Policy on Alcohol

Policy on Sporting Equipment and Facility Safety

Issued: 28 March 2001

1.0   Application

Concern for safety should be reflected in administration policies and procedures.

Administration policies and procedures should focus on two (2) aspects.

1.01   Preventative measures.

1.02   Accident procedures.

2.0     Preventative Measures

2.01   Documentation and Record Keeping System

An effective documentation and record keeping system is crucial to any risk management system. Documentation serves a dual function.

2.01.1   It is an important part of a well-organised and planned sport that can lead to the development and delivery of safer activities

2.01.2   If it is regularly maintained, it provides a written record of procedures followed, and action taken, that can be relied upon at a later date and may serve as factual evidence in the event of a lawsuit.

2.02   Maintenance and Inspection Report

Maintenance and inspection reports for both facilities and equipment provide written confirmation of continuing efforts to maintain a reasonable level of safety and function that the legal standard of care requires.

2.03  Accident Reports

Detailed and accurate reports provide documentary evidence regarding the exact circumstances of an injury, and the emergency procedures followed.

2.04   Consent Forms

Informed consent forms provide documentary evidence that the participant understood and accepted the inherent risk of the sport and his or her obligation to exercise reasonable care.

2.05   Health/Fitness Examination Forms

The information that is provided in these forms will allow Affiliated Associations/Clubs to evaluate a player’s medical eligibility for participation

2.06  Player’s Questionnaire

Issuing questionnaires allows Affiliated Associations/Clubs to gain valuable information about a player’s

2.06.1    Skill level

2.06.2    Physical and mental preparedness for the activity

2.06.3   Medical Insurance coverage

2.07   Public Relations

Strong public relations is an extremely valuable tool because players accept the safety issue when they know that their own Affiliated Association/Club is sincerely concerned about their safety and well being.

2.08   Personnel to Implement

An Affiliated Association/Club can have the best risk management system in place, but if competent personnel cannot properly implement the risk management system at all levels, it is worth very little.

2.09  Maintenance and Inspection

One of the most important elements in a risk management system is the maintenance of facilities and equipment. A system of inspection accompanying written records is absolutely essential and there are three types of inspection that should be carried out.

2.09.1    Informal Inspection

Members of the Affiliated Association/Club should be encouraged to identify and report substandard conditions of practices.

2.09.2   General Inspection

The purpose of the general inspection is to identify normal wear and tear and general deterioration of all equipment and facilities, and to have a systematic program of reconditioning or replacement before injury occurs. Responsibility for this general inspection should be assigned to Affiliated Associations’/Clubs’ Ground’s Committee

2.09.3.   External Inspection

This involves bringing in qualified external inspectors familiar with soccer facilities and equipment.

2.10   Warnings

Warnings can be either oral or in the form of a sign.

The real essence of warnings is effective communication, whether with a player or a spectator, so that the person is knowledgeable about the nature of the risk involved.

For a warning to be effective it should be:

2.10.1    Obvious and direct.

2.10.2   Specific as to the risk and should clearly indicate the risk.

2.10.3   Comprehensible and must be in language that can be clearly understood.

2.10.4   Highly visible and should be located at the point of the hazard. It should be large enough to be easily noticed.

3.0 Accident Procedures

3.01  Emergency Procedures

If no area is advance preparation more crucial than in the area of emergency procedures. Affiliated Associations/Clubs should identify all the potential emergencies to which the Affiliated Associations and Clubs may have to respond, and work out in advance how the Affiliated Associations and Clubs are going to respond to each type of emergency. Ensure that everyone involved is made aware of the appropriate procedures and provided with the necessary training to carry out these procedures.

3.02  Emergency Equipment

It is crucial all appropriate emergency equipment is purchased and located where it can be used in an emergency eg. stretcher, neck brace, filled medical kit and appropriately supplied at all times.

3.03 Insurance

Adequate insurance is essential and ensure that the Affiliated Association understands what the terms of their insurance policy are, and the policy covers all reason of risk

3.04 Damage Control

The manner in which the Affiliated Associations/Clubs respond to the player’s injury is crucial. The speed and efficiency of the Affiliated Associations/Clubs action can directly effect the amount of damage suffered. Knowing what to do in an emergency can be difficult, which is why advanced planning of emergency is essential

3.05  First Aid

Clubs must ensure that they provide Sports Medicine, or St Johns trained personnel, are available at the grounds during regular fixture matches.

4.0  Practical Guidelines for Equipment Safety

4.01  General

The list of sound guidelines is suggested for Affiliated Associations/Clubs responsible for the provision of safe sporting equipment and facilities. The guidelines are not intended to be inclusive of all those considered to be necessary in maintaining safe equipment and facilities.

4.02  Equipment

4.02.1  Provide adequate safety equipment that meets the standards considered usual in soccer.

4.02.2  Recognise that a player is only expected to act as a reasonable person of the same age, intelligence, and experience would act.

4.02.3   Instigate immediate corrective action after notice of dangerous or defective conditions of equipment.

4.02.4   Only use equipment in accordance with its intended purpose.

4.02.5   Provide adequate storage facilities for storing soccer equipment when not in use.

4.02.6   Purchase quality soccer equipment from reputable dealers who will guarantee their product.

4.02.7   Designate a person to be responsible for the regular inspection of and report on equipment and removal of defective and/or worn equipment from use.

4.02.9   Detailed written records should be kept of all injuries related to defective and/or equipment.

4.02.10  Do not give secondhand equipment to junior or lower grade teams when equipment becomes worn or defective unless it has been inspected and restored to proper usable condition.

4.02.11  Avoid purchasing experimental equipment unless such equipment has been thoroughly treated and safety approved.

4.02.12  Stay up to date in the latest lines of safety equipment available.

4.02.13  Ensure the equipment fits the players.

4.02.14  Do not modify equipment unless it is in accordance with the manufacturer’s express instructions.

4.02.15  Do not let unprofessional people repair equipment.

4.02.16  Periodically evaluate all your equipment, particularly its wear and tear and its usefulness.

4.02.17  Always try to buy the very best equipment soccer can afford.

4.02.18   Players should be encouraged to check for common safety measures involving their equipment.

4.02.19  Maintain all pieces of equipment according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.

5.0  Facilities Precautions

Provision of adequate and safe facilities requires careful attention to all sections as follows:

5.01   Providing a safe facility begins in the design stage. Use recommended standards when designing a facility.

5.02   Do not place glass surfaces, wires, poles, sprinklers, sharp or blind corners near areas where soccer activities will take place.

5.03   A safety officer and sports facility design consultant should review the plans examining for potential safety danger spots.

5.04   Inspect facilities regularly, periodically and thoroughly for dangerous conditions and complete necessary repairs before the facility is used again.

5.05   Maintain facilities at National or State Standards in relation to facilities of a similar size or focus.

5.06   Maintain facilities in good condition.

5.07   Whilst acknowledging that both players and spectators assume the risks inherent in soccer activity, they do not assume the risk of dangerous or defective conditions of facilities.

5.08   Protective screening shall be provided behind goal nets since these are the areas that provide the greatest danger of being struck with a ball.

5.09   Keep playing fields free from all obstacles such as broken glass, holes, debris that could endanger the safety of players

5.10   Players themselves should be made to check for common safety hazards involving facilities or field surfaces.

5.11    Ensure all appropriate goal nets, goal posts, team stands, referee room, corner flags (FIFA approved) are maintained in a safe condition.

5.12   Ensure reasonable medical care is available or easily accessible to deal with injuries to players or spectators.

5.13   Limit number of players on fields to prevent overcrowding.

6.0  Changing Rooms

Changing rooms:

6.01      should have adequate player space and seating facilities

6.02   space should be provided so as equipment can be laid out with trainers having adequate area to assist players

6.03   should have a separate medical room, with appropriate medical equipment, storage facilities, wash basins and treatment couches

6.04   with showers and toilets designed appropriately, giving clear and easy access to change and medical rooms

6.05   the cleaning of all areas regularly and particularly after use is a priority

7.0  Surrounds of Playing Area

7.01   All equipment not required for the playing of soccer, should be a safe distance away from the playing area.

7.02   Emergency information kits must be easily accessible.

7.03   Organised car parking should be provided ensuring no inconvenience to players and spectators.

7.04   Access for emergency vehicle facility and playing surface must be a priority.

8.0  Conclusion

Finally, take the initiative and implement safe practices and risk management strategies, ensuring and providing a safe environment for soccer.

Policy on Smoking

Issued: 28 March 2001

1.0  Not prohibited

Drug intake as the result of smoking is not deemed illegal in the sport of soccer. However, the adverse health aspects and the decreased performance potential associated with the practise of smoking require serious evaluation. The principal factors include:

1.01   Conflict between a practise that is hazardous to health and the conduct of a sport. The lynch pin to the continued acceptance by Government and special lobby groups of a sport must be seen as being beneficial to individual’s health.

1.02  The impact of smoking upon non-smoking participants.

1.03 The quality of the image of the sport, particularly where television is involved.

1.04  The potential influencing effect on Junior Players.

2.0    Health Hazard

2.01   Effect on Nervous System

Nicotine is a stimulant drug that acts upon the central nervous system and is highly toxic. Nicotine is twice as deadly as arsenic and at least four times more lethal that cyanide. If the total nicotine content of one to two days of smoking was consumed in one dose it would cause death in a matter of minutes.

2.02  Smoke Contents

Inhaled smoke from a cigarette contains carbon monoxide, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, nicotine, toluene, phenol and benzpyrene.

2.03  Passive Effect

A significant aspect with smoking is that non-smoking participants are subject to side stream smoke, which contains all of the above ingredients plus a number of additional gases and poisons that are not normally inhaled by the smoker due to the cigarette filter. These gases include formaldehyde, acrolein, vinylpyridine, naphthalene and napthylamine.

2.04 Effect on Blood Stream

The carbon monoxide from a cigarette is rapidly absorbed in the blood stream in preference to oxygen and therefore reduces the amount of oxygen that can be carried by the red corpuscles. The tar in a cigarette reduces that elasticity of the air sacs and so restricts the volume of oxygen that can actually attempt to enter the blood stream.

2.05  Effect on Heart

Smoking also increases the heart rate whilst at the same time reducing the quantity of blood flow by causing the elevation of players’ blood pressure.

3.0  Policy Application

With acceptance of financial assistance from Federal and State Governments from time to time, we can anticipate an increased expectation for Soccer Australia and its Members to become more actively supportive of drug prohibition and healthy lifestyle policies. For these reasons it is now appropriate for Soccer Australia to introduce rulings that provide for:

3.01   The banning of smoking by players for the duration of the match in which he or she is participating, which is under the control of Soccer Australia or its Members.

3.02  To ensure all publications from Soccer Australia, Australian Women's Soccer Association, National Cancer Council, QUIT, etc. pointing out the adverse effects of smoking and its impact upon players performance level, is made available to all Affiliated Association members.

3.04  The banning of smoking by staff, officials, players, referees and volunteers in offices, change rooms and medical rooms. It is up to State Federations, local Associations and Clubs to impose their own rules regarding smoking within their clubhouse.