Newsletter Articles
April 07, 2011
Chris Muller, Assistant Director, Intramurals & Sport Clubs,
University of Texas at Arlington
To develop an effective travel policy for your Sport Club program, first determine what you want to accomplish with the implementation of the policy. Steven Covey, in his The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, implores people to “begin with the end in mind.” Get some direction from your department or others within your institution as they may have previous experiences or knowledge with travel. The key priority is developing and implementing reasonable controls that will keep students safe and minimize risk for your institution. Review of current travel policies within your institution, other in-state and nationwide peer institutions, can provide insight — and a good starting point.
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April 07, 2011
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AFTER A MAJOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT
Chris Tapfer
Emergency Management Coordinator
Washington State University
INTRODUCTION
Each year students and staff participating in collegiate recreation programs log thousands of miles traveling to compete in sport club matches, outdoor activities, or extramural competitions. Even with the best planning, preparation, and procedures in place, the possibility always exists that a vehicle accident will occur and individuals could be injured. Until you have this happen to your program, you can never be sure what to expect and what the impacts will be. In a span of ten years, I have worked with two major vehicle accidents involving sport club teams. Each incident had different outcomes and each became the driving force for significant institutional changes for student travel.
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April 07, 2011
What Level of Training is Required?
David Patton, Assistant Director, Outdoor Recreation
Wayne Fett, Sr. Associate Director of Recreational Services
Molly Gable, Graduate Assistant, Outdoor Recreation
University of Iowa
Imagine yourself walking through a high alpine meadow in July: beautiful mountains rise up towards postcard blue skies; red, yellow and purple flowers paint the landscape with color as you hike in and out of green pine forests. You cross a stream and splash some glacial melt water in your hat to keep you cool as the afternoon sun beats down on you. Suddenly, one of the students that you are leading falls to ground. What do you do?
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April 07, 2011
John Lentz
Director, Office of Recreational Sports
Indiana State University
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus — remember it, recognize it, respect it. MRSA (“mersa”), as it is commonly known, might be recognizable to the reader as the nasty bug that has been the serious concern of hospital patients and administrators for the past couple of years. It is a particular staph infection that is resistant to typical antibiotics. To those who are already ill and hospitalized, it can even become deadly. So what does this infectious disease have to do with the recreational sports field?
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April 07, 2011
Tim Stoecklein, Assistant Director
Recreational Services
Kansas State University
It has been said that the weather is the most popular topic of conversations across the world, and if you think about it, that is probably a fairly accurate statement. To play or not to play is often the question we face when it comes to our recreational programs. Typically the decisions focus on the rain, the snow, the wind, or the lightning. Sometimes it can be a combination of several as once I had to cancel a softball game due to snow AND lightning! Of all the elements served up by the environment, lightning is the second most deadly, behind floods.
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April 07, 2011
Depositions 101:
What to do if your Deposition is Taken
Katharine M. Nohr, Esq.
Miyagi Nohr & Myhre, Honolulu
Do you sometimes wonder why you are documenting your facility inspections and creating all of those incident reports? Someday, when your organization is embroiled in litigation and you are faced with having your deposition taken, you may appreciate the written record that you so carefully made. When your deposition is taken, you may have the benefit of having an attorney that represents your organization meet with you in advance and possibly represent you during your deposition. However, that might not be the case. Witnesses to incidences do not necessarily have counsel and oftentimes have their depositions taken with barely an understanding of what it is all about. The following information will hopefully orient you to the deposition process so that if you find yourself experiencing the pleasure of being grilled by a shark wearing a lawyer’s suit, you will know what to expect.
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