Is your sport safe?

Sport is a major part of the lives of Australians as we strive for personal fitness, achievement of a goal or social fulfilment as part of a team. Muscular skeletal or contact injuries are common place and considered acceptable if they occur as a result of our own intensity of effort and are within the rules of the sport. However, we all deserve to free from the risk of injury from hazards that haven’t been adequately identified or controlled.
Does your sporting organisation or club have a risk management plan in place? Does it identify all potential risks? Are the control measures adequate? Why not ask your club or association these questions. If there are no risk management procedures in place, then it is probably by luck rather than proactive management that no one has been injured.
A good starting place would be to complete a pre-activity checklist of risks ensuring that it covers all aspects of the facilities, equipment, environment, participants, spectators and external influences. Try getting together with a group of parents to draw up and tick off your health & safety checklist at your next sporting event.