How to Become a Sport Safe Club: Guidelines- for developing and implementing a sport safety

plan

David Rich Program Manager, Victorian Sports Injury Prevention Program, Sports

Medicine Australia (Victorian Branch)

Sports injury prevention has been a focus,of the Australian Sports Commission/Active Australia along with commonwealth and state government departments. As part of this focus, Healthway (Western Australia), Living Health (South Australia), and SportSafe Australia funded Sport Medicine Australia to produce guidelines on sport safety for community sports clubs. The resultant publication, How to Become A Sport Safe Club, has been distributed to all Sports Medicine Australia State branches for dissemination to sports associations and sports clubs. Access to sports injury prevention training is often difficult, particularly to those who reside in rural communities. It is necessary to develop material that can be easily utilised by sports administrators, coaches and players. The How to Become A SportSafe Club guidelines have been developed to provide assistance to clubs and sports association to implement sport safety practices. These guidelines assist club administrators to develop a plan and provide ongoing evaluation of sport safety procedures. The guidelines fall within the Active Australia agenda by encouraging participation within a safe sporting environment. Safety and the perception of safety influence an individual's choice of physical activity and the organisations that provide facilities for community use. The guidelines also assist club administrators to meet their legal obligations in providing a 'duty of care' to its members. This paper will provide an overview of the How to Become A SportSafe Club guidelines and provide implementation strategies for club officials.

Introduction Injury prevention has been identified as a public health problem in Australia by the Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health in their 1994 report Better Health Outcomes for Australians and the Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS} report Taking Injury Prevention Forward (1994). "Australian Health Ministers have endorsed the concept of setting national goals and targets as a means of making significant improvements in the health s tatus of Australians." (TIPF 1994, pl).

As a result of setting national goals and targets, the Australian Sports Injury Prevention Taskforce was established in 1995 to promote a national agenda on sports injury prevention by the federal Minister for Human Services and Health and the Minister for Environment, Sport and Territories.

SportSafe Australia: A National Sports Safety Framework has been developed by the Taskforce to provide future directions in Australia. R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s by the Task fo rce are based u p o n the understanding that "injuries are not necessarily an inevitable part of participation and much can be done to prevent them" (ASC, 1997.

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piii). Two of these recommendations refer to the development and support of a sports safety plan for clubs.

Integral to the support of reducing the prevalence and severity of injuries in sport, a set of guidelines has been developed to assist clubs to develop and implement sport safety practices. A survey conducted in the City of Hume (Finch, 1996) found that there is a need by sporting clubs for such information on injury prevention guidelines and for improving the club playing field and environment. "A major finding of this survey is that whilst sporting clubs and centres perform.. .certain activities typically associated with preventing sports injuries, they do not have formal policies or written objectives which recognise the health and safety of their participants as an important goal. This suggests that sports safety may not get the priority attention that it should." (Finch, 1996. p19).

The How to Become a Sport Safe Club (HBSSC) guidelines will assist clubs to develop and implement sport safety practices.

How to Become a Sportsafe Club: Guidelines for developing and implementing a sports safety plan The HBSSC guidelines were developed as a joint initiative of Sport Medicine Australia (WA and SA branches) and SportSafe Australia. These guidelines have been developed from recommendations stemming from the report SportSafe Australia: A National Sports Safety Framework, a report prepared for the Australian Sports Injury Prevention Taskforce.

R e c o m m e n d a t i o n 2.1 "Clubs and organisations should develop and adapt specific and relevant sports safety plans and policies using the resources of SportSafe Australia, Active Australia, Sports Medicine Australia and existing infrastructure. The sport safety plans should be regularly communicated, monitored, evaluated and modified by the clubs and organisations to optimise sports injury prevention." (ASC, 1997. pv).

R e c o m m e n d a t i o n 3.1 Facility sports safety plans should be developed and implemented for all sporting venues and recreational areas in Australia as a component of management policy and these sport safety plans should be regularly communicated, monitored, evaluated and modified by the facility to optimise sports injury prevention. Sport safety plans should incorporate recommendations from SportSafe Australia, Sports Medicine Australia policies, Occupational Health & Safety, industry standards and codes of practice (ASC, 1997. pvi).

The HBSSC guidelines provide clubs with a systematic approach to create a safe environment for its members. Emphasis has been

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upon a straightforward approach that can be easily implemented at the club level.

The HBSSC gu ide l ines c o m p l e m e n t Active Aus t r a l i a and SportSafe policies by supporting an effort to reduce sports injuries, lower costs to clubs, increase membership and participation and create better environments for participation in sport.

The HBSSC guidelines are set out in the following format: • Overview of the HBSSC guidelines.

• Benefits for clubs

• Sport Safety Checklist

• Step by Step Approach to Planning for Sport Safety

• Promoting and Staying Sport Safe

• Case Study: Kalamunda Basketball Club

• Further information and contact numbers (SMA, 1997).

Considerations for Implementing a Sport Safety Plan The HBSSC guidelines are to be used by club administrators and coaches as a tool to prevent and reduce the severity of injuries to players. It is highly recommended that these guidelines be provided to sporting clubs with the appropriate in-service in order that the process of implementing the plan is carried out. It must be seen to be the responsibility of someone within the club to ensure that a club safety policy is implemented and that coaches, administrators and players comply with the policy. This, in some way, is addressed in the HBSSC guidelines "Step by Step approach to planning for sport safety" (p 6). However, there is some contention regarding the content of these guidelines.

The Acc iden t R e h a b i l i t a t i o n & C o m p e n s a t i o n I n s u r a n c e Corporation (ACC) in New Zealand has developed a methodical approach to reduce the prevalence and severity of injury in the sports of Rugby and Netball. The Rugby Union policy, in particular, formulates a number of recommendations to achieve this aim. These recommendations include: • c o m p u l s o r y m o u t h g u a r d wea r ing by p laye r s in the U18

competitions • support ing umpire training to minimise dangerous play and

intentional injury • sports safety training for coaches.

Of par t icular interest is the wording of the document when compared to the HBSSC guidelines. Ins tead of qualifying the recommendations with 'should', the ACC guidelines qualify their recommendations with 'must'. This is backed up by a process of education, improved design and regulation, including disallowing players to take the field if they are not wearing mouthguards.

The importance of a strong safety stance, with consideration of the pressures and financial constraints placed upon clubs must

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be supported in promoting sports safety plans and sports safety policies. This stance is based upon the model of injury prevention whereby change is effected through strategies combining legislation (or regulation), educa t ion (or promotion) and engineer ing (or environmental design).

Clubs have demonstrated that they are concerned with reducing injury, pa r t i cu la r ly with the apprehens ion of l i t igat ion from potentially unsafe practices. There are already a number of cases in sport where there has been successful litigation against a sporting club. (Australian Sport Trainer, June 1998). However, sports clubs have reported some barriers to improving safety levels. These barriers are primarily focused upon a lack of funds to implement extensive safety plans, concerns expressed regarding the views promoted by the media on sports injury (the gladiatorial role of sport) and the degree of support by their local Council, particularly relating to ground maintenance. (Finch, 1996).

Subsequen t ly , compl iance in spor ts safe ty shou ld not be attributed entirely to sports clubs. Sports clubs administrators have a number of issues to direct their energies, of which sport safety is but one. In order for change to be effected, a multilateral approach must be adopted. All stakeholders have a role to play to increase safety levels in clubs. These include: • State government departments

• Health promotion organisations

• Sports Associations and other peak bodies

• Local government

• Schools

• Clubs

• Individuals. In order to increase the perceived need for club administrators

and coaches to effect greater change to suppor t sport injury prevention, strategies must tie in with the immediate needs of clubs. These n e e d s are p r i m a r i l y to i nc rease c lub r evenue and membership. Attention should be drawn to the benefits of increased safety levels to support these needs. These benefits include: • fewer and tess severe injuries

• lower insurance premiums

• recognition of care of members/players • satisfying the needs of members • increased player education (regarding injury prevention)

• reassured parents and partners

• safety as a positive marketing toot for the club, and

• responsible and co-ordinated approach to sport safety. (SMA, 1997).

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There is emphasis on the HBSSC guidelines being part of a cyclic process with which clubs should comply. Although the guidelines set out a suggested auditing process, it is imperative that prior to a sports safety plan being adopted, risks within the sports settings are identified. Figure two shows the stages in a sports safety plan suggested by the Australian Sports Injury Prevention Taskforce (ASC, 1997).

C o n c l u s i o n Many club sports administrators are involved on a voluntary basis. There are many more requirements on these volunteers than ever before. As part of the clubs legal and moral 'duty of care', sport safety plans must not only be part of club policy, they must be uniformly carried out. To assist in this process the HBSSC guidelines will be a useful tool to utilise by club administrators and coaches. However, to reduce the prevalence and severity of injury within a

Educati~~-~islation Behaviour C ~ o r c e m e n t

Figure 1: Triad of causative processes and preventive strategies in injury prevention (Sleet et al., 1991).

Evaluation

1'

I Risk Identification I

I I Risk Assessment I

Implementation I (-

4,

I Risk Management I ~" 4, 4, ",,

I aVoi anoe II control II II ,,nanoe

Figure 2: Stages in a sports safety plan (Australian Sports Injury Prevention Taskforce).

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club, an overall risk management process should be embraced and evaluated. Sport safety is one very important way to not only keep players on the track, it has the capacity to attract new members and provide a cul ture of suppor t to players and their family members.

R e f e r e n c e s Australian Sports Commission (1997). SportSafe Austral ia: A National Spor t s Safety

Framework. The Australian Sports Commission. Canberra. Australian

Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health. (1994). B e t t e r Heal th Outcomes for Australians. Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health , Canberra.

Finch, C.F. (1996). The Safety Pract ice of Spor t ing Clubs and Centres in t he City of Hume. Monash University Accident Research Centre, Report 95. Monash University. Melbourne.

Health & Community Services Victoria. (1994). Taking In ju ry P r e v e n t i o n Forward: S t ra teg ic Direc t ions for Victor ia 1994. Health and Community Service Victoria. Melbourne.

Sleet, D., Egger, G. & Albany, P. (1991). Injury as a public heal th problem. Heal th P romot ion Jou rna l of Aus t ra l ia 1(2): 4-9.

Sports Medicine Australia. (1998). How to become a sport safe club: Guidelines for developing and i m p l e m e n t i n g a spor t s safe ty plan. Sports Medicine Australia, Canberra.

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