participant protection practice (3p)

Abuse prevention training is essential to creating a culture of safety, trust, and accountability within the WGAZ community. Every adult in a supervisory role has a responsibility to foster environments that are emotionally, physically, and psychologically safe. These trainings are not just about compliance but rather about equipping adults with the tools to recognize, prevent, and respond to misconduct in ways that prioritize well-being. Our training goes beyond basic definitions; it is tailored to the unique dynamics of performing arts settings and emphasizes proactive relationship-building, appropriate boundaries, and ethical leadership. This shared educational foundation helps ensure that all participants, regardless of where they come from or who they are, feel respected, seen, and protected.

• Units may bulk purchase the access to the training.

• For instructions to purchase and share training credits with your staff members, click here. 

• For instructions to redeem training credits, click here. 

While we commend and support the important training initiatives of school districts, completion of district-mandated training does not fulfill the WGAZ Participant Protection educational requirement. WGAZ’s educational modules are specifically designed to reflect the structure, relationships, and cultural nuances of the marching arts. Because WGAZ cannot review, regulate, or align external trainings with our standards and philosophies, our training remains a required and separate component. That said, we believe additional training is a sign of deeper commitment to participant safety. District trainings are excellent resources for understanding localized policies, reporting obligations, and institutional protocols and should be viewed as complementary to WGI’s program, not as replacements. Together, they offer a more holistic and layered understanding of abuse prevention.

Yes. Our commitment to providing a safe, supported, and strengthened environment extends to those units participating in our virtual events.

Yes. Anyone serving in an instructional role – regardless of age – is required to complete WGAZ;s Participant Protection training. Instructional roles carry a duty of care, and this training ensures all individuals understand appropriate boundaries, reporting responsibilities, and participant safety expectations. For minors, we recommend obtaining parental consent, assigning adult supervision, and providing clear role guidance.

WGAZ requires this training to uphold a consistent standard of safety across all participating units. The cost is assigned to individuals or ensembles rather than covered by WGAZ to ensure that those assuming instructional or supervisory roles take shared responsibility for their training. Ultimately, the training is an investment in the safety and well-being of every participant, and it reflects the seriousness of the role we all play in shaping the culture of our activity. WGAZ remains committed to offering high-quality, targeted education at minimal cost, and we continue to subsidize administrative and development expenses to keep that cost as low as possible. Many units choose to cover this cost for their staff as part of their program budget.

No. While we appreciate the efforts of other organizations to promote participant safety, WGAZ’s Participant Protection training is specifically designed to reflect the unique dynamics, values, and expectations of the WGAZ community. Because we cannot review or regulate external trainings for alignment with our standards, completion of another organization’s training does not fulfill WGAZ’s requirement. However, we encourage you to view such trainings as complementary and part of your continued commitment to participant well-being.

WGI made the decision to transition away from SafeSport to provide a more customized, relevant, and accessible educational experience for our community and to deepen our ownership and commitment of the work. While SafeSport offers important training, it is designed primarily for national governing bodies in Olympic sports and does not fully reflect the specific dynamics, relationships, and environments present in the marching arts. Our new Participant Protection Practices training is tailored to the unique needs of performers, educators, and volunteers within WGI. It allows us to directly align content with our values, prioritize scenarios and guidance relevant to our activity, and respond more quickly to emerging issues or feedback from our participants.