Creating and Utilizing a Facilities Checklist

Creating and Utilizing a Facilities Checklist:

An easy way to prevent injuries in sport is to ensure that the athletic facilities are always safe for use. Creating a facilities checklist is an effective way to implement a safety protocol that all coaches can follow before beginning practices or games with their team. This checklist can be created in conjunction with the local facility/field manager and the athletic club. Utilization of this checklist can be easily carried out by coaches, designated parents, or club personnel. Using a written checklist allows the person checking the site to know exactly what to look for and also provides a record of what needs to be fixed for the person in charge of maintenance.

A PDF version of a sample facilities checklist is available under the PDF section of the SportSmart Resources webpage. It is important that this checklist be adapted to the specific facility.

Basic facility checking protocol should include

• Checking the playing surface for any unsafe pot holes, sprinkler heads, inadequate padding etc

• Doing a “sweep” of the playing surface for any trash, needles, glass or other debris

• Equipment such as corner flags, netting, goal posts and uprights should have no sharp edges or malfunctions that could injure an athlete

• Visibility and lighting is appropriate

• Rules and regulations of the facility should be clearly displayed and followed

• Lockers and showers should be hygienic

Brukner, P. and Khan, K. Brukner and Khan's Clinical Sports Medicine Brukner, P. and Khan, K. (2007) Brukner and Khan's Clinical Sports Medicine. 4th ed. North Ryde: McGraw-Hill.

Sports Medicine Australia. Safety guidelines for children and young people in sport and recreation, 2008. Accessed March 13 2013. http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/39166/SMA_ChildSaf_bkLRcompFinal.pdf.

Creating and Utilizing a Facilities Checklist

Responses

Newsletter

Thank you for joining SportMed BC! Next steps...

1)

Choose which type of listing you would like to add to our directory:

2)

If you are adding a practitioner listing, make sure you search for clinics where you work for the best visibility in our directory.

3)

Fill out as much information as possible and upload personalized photos for your profile and in the case of Clinics, your gallery and header image.

4)

Once your listing has been reviewed by our team, we will put it live on our directory.