Required vs. Highly Recommended
November 21, 2011
Use of Safety Googles in Racket Sports
Roger Heimerman
Operations/Facility Manager
Campus Recreation
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
The establishment and review of protocol and verbiage is an integral part of the recreational sports professional’s responsibilities. Administration must ensure their facility and program policies are enforceable, reflect an emphasis on participant safety, protect the facility surfaces and equipment, and minimize legal liability.
Commonly used verbiage includes the following: not permitted, not allowed, prohibited, not responsible for, expected to, may not, required, and highly recommended. It is suggested to use these terms to best reflect the intent of the policy, promote a safe and customer friendly atmosphere and to transfer legal responsibility when applicable.
In developing policy, ‘Required’ vs. ‘Highly Recommended’ policies must be determined with care and based on the following considerations:
- # of staff
- Location of staff
- Staff supervision patterns
- Location of activity area
- Size of activity area
- Follow-through ability of staff in enforcement of selected policy
- Facilities vs. Programs
- Proper signage and/or written materials