Whether competitive or informal, team or individual, playing sports will almost always come with a risk of injury. It’s a fact most individuals are aware of when they sign up. But there are also steps that sports clubs must take to reduce or eliminate risk where possible.
Sports welfare has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, following a number of high-profile studies and incidents. The FA released new guidelines for managing concussion, for example, and updates are being made across other disciplines too. So, how can you best protect members of your sports club?
Read a quick guide to sports risk assessments below.
The importance of risk assessments for sports clubs
Risk management is essential for any respectable sports club, regardless of the sport, number of members or level of competition. A thorough risk assessment is a crucial component of this process, alongside taking out sports insurance to cover your club against unexpected events.
Risk assessments simply look at what activities, equipment or conditions could potentially cause harm to people in your club. Identifying hazards like this allows you to put precautions in place to either remove risk entirely or reduce its severity.
Doing so helps prevent:
- Injury to participants, staff, and spectators
- Financial and legal repercussions
- Reputational damage
Ultimately, sports clubs should be safe places for lots of different people. Doing everything possible to control risk is therefore important in making sporting activities safe and enjoyable. In fact, it’s a legal requirement for sports club owners under The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
What to cover in your risk assessment
The first step is simple – look for hazards. In a sports club setting, this is anything that could cause harm through tripping, slipping, falling, impact, exposure and so on.
Next, consider who is at risk from these hazards and what consequences could result from them. An example is a badminton player being at risk from slipping due to puddles of water on an indoor court. Outcomes might include grazing, bruising and broken bones.
Third, assess whether the risk level is low, medium, or high in terms of likelihood. Low means an accident is unlikely, while high means it could occur easily and often.
Step four is to record what’s already being done to control this hazard – for example, providing helmets to batters in cricket. Step five requires you to monitor and review the risk to judge what more can be done, like providing leg pads and cup protecion too.
Finally, note down who is responsible for taking these further steps and when they’ll be completed. This last step adds accountability to the process, improving the likelihood of risk being controlled promptly.
Is your sports club managing risk as well as it could?
