available to the individual upon request and are not disclosed to any other party.
AYSO’s data, file and communications systems utilize the highest level of security, encryption and firewall protection available and are inspected and tested regularly. Physical files are stored in a restricted access, alarmed room.
AYSO does not sell or disseminate personally identifiable information. Premier, National and Supporting sponsors are permitted to send information including advertisements to AYSO’s membership; however, they are not given direct access to membership data. AYSO remains the sole owner of its membership data and any dissemination of information or contact with members requires the approval of the National Executive Director at the National Office.
Player and volunteer photographs and video may be taken from time to time and used in AYSO training and promotional materials as permissioned through the AYSO Registration forms. Member identities shall not be divulged in this process and the identities of players shall be protected in all public forums.
AYSO also collects membership information through email correspondence and online forms including surveys, contests and other promotions. This information is entered willingly and knowingly by the user. Additional information that may be automatically collected includes IP addresses, browsers, webpages on AYSO sites viewed by users, etc. This information is used by AYSO to improve membership communications and experiences with the Organization and may be shared with third party partners in the form of statistical and demographic data, never on an individual basis.
In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, all of AYSO’s members have the opportunity to opt out of any AYSO-based promotional emails.
AYSO does not knowingly collect or use personal information from children under the age of 13 without the consent of their parents, on any websites or for any contest, in compliance with Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
AYSO strives to be a transparent nonprofit organization to its membership, this Privacy Policy addresses policies of AYSO regarding information collected from AYSO’s membership, including information collected at registration and directly from the website, www.ayso.org and its affiliates.
What kind of personally identifiable information does AYSO collect?
AYSO collects the names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses and credit/debit card information when AYSO members register their players for AYSO soccer. While your credit/debit card information is taken, AYSO does not store this information. AYSO also collects personally identifiable membership information through email correspondence and online forms including surveys, contests and other promotions. This information is entered willingly and knowingly by the user.
Additional information that may be automatically collected include IP addresses, browsers, webpages on AYSO sites viewed by users, etc. This statistical information is used so that AYSO can determine what areas of our sites are performing well or are not performing well and so that we can improve our membership’s digital experience.
AYSO may share this statistical data to third parties; however, no personal identifying information is shared without our users’ permission.
Once collected, this information is used to better serve our membership. We do not sell or share this information with third parties that are not otherwise stated in this policy.
We may also track conversion data from our correspondence (namely email) so that AYSO can measure our effectiveness in marketing and promotions.
In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, all of AYSO’s membership have the opportunity to opt out of AYSO-based promotional emails.
What does AYSO do with my personal information?
The information collected by AYSO may be used for marketing or promotional purposes, recordkeeping, editorial and feedback purposes or content improvement.
Does AYSO collect information from minors?
In compliance to Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), AYSO does not knowingly collect or use personal information from children under the age of 13 without the consent of their parents. If the situation arises where a child has provided AYSO personal information without the consent of their parents, the parents should contact AYSO immediately to remove that information.
How does AYSO protect my personal information?
AYSO protects your personal information with strict internal procedures at AYSO National Office.
Does AYSO share my personal information with third parties?
AYSO does not provide direct access to personally identifiable information by share or sell our memberships information. Our Premier, National and Supporting sponsors are all permitted to send information including advertisements to AYSO’s membership; however, they do not have access to personally identifiable information to directly contact AYSO’s membership.
How can I update my personal information?
Please email us if you need to update the contact information that we currently have on file. Please email us via the email address on file (your former address, the one we currently have) so we can verify ownership.
Does AYSO use photographs shared on Social Media?
AYSO does, on occasion, use photos shared by our membership on Social Media, which includes Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Nonetheless, whether professionally taken or not, AYSO does not publish the names or locations of the children in the photo. For more information, please view our Electronic Communication and Social Media Policy or utilize our Safe Haven resources.
How does AYSO determine volunteer eligibility?
AYSO determines whether or not a volunteer is able to be a volunteer based on background check we conduct. AYSO will share the results of that background check with the volunteer applicant, but will not share them with anyone else.
Will AYSO update this Privacy Policy?
AYSO is continually striving to improve and our policies will be reviewed every 90 days. AYSO reserves the right to update and modify this policy at any time by posting modifications on the website, www.ayso.org.
The date the Privacy Policy was last updated can be noticed at the top of the statement.
How do I reach AYSO National Office if a privacy issue arises?
Mail:
American Youth Soccer Organization
19700 S Vermont Ave Suite 103
Torrance, CA 90502
Or email: morgantookey@ayso.org
Electronic Communication and Social Media
In keeping with the goal of the Safe Haven program to address the growing need to protect children from abuse, which includes the invasion of privacy rights and/or volunteers from misunderstandings and false accusations, the following recommendations are proposed for electronic communications and the use of social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Consistent with Safe Haven Child and Volunteer Protection Policies, AYSO asks all adults, regardless of whether they have a current volunteer application form on file, to maintain transparency in their communications with children while protecting children’s identity and privacy. It is the responsibility of adults to maintain appropriate boundaries.
All communications regarding AYSO activities and participation in the program must be directed to parents and guardians including voice messages, e-mails and text messages. It is up to a child’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s) to forward necessary communications to their children. If, for older players or youth volunteers, parents/guardians allow direct communications with a player or youth volunteers, parents must still be copied on any and all messages. Adults should refrain from private, personal, on-going electronic conversations with children.
All AYSO websites and pages on Social Media sites such as Facebook, Instagram Twitter and YouTube must be monitored to prevent inappropriate postings, blogs or tweets, which either divulge the identity of minors or include any disparaging comments or pictures. Neither AYSO websites nor social media sites may be conduits for social bullying, airing grievances, or gateways for predators. All AYSO social media sites/pages should conform to the rules and regulations for use and safety as outlined by the site owner.
The AYSO Player Registration Form includes a general photo release for non-commercial purposes. Pictures posted on public sites should not include the names of individual players to avoid identifying children to the wrong individuals. Team rosters with names, numbers and contact information must not be posted on any public website or social media page.
Operation and maintenance of all AYSO websites should conform to AYSO’s Privacy Policy for online privacy protection and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA of 2000) which establishes mandated disclosures, parental notifications and options for all online activities when information is requested from children under 13 years of age.
The advantages and convenience of electronic communications and social media pages make them valuable and necessary tools for communicating with AYSO participants. As long as the same Safe Haven guidelines for interactions between adults and children are used in electronic media, the risk of abuse and misunderstandings can be minimized. Parents play a critical role in keeping children safe online and they must be included in all communications. Encourage parents to help with online safety by providing links to documents such as A Parent’s Guide to Social Media, A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Teens on Social Media and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s How to Protect Kids’ Privacy Online resources.
