Whether a sporting event is large or small, a major national contest or a small school sports day, the biggest headache for organisers has to be how to ensure the safety of spectators and participants.
In these times of health and safety regulations and the tendency for people to resort to litigation at the drop of a hat the need to prevent accidents and disasters has never been more pressing.Unfortunately there have been too many incidents of injuries at sporting events, from the 1955 Le Mans disaster when 77 people lost their lives after two cars collided then crashed into the spectators’ stand, to less tragic but equally preventable occurrences at lesser sporting events. So what can be done to make sure your event goes off without a hitch?
Safety Barriers Are Essential
In the good old days of motorcycle racing bikes would speed past spectators just feet away from them; similarly in car rally events, the crowd would often spill onto the track where rally cars would thunder by at great speed. Speeding motors and people just don’t mix, hence the many incidents where people have been hit and horribly injured by vehicles. In most cases nowadays spectators are not allowed anywhere near a racing track for obvious reasons and are separated by safety fencing. Anyone who is thinking of organising a sporting event of any kind should make barrier hire their first consideration, whether that’s pedestrian barriers to mark out safe pathways or to keep spectators and sports stars apart!
Monitor The Crowd
Whilst many sporting events are good-natured events – crown green bowling enthusiasts are unlikely to be high up in the league table of hooliganism for example – some can unfortunately spark undesirable behaviour. A way to ensure that trouble doesn’t start inside the event area could be to make sure you have enough personnel available to monitor the people waiting to get in. This could involve providing your security staff or marshals with mobile communication devices along with bodycams if necessary in cases where crowd trouble or obnoxious behaviour is expected. Consider whether you may need to inspect bags or identification belonging to spectators and other personnel.
Be Prepared For All Eventualities
When disasters occur there is generally one common denominator involved and that is – people. Even at the smallest and most genteel of sporting events there are always going to be those who are seemingly unable to set one foot in front of the other without falling over or somehow injuring themselves. So this is why you have to be prepared for any mishaps and injuries. It is compulsory nowadays to have someone available who can administer first aid when needed and these people should be in possession of the correct qualifications to enable them to carry out anything from applying a sticking plaster to CPR. You may be required to have a defibrillator available for cardiac arrests plus someone suitably qualified to use it. If there is a possibility of people getting hurt through sheer numbers all coming together in the same place then crowd barrier hire could be the best way to control the numbers.
Cover All Risks
All your planning should cover any and all emergencies that may occur at the start, during and at the end of an event. You should have emergency evacuation procedures in place along with fire fighting and alarm equipment, as well as protocol for contact with emergency services, which should have clear access to your site if needed.
Whatever the size of the event you are organising the thing is to prepare for the worst but hope for the best. If you have all the right preparations in place your event should be memorable for all the right reasons.
