Media Consent Policy

This policy explains how Gracie Barra Bakersfield (the “Academy”) takes, uses, stores, and manages photographs, video, and other media of people who attend our sessions, events, or premises.

It also explains how we handle testimonials, case studies, podcast recordings, and any other content in which a student, parent, or visitor is identifiable.

This policy applies to all students, trial participants, parents and guardians, coaches, staff, visitors, and anyone else who may be photographed or recorded at the Academy or at an event organised by the Academy.

This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, Safeguarding Policy, and Terms and Conditions, all of which are available on our policies page.

Throughout this policy, “media” means any of the following:

1. Photographs (including group photos, action shots during training, and award or grading photos)
2. Video footage (including session footage, promotional clips, and technique demonstrations)
3. Audio recordings (including podcast episodes and recorded interviews)
4. Written testimonials, reviews, or case studies that identify a named individual
5. Any combination of the above

We use media for the following purposes:

1. Our website, including pages, blog posts, and landing pages
2. Our social media accounts, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and any future platforms we use
3. Printed materials such as flyers, posters, banners, and leaflets
4. Email newsletters and marketing communications sent to students or prospective students
5. Podcasts or video series produced by or on behalf of the Academy
6. Testimonials or case studies published on our website or social media

We do not sell photographs, video, or audio of our students to any third party. We do not use media of our students for any purpose other than promoting and running the Academy.

Our lawful basis for using identifiable images and recordings of you in our marketing is your consent, under Article 6(1)(a) of UK GDPR. This applies to all types of media covered by this policy, including photographs, video, audio, and testimonials.

You are not required to give consent in order to train with us. Consent is entirely voluntary, and choosing not to consent will not affect your membership or your access to sessions and training.

Where we rely on your consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Section 8 explains how.

We ask for your media consent before your first session at the Academy. Consent is collected as part of our trial booking or registration process, so that it is in place before you arrive. When you later sign up as a student, we ask for your consent again as part of the membership registration process. This means consent is confirmed at two points: once before your trial and once when you join.

By giving consent, you agree that the Academy may photograph, film, or record you during sessions, events, or activities and use that media for the purposes listed in section 3.

If you do not wish to give consent, you can opt out at the point of registration. You can also withdraw consent at any time after that by following the process in section 8.

For children under the age of 18, consent is given by the child’s parent or guardian. Where a young person aged 16 or 17 has a clear view on how their image is used, we will take their wishes into account. If either the parent or the young person does not want the image to be used, we will treat that as a no.

Consent for media is separate from any other consent you give us, including consent for health data or marketing communications. Withdrawing media consent does not affect any other part of your membership.

For coaches, contractors, and volunteers, media consent is addressed as part of their coaching contract, volunteer agreement, or employment contract with the Academy.

Where sessions involve children, photographs and video are taken using Academy-approved equipment only. Coaches and staff do not use personal devices to photograph or record children. This is set out in our Safeguarding Policy.

For adult-only sessions, the same care applies to how images are used, but the Academy may use any suitable equipment to capture content, including phones owned by the Academy.

We may from time to time invite a professional photographer or videographer to the Academy to produce content on our behalf. When this happens, we will let students know in advance so that anyone who has not given consent, or who does not wish to be included on that occasion, can let us know.

Where we know that a student has not given consent, or has withdrawn consent, we will take reasonable steps to keep them out of shot. If they do appear in a photograph or recording, we will not publish that material in any form where they are identifiable.

Where students attend competitions, seminars, gradings, or other events with the Academy, our coaches and staff may photograph or record students who have given consent. These images and recordings are covered by this policy and will only be used for the purposes listed in section 3.

Events organised by other clubs, promoters, or governing bodies may have their own photographers, videographers, or live-streaming arrangements. These are outside our control and are not covered by this policy. If you have concerns about photography at an event you are attending, please check with the event organiser directly.

You can withdraw your media consent at any time by contacting us at info@gbbakersfield.com. For a child under 18, the parent or guardian may withdraw consent on the child’s behalf.

When you withdraw consent, we will:

1. Stop using your image in any new material from that point forward
2. Remove your image from our website and from any other material that we can still edit or update
3. Make reasonable efforts to remove your image from our social media posts, where we can identify and access them
4. Delete any unpublished photographs, video, or audio of you that we hold in our files, unless we are required to keep them for a legal reason

We may not be able to remove every instance of your image from material that has already been published, shared, or downloaded by others. For example, a social media post from several years ago may be difficult to locate, and once content has been shared by a third party, it is outside our control. If you are the main subject of a piece of content, we will always prioritise removing it. If you appear in the background of a group shot and are not the focus of the image, we may not identify every occurrence, but we will remove anything you bring to our attention. Material that was published lawfully while your consent was in place is not a breach of this policy, but we will still make a good-faith effort to take it down once you tell us you no longer want it used.

If we would like to feature you in a testimonial, case study, podcast episode, or any other named content, we will let you know that the recording or content is intended for public use. By agreeing to take part, you are giving your consent for us to publish the material. As with all media covered by this policy, the lawful basis for this is your consent under Article 6(1)(a) of UK GDPR.

This type of consent is separate from the general media consent described in section 5, because it involves you being identified by name or as the focus of a specific piece of content.

You can ask us to remove a testimonial, case study, or podcast at any time by contacting us at info@gbbakersfield.com. We will remove it from our website and any platform we control. Where content has been shared or indexed by third parties, we will take reasonable steps to have it removed but cannot guarantee deletion from platforms outside our control.

We take extra care when photographing or recording children. The rules below apply in addition to the general rules in this policy and are consistent with our Safeguarding Policy.

1. Consent for a child under 18 must be given by the child’s parent or guardian before any identifiable image or recording of the child is published.
2. We will not publish any image or video that shows a child’s full name alongside their photograph unless the parent or guardian has specifically agreed to this.
3. For children attending a trial session, media consent is collected from the parent or guardian as part of the trial booking process. If consent was not given, we will not publish any identifiable image of that child. If a photograph was taken during the session and we later find that consent was not in place, we will delete it.

If a parent or guardian withdraws consent for a child, the same removal process described in section 8 applies.

Section 10 sets out the rules that apply specifically to recordings that include children. The rules below apply to all personal recording at the Academy, whether or not children are involved.

As set out in our Terms and Conditions, you should not photograph, film, or record other students or participants at the Academy without their knowledge.

We understand that students and parents will sometimes want to film a technique, record a personal milestone, or capture a moment with a training partner. We are happy for you to do this. If you are recording something for personal use only and do not plan to share it publicly, no extra steps are needed.

If you intend to share a recording publicly, for example by posting it on social media, please make sure that anyone who is clearly identifiable in the recording is happy for it to be shared. Where other people appear in the background and you cannot easily ask them, take reasonable steps to make sure they are not identifiable before posting. This could mean cropping the image, blurring faces, or covering them with an emoji.

Parents and spectators are welcome to photograph or record their own child during sessions. Because other children will often be visible in the background, particularly during partner drills or sparring, we ask that if you share any recording publicly, you take reasonable steps to make sure other children are not identifiable. If you are recording only for personal and family use and do not intend to share it, no extra steps are needed.

The Academy reserves the right to restrict or pause personal photography and recording at any time, in particular where it is needed to protect children or students who have not given consent, or where recording is causing a disruption.

Photographs, video, and audio recordings are stored on Google Drive. Access is limited to the Academy's full-time and part-time staff. Coaches and volunteers do not have access to the Academy's media storage unless a specific folder has been explicitly shared with them for a defined purpose, such as a folder of promotional images for a given week or month.

We keep media for as long as we have a use for it and valid consent to use it. This includes both published material and unpublished files held in our storage. We review our stored media at least every three years and delete anything we no longer need. When consent is withdrawn, the removal process in section 8 applies to all media we hold, whether it has been published or not.

Where media is stored on a cloud-based platform, that provider acts as a data processor on our behalf. Our Privacy Policy gives more detail on the third parties we work with.

Your data protection rights in relation to photographs, video, and other media are the same as for any other personal data we hold. These rights are set out in full in our Privacy Policy. In relation to media, the most relevant rights are:

1. The right to withdraw consent. You can withdraw your media consent at any time. See section 8.
2. The right of access. You can ask us what media we hold of you. We will do our best to identify and provide it, but given the volume of photographs and recordings an academy may hold over time, this may take longer than a standard subject access request.
3. The right to erasure. You can ask us to delete media of you. Where consent has been withdrawn, we will treat this as a deletion request and follow the process in section 8.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@gbbakersfield.com.

If you have a concern about how we use photographs, video, or other media, please contact us first at info@gbbakersfield.com. We will do our best to resolve your concern quickly and fairly.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You can contact them online at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, by phone on 0303 123 1113, or by post at Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

We would always prefer to hear from you directly before you contact the ICO, so please give us the chance to put things right first.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the version number and effective date at the top of this page.

If we make a significant change to how we use media, we will let students know by email or by placing a notice at the Academy before the change takes effect.