Sports managers have a plethora of responsibilities to fulfill with each task being crucial to the operation of their facilities. While these responsibilities may differ from facility to facility, there are those that are a key concern regardless of the type of facility being operated.
One such concern for sports facility managers is that of safety and security:
- The needs of the business that are important for keeping equipment, clients and staff safe from harm and, of course,
- Those that protect the facility itself from liability claims wherever damages or loss have been suffered.
Such claims could, indeed, lead a business to bankruptcy in severe circumstances.
This is a concern for every industry in the world but when it comes to safety or security at sporting events and inside of sporting facilities, a unique set of challenges presents themselves.
Safety and Security Challenges
People and Assets
Where sports and fitness are concerned, businesses are generally working with both people and with assets. Each of these present risks of loss in their own particular way.
This often differs from other industries where personal liability and third-party claims don’t necessarily mingle with risks associated with assets which can make things complicated for sports managers.
Thus fitness facilities and sporting events need to do three things to keep themselves and their clients protected:
- They firstly need to ensure that proper conduct is encouraged whenever their facility is being used;
- They need to ensure that their facility and equipment are well maintained and safe to use; and
- They should also ensure that they are financially and legally covered in the event that they should suffer losses.
Legal Disputes and Indemnity
When working with people, as all fitness establishments do, there is always a risk of personal injury whether it be a staff member, a client, or some other, unaccounted-for third-party.
When claims are made against a fitness facility as a result of such injuries, the losses faced can be devastating. It is part of a sports manager’s job to ensure that the possibility and the impact of such losses are minimal.
Maintaining a Favourable Reputation
Safety and security measures, while being there primarily to protect both clients and tangible assets (such as equipment or the structure of the facility), are also there to protect the facility’s most important non-tangible asset: its reputation:
- If a gym is notorious for injuries sustained from failing equipment, it won’t attract many members.
- If it has members who make it unpleasant for your other clients through misconduct, they won’t want to keep coming back.
If, on the other hand, facility safety and security at sporting events are a primary concern for the manager, chances are it will enjoy a good reputation. More clientele will come through as a result.
Covering Risks
Where security is concerned, there is also the matter of assets to think about. Equipment, as well as facilities themselves, are exposed to a number of risks. Many of these are unavoidable. For example:
- Theft,
- Fire,
- Damage,
- Acts of God, and
- Accidents.
Sports managers need to be able to assess this risk and find means of covering them whether that be through insurance, heightened security in the facility itself, a strict code of conduct for clients, visitors and staff or, more likely, a mixture of all of the above.
Client Safety
Sports facilities and their managers are also charged with the important task of maintaining the overall integrity of the fitness industry. This means abiding by best practices and taking the safety and security of their clients seriously at every turn.
This is especially important in the fitness industry since it is one where injuries do occur and, more often than not, those injuries could easily be avoided if the right steps had been put in place.
Those who get involved in the fitness industry on a professional level do so because of a passion for sport and exercise. This is equally true for sports managers. Whether they are charged with taking care of a facility, a team and activity or any other fitness-related project, they should do so keeping in mind the safety of their athletes and staff as well as the integrity of the industry as a whole.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
If you are interested in taking an online, internationally accredited Sports Management Course, contact a representative from the Trifocus Fitness Academy today. Feel free to browse through our website to find out more about our extensive collection of fully accredited fitness courses.
