October 04, 2016
What is a reasonable approach to concussion management in Campus Recreation – particularly in Sport Clubs and Intramurals?
As a minimum, your department needs to develop concussion protocols which apply to Campus Recreation as a whole. A good starting point might be the Varsity program at your school – find out what they are doing and see if their protocols can be applied to Campus Recreation.
In addition to this, it is important that a ‘Concussion Education Program’ be developed and implemented for Campus Recreation, focusing on
Awareness/Education
Recognition
Read more
April 28, 2016
Ian McGregor, Ph.D.
President, SportRisk
Since Youth Camps participants are minors, these unique programs should automatically be classified as ‘high-risk’. Since the standard of care for minors is very high (the reasonable parent test), program planners need to pay extra attention and sound risk management principles incorporated into all planning efforts.
The following checklist is designed to help professionals focus on the key risk management issues that need to be addressed when planning a Youth Camps program. For more detail in each of the identified areas, consult the text: ‘SportRisk Planning Manual’.
Staff
Camp Director position
Qualifications and Training
Position descriptions and roles
Background checks
Minimum age for staff hiring
Supervision
Camper Ratios
Lesson Plans with progressions
Transition/ Washroom/ Lunch supervision (Peanut Club?)
Participant matching
Strategies for different age groups
Behavior Management
Pre-post camp activities/ programs
Residence supervision (overnight camps)
Training
Pre-camp training/ orientation
Onsite (in-service) training
Emergency Response; First Aid/ CPR etc.
Dealing with Heat and Sun
Mandated Reporter
Behavior Management
Documentation
Parental Consent
To participate/ allow emergency care/ EpiPen admin./ taking photos
Medical questionnaire
Allergies/ medical problems/ medications/ behavioral issues
Pick-up/ Drop-off procedures
Sign-in/ sign-out checklist; Procedures for late pick-up
Risk Information
Medical insurance information
Emergency contact information
‘Parents Survival Guide’ (search for article on this in the Newsletter archives)
Emergency Response Plan
Missing campers
Fire/ evacuation/ weather/ medical emergency procedures
Safety and communication equipment
Accident follow-up; accident reports
Facilities & Equipment
Facilities/ Facility-related Equipment/ Activity Equipment/ Protective Equipment
Inspections and Checklists
Employee Issues
Sexual harassment/ child abuse/ sexual misconduct
ADA
April 28, 2016
And how do you find out if it is?
Ian McGregor, Ph.D.
President, SportRisk
The dreaded words ‘Code Red in the Weight Room’ spat out from the Front Desk’s walkie-talkie (Code Red signifies a serious medical emergency). The student supervisor reacted immediately by calling 911 – and reading from a pre-prepared script taped to the desk, told the operator the facility address and exact location of where the fire department or ambulance should come. She then went to meet the emergency responders, and led them to the weight room.
Meanwhile in the weight room, the student supervisor was applying CPR to the male client who had collapsed of an apparent heart attack (it turns out that the client was dead before he hit the floor). The fire department arrived first and took over the scene. Read more
April 28, 2016
An oxymoron?
Shannon Vaccaro
Assistant Director for Sport Clubs & Youth Activities
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Behavior management is the hardest yet one of the most important components of running a day camp, summer camp, overnight camp or any activity involving youth. What is behavior management? How do you affectively administer behavior management?
The answer to those questions are different based on your experiences and philosophies. There is no ONE way to do behavior management, in other words, it is most definitely not a ‘one size fits all’ policy. It comes in many shapes and sizes and should be tailored to fit the population of youth you are working with as well as the philosophy of your program. Read more
December 16, 2015
Adventures in Programming
Rebecca Mabile
Aquatics and Safety Coordinator
Weber State University
With the popularity of shows such as Wipeout and American Ninja Warrior, inflatable obstacles have become a popular programming option for many universities across the country. Campus Recreation departments are always looking for new programming ideas to implement and the Wibit provides a unique program that gives students an experience similar to what they are watching on television.
What is a Wibit? To define it simply would be to say that Wibit is not a product, but rather a company. The product Wibit manufactures is an inflatable obstacle course for use in aquatic programming. When a programmer sees Wibit, they see a world of excitement and possibility. When a Risk Manager sees Wibit, they run the other direction. At least, this was the experience of Weber State University when Campus Recreation purchased a Wibit obstacle course. Read more
December 16, 2015
Why my facility EAP should differ from yours
Maggie Cattell
Recreation and Aquatics Supervisor
City of Pinellas Park
It is an eventuality for every facility. An accident; someone doesn’t eat before getting on the treadmill; a child enters the water without a lifejacket; or a person played tennis in 110 degree weather for 4 hours without drinking water while wearing a sweatshirt, with a broken ankle, a day after heart surgery (pick your scenario – we’ve all been through it). For those of us that are experienced in facility and staff management, we often don’t bat-an-eye when we hear about these moments. We shake our head, grin a bit, and add another accident response to our professional tool belt. What we tend to overlook is the response of the staff and it’s reflection on the training that they have been through.
Most Campus Recreation facilities put a large amount of time, effort, and money into staff training at the beginning of every semester. Most of these trainings have the same underlying lessons of prevention and response. However, 3 months after training, ask the staff what they learned from the training and their stream of thought will go something like this “Compressions… breaths…. Ice-bag….. Pizza…. Squirrel”. A review of CPR studies revealed that 66% of students would not be able to pass the skills portion of a CPR class just 3 months after they sat through a class, led by an instructor (AED Challenge 2014). All that time, effort, and money lasts you until midterms if you are lucky. As professionals, we can become numb to the lovely nuances of our facility that cause our participants to forget to eat or leave their inhalers at home. For our staff however, anxiety about having to remember skills but also potentially endangering someone’s life can cause some staff members to flop when they should fly. So, what do we do? Read more
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