Sport

This paper provides an in depth look at the organisation of a sporting event at a local leisure centre. In order to produce a safe event for the community, roles and responsibilities of those involved must be identified and defined. This includes the proper implementation of risk management strategies as well as health and safety procedures. All of these combined are key in conducting a safe and successful event.

Health and Safety in Sport
Task One
Serving as an instructor at a local leisure centre provides many opportunities for planning and organising sporting events. For this particular assignment, a one day martial arts demonstration event has been planned. This event will give families the opportunity to come together to watch some of the worlds finest martial artists as well as create opportunities for individuals to learn several of the moves themselves. The event will further promote future martial arts classes to be offered at the centre as well as help encourage enrollment. The leisure centre is a perfect location for this event as it will house similar martial arts classes in the future.

Specifically, the main gymnasium is capable of housing multi demonstrations while at the same time providing roped off areas for crowd participation. Sign up and information tables will also be set up in the back near concessions to provide crowds with the opportunity to sign up for martial arts classes at the leisure centre.
Prior to planning the event, an event day and time must be established. It is the role of the activity instructor to determine that the initial event day and time are clear on the centres calendar. It is important to the safety of the participants to ensure that no other events are booked as there will be a large crowd at this event (University of Oxford 2010). Once the location, date, and time is scheduled, a call will be made to the director of the martial arts demonstration team. The event will be confirmed and an appointment to meet on location a week before the event will be scheduled. This appointment will provide ample opportunity to walk the director through the centre and identify key areas such as first aid stations and locker rooms. It is important to note that safety and health regulations must be ensured for the demonstrators as well as the crowd and employees of the leisure centre. With this in mind, a complete copy of safety and health policies and procedures will be provided to the director at this time.

With the event scheduled, it is time to organize the employees at the leisure centre and prepare for the crowd and activities of the event. Review of health and safety laws regarding workplace rules and regulations for the leisure centre, employee and athlete safety, public liability issues and insurance coverage and crowd safety must be conducted in order to formulate thorough policies and procedures for the day. First, a look must be given to the leisure centre and the employees that will be participating during the martial arts demonstration event. It is an employers duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees, and other people who might be affected by their business (HSE 2010). It is the employers responsibility to ensure the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 are in compliance. In short, it is the employers responsibility to ensure that the workplace is safe so far as is reasonable practicable (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). Health and safety measures will need to be identified. For instance, employees need to be instructed on taking precaution in working around the martial artists and be aware of the activities around them taking care not to interfere or walk into the path of a demonstrator. They will also need to take the same precautions in helping to ensure the crowds do not interfere with the demonstrations.

Employees will also be required to attend the initial meeting with the martial art team director. At the meeting they will be prepped on what to expect during the event and ways in which the team will require their support in setting up, taking down, and equipment handling. For instance, safety precautions will need to be in place for handling sparring equipment, sharp knives, bows, and blocks of wood used in demonstrations. Additional meetings throughout the week before the event will take place between the martial arts team and employees to ensure proper set up of mats and demonstration areas as well as special lighting and audio are set up. This will provide opportunity for the teams to become better acquainted with one another and the schedule of events for the day. During this time, martial arts coaches from the leisure centre will also be on location working with the team in setting up areas where crowds can learn martial arts. Tables with information and enrollment for centre martial arts classes will be set up in this area. Coaches and the martial arts team will coordinate the best way to bring the crowds through the practice area and over to the sign up tables. Extra employees will be on hand to assist and ensure crowds are at a safe distance from the practice area and are directed along the path safely to the information and sign up tables.

In addition to these key safety areas for the employees and demonstration team, a risk assessment must be carried out in order to ensure preparedness on all levels of safety and health. It will not be possible to anticipate every accident, emergency, or incident that will happen during the event however, developing a strategy will cut down the chances dramatically. Risk can be defined as any factor that may prevent you from fulfilling your objectives (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). This involves any type of incident that could endanger the health and well-being of your athletes, staff, or audience or cause an unexpected increase in your costs or discourage visitors from attending or somehow require the cancellation of your event (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). There are five key steps to successfully formulating and implementing a risk management strategy in order to ensure the success of an event (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009).

The first step is to identify any possible risks within the event. Questions to ask include What are the known risks Where might they come from What is at risk How might it be affected or affect other areas (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). The next step is to evaluate those possible risks. For instance, what are the chances anything like that will actually happen If it did happen, how many would be affected and to what extent Is it a significant risk to the event (i.e. should the event be canceled, relocated, re-planned) (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). The next step is to deal with or manage the risk if it should occur. In managing risk, the question of whether or not the risk can be avoided must be addressed. This leads to step four, which is taking action. Once possible risks are identified a plan of action can be taken to cut down or even prevent the chances of the risk from ever happening. According to the UK Sport, Staging Major Events Guide, once a risk management plan has been developed, it is necessary to ensure all steps are accurately implemented and proper policies and procedures are in place to carry it out. This includes setting into motion any health and safety measures that were identified through the risk management plan.

Emergency procedures and contingency plans must be put into place. Individuals such as coaches, first aid technicians, and others who have a responsibility for overall health and safety practice and monitoring need to be prepped and in place. All other employees also need to be briefed on the findings, precautions, and procedures to be taken. Risks are apt to happen at any time and within any area of the event. Again, a copy of the procedures as well as a briefing should also be discussed with the martial arts demonstration team director in order for the team to be equipped as well.

This then brings about step five, which is passing on knowledge. Implementing a risk management strategy enables the event coordinators to be ready for just about any kind of incident. It is important to note incidents that happen during an event and record all actions taken. This will enable future event planners to identify areas of weakness for future events (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). It is hoped that a past risk management strategy will be available to assist in the current event planning process, but if not, ensure there is one for next time. Remember, not only does an effective risk management strategy cut down on accidents and emergencies during an event, but it also cuts down dramatically on the total event cost.

Now that the employees and the martial arts demonstration team have been brought up to date on the proper health and safety policies for the event, it is time to take a look at the final part of the program crowd control. It is the goal of the leisure centre to have a large turnout at the event in order to help promote the arrival of its new martial arts classes. However, its critical to remember that large crowds call for extensive crowd control. Excessive crowding and poor crowd management, in a worst case scenario, can lead to injury and death from crushing (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). Examples of such tragedies include the European Soccer Cup in 1985, which resulted in 38 deaths and 437 injuries (Miller 1993).

In order to be prepared to handle a crowd, it is important to study the types of individuals that will be attending the event. For instance, take a look at past martial arts demonstration events and study the type of individuals who attended. Studying the recent types of individuals participating in events at the leisure centre is also another way to determine what type of crowd to expect. Software is also available to help recreate realistic behavior of crowds in order to determine possible crowd reactions and outcomes (Lee 2009). Immediate environment is also an important partfacilities located in high crime areas are more susceptible to third party attacks (Miller 1993). Be aware of the surrounding areas and contact the appropriate law enforcement agencies and hospitals to inform them of the event and possible rise in activity in the area. Assistance from local law enforcement should also be requested for the event. Do not try and have unqualified employee security officials handle all aspects of security. Bring in back up as a necessary precaution.

Crowd control measures also involve preparation in handling the crowd flow within the actual leisure centre. Venues are large and complicated spacesand requires excellent teamwork, clear communication, and co-ordination between those responsible for the overall organisation and those dealing with the crowds face-to-face (Health  Safety and Risk Management 2009). This calls for all employees to not only be on their guard, but to also be in contact with one another and outside law enforcement to ensure designated areas are under control. If back up is needed, it can be called in, and disputes can be resolved within one area before spreading throughout the rest of the crowd.

Additional crowd control comes in the form of hospitality. One columnist writes that crowds enjoy sporting events partly because of the unsung workers who make the experience and their safety possible (Burdett 2010). He is referring to the janitorial team, caterers, first aid technicians, and hospitality teams. Crowd safety includes crowd health and well being. Janitorial teams will be assigned throughout the leisure centre to assure trash is picked up, spills are mopped up, facilities are kept clean, and paths between demonstration sites are kept open. Hours for janitorial staff will be set to include attendance one hour prior to the event, throughout the entire event, and one hour beyond the events closing time. First aid technicians will be designated at first aid stations throughout the day and will receive a copy of responsibility and emergency procedures. It will be important to review first aid attendant records to ensure each individual is up to date on all emergency training and safety precautions. Refreshment operators will also be on hand to provide for the needs of the crowd in help ensure a more relaxed and enjoyable event.

Task Two
Creating a successful sporting event is no easy task. As described in the previous section, a series of procedures are critical to a safe and enjoyable sport event. These procedures include in depth development of operating procedures and a thorough establishment of staff training.  For our martial arts demonstration event, this includes the development of the days schedule and a thorough understanding of where everyone will be stationed on the day of the event. In addition, staff training with management as well as with the martial arts demonstration team is required to ensure everyone knows hisher own roles, responsibilities, and proper health and safety protocol.

A second procedure for creating a safe and effective sporting event is the development of risk assessments. Rick assessments enable staff, athletes, and participants to be prepared for just about anything within the event. Risk assessments creates policies and procedures which adequately equip all involved to handle emergency procedures or to be knowledgeable of what local agencies to contact for support and back up if needed. As described in the previous section, it is the risk assessments that prepare all involved for the event by taking a look at possible situations, incidents, and accidents that may arise. This not only ensures that everyone is ready and able to handle the situations, but it also saves money in the long run for the initial event budget.

A final procedure for the martial arts demonstration day to be a success is to take the necessary steps to advertise and communicate the events date, time, and schedule of activities. The public needs to be aware of whats going on in order to plan ahead to attend the event. Likewise, the local law enforcement and governing body needs to be aware of the event and the types of people that will be attending. This gives them the opportunity to have law enforcement and emergency personnel on standby in case of emergencies such as accidents or even crowd control situations. All of this preparation may be extra, but is precautionary and helps ensure an overall safe and enjoyable event. When these three procedures along with other important measures are followed and implemented correctly, the event is sure to be a success with promises of future activities.