Four tips to running a safer event (via Go4)

1. Create and circulate an Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

• EAPs are necessary for every venue. Most venues will have one on-hand that you can adopt, but make sure you share it with your entire staff, not just the medical team. It should include protocols for lightning, heat safety and injuries.
• Your athletic trainer can help you finalize the EAP.

2. Walkies and Carts

• Everyone working at your event should have access to a walkie talkie, and use it only for event-related communications. Number them and hand them out; leaving just one at HQ or near the athletic trainers will not work; each person should be responsible for one throughout the day to enable easy communication.
• Make sure your athletic training staff has a golf cart. Even if they are not transporting a player, they need to get across the venue quickly with their kit and/or ice. A cart is a “nice-to-have” for event staff, but a must-have for the medical crew.

3. Signage

• It seems simple, but it is often overlooked. Create a field map that matches the permanent (or temporary) signage at the venue. Put up flags when possible. Athletic trainers need to be able to get around the venue easily, and event staff need to be able to guide an EMT through the venue in the event of an emergency.
• Make the map available on your tournament website as a .pdf, so that all staff can save it to their phone and access it at a moment’s notice.

4. AEDs

• An automated external defibrillator: you hope to never have to use it, but it needs to be there in an emergency. Make sure there are enough AEDs located at the venue, so that an AED can be transported to a person experiencing a cardiac event in less than two minutes. Check the batteries prior to the event, and always know where they are located.

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted by our partner, Go4, in an ongoing series of health and safety-related posts.