League Policies
First and foremost, those who work in compliance are exhorted to think the best of all parties involved in a query. Not only is this part of our stated policy in League Policies, but it is a major part of training our Compliance Teams. Everyone involved is expected to discipline themselves to assume the best about the motives of any individual who presents a query, and to assume the best about the intentions and motives of competitors whose actions or words are questioned, even when a competitor is ultimately found to be in violation of NCFCA’s rules or policies.
We encourage competitors who find themselves to be subjects of a compliance query (along with their parents) to join us in assuming the best about the motives of those who may have initiated the query. It is especially important to remember that it may not be a fellow competitor who raised a question about the competition round—it could be a judge, observer, or a concerned parent. Assumptions about accusations and motives run the risk of being misplaced and false.
If there is reasonable doubt about whether a rule violation has actually occurred, grace always prevails. The investigation will either be closed with no further action, or the team may be asked to follow up with the competitor(s) to explain the concern that was raised so that everyone moves forward with a better understanding of where actions may have been questionable and how to best avoid future issues that may actually violate a rule.