We asked you "Should a sport take action or be concerned if an athlete and his/her coach engage in an intimate relationship?" Your response was:

In a previous poll, we asked you should girls be able to play in boys teams. Your response was:

In a previous poll, we asked you if you thought that sports should be able to limit who can take photo's of children. Your response was:

Should anyone be able to take photo’s of children participating in sport? While there are differing opinions about who should be able to take photographic images there is greater consensus about how these images should and shouldn’t be used and the need to protect children from any form of exploitation. It is the responsibility of sports to develop a policy that informs members and their parents about this issue. You should contact your sport to find out their policy. The Australian Sports Commission has developed Guidelines on the use of images of children to assist sports with this matter.

In a previous poll, we asked you what you would do if you were a football administrator and one of your team’s players disclosed their HIV positive status. Your response was:

Sports Medicine Australia has developed the ‘Blood Rules OK’ resource to help sports develop simple guidelines and policies to prevent the transmission of blood- borne diseases, including HIV.

This resource provides important information to sports including:

• The risk of transmitting HIV is very low.
• It is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their HIV status. Eg to refuse to allow someone to participate in a sporting team or to act as an official because they were carrying a blood-borne virus such as hepatitis C or HIV when they were able to effectively participate.
• The law permits measures which are genuinely necessary to protect the health and safety of others. However restrictions for people living with HIV will rarely be necessary because of the limited ways in which the disease is transmitted and universal precautions that should be in place.
• Divulging HIV or hepatitis status is not required under law. However, there may be circumstances (for example, if concerned about their health) when a player might consider telling a coach or trainer about their condition.
• People who are HIV positive or who are living with other blood-borne viruses are legally entitled to have this information remain confidential.
• There is no medical or public health justification for mandatory testing or screening for HIV positive players.
• All sports should adopt an Infectious Diseases Policy and implement Blood Rules. Preventive strategies lower the risk of transmitting blood- borne diseases in sport, including HIV.

To find out more about the specific provisions that apply in your state or territory in regard to sport, contact your state or territory equal opportunity or anti-discrimination agency or the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

In a previous poll, we asked you what you would do if you found out that your daughter's coach was a lesbian. Your response was:

A person’s sexuality is irrelevant to their ability to coach or undertake any position within sport or recreation. It is not only inappropriate but can be unlawful under federal, state and territory anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation.

Sporting clubs and groups have a responsibility to ensure that volunteers, paid staff and members are not treated unfairly because of a personal characteristic such as sexuality, race, gender, age, impairment, pregnancy and so on.

Click here for more information on unlawful discrimination and harassment. If you feel you have been discriminated against contact the federal Human Rights and equal Opportunity Commission or your state or territory anti-discrimination agency.

In a previous poll, we asked you what are the most common complaints that arise within your club. Your response was:

In a previous poll we asked "Do you think that it is appropriate for coaches to give players extra physical work or to verbally abuse them, as a strategy to improve their performance? " Your response was:

Over 500 people responded to the web-poll question "Do you think that it is appropriate for coaches to give players extra physical work or to verbally abuse them, as a strategy to improve their performance?" Of those who responded to this poll 51% answered ‘No’, 34% ‘Yes’ and 15% ‘Sometimes’.

Being a coach can be very demanding but at all times players and athletes should be treated with dignity and respect. When working with children it is never appropriate to verbally abuse them or to give them physical loads beyond their age and skill level.

Coaches should be aware that verbal abuse of players and participants may be unlawful under anti-discrimination and child protection legislation.

Play By The Rules provides information and guidelines to assist coaches in undertaking their roles and responsibilities, including short video clips on matters of importance.

The Australian Sports Commission, in cooperation with State Departments of Sport and Recreation, have recently developed new web pages - Tools and Tips for New Coaches and Officials to assist coaches and officials working at the community level.