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Health & Safety Policy

Aim

The health and safety of club members, participants, spectators and all others involved in cricket is of paramount importance to NLWCC. The Club is committed, so far as reasonably practicable, to ensure the safety, health and welfare of its members and those who may be affected by its activities.

This policy aims to outline NLWCC’s health and safety policy and responsibilities placed upon office bearers, club members and visitors. In order to achieve this, NLWCC will ensure a proactive safety culture is followed at all times, which aims to reduce injuries, ill health, unnecessary losses and liabilities.

They shall also undertake the following:

  • Maintain safe conditions for cricket activity
  • Ensure all participants are provided with adequate safety information
  • Provide adequate control of the health and safety risks arising from its activities
  • Provide and ensure maintenance of safe facilities and equipment
  • Provide all appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision that is necessary to ensure safe working.
  • Provide and maintain all machinery, equipment etc. and systems of work that are safe and without risk to health.
  • Arrange safe and healthy systems of use, handling, storage and transport of machinery, equipment or appliances and solid, liquid or gaseous natural or artificial substances.
  • Consult with all members on matters affecting their health and safety

In order to do this, NLWCC committee shall identify significant risks from all club activities, evaluating their potential consequences and determine and effective method of eliminating or controlling them. Where the risk cannot be eliminated, action will be taken to minimise the impact.

NLWCC will also commit to undertaking a review of this policy and risk audits as necessary (a minimum of once per annum) and revise the documents as necessary.

Implementation
All club members are expected to co-operate with the management committee on health and safety matters, take reasonable care of their own health and safety & report all health and safety concerns to the Club Safeguarding Officer.

All Office Bearers, making up ‘NLWCC Committee’, have the overall responsibility for the health, safety and well-being at NLWCC on a day-to-day basis. They will provide the necessary support and financial resources to meet their statutory health and safety duties.
All Office Bearers within the club will be required to promote a positive attitude to health, safety and well-being by visibly demonstrating commitment to achieving a high standard of performance on matters relating to health, safety and well-being.

On a match day, the appropriate Captain(s) and Vice-Captain(s) shall be responsible for ensuring all significant and foreseeable risks have been identified, assessed for impact, and suitable and sufficient control measures implemented to meet and maintain day to day health and safety performance standards. They shall also ensure that there is liaison on health and safety matters between NLWCC and others visiting or using the Cricket Club premises.

On a training day, the nominated Coach(es) and Coaching Assistant(s) shall be responsible for ensuring all significant and foreseeable risks have been identified, assessed for impact, and suitable and sufficient control measures implemented to meet and maintain day to day health and safety performance standards. They shall also ensure that there is liaison on health and safety matters between NLWCC and others visiting or using the Cricket Club premises.

Coaches have responsibility for the supervision and conduct of the young people in their care throughout each session of activities they are delivering. Coaches must do their best to ensure the health and safety of everyone taking part in cricket activities.


Safety Procedures

Risk assessment
Coaches should carry out a risk assessment at the beginning of each session, highlighting any unusual or unexpected risks. Any adverse findings of the risk assessments must be reported to the committee and remedial action agreed and implemented before activities begin.

Membership & Insurance
All ‘fully subscribed members’ shall be covered by NLWCC’s Public Liability Insurance Policy. To be considered a ‘fully subscribed member’, the membership subscription for the current season will require to be paid in full by 31/05 of the season in question.

No personal injury insurance will be provided by the club. Whilst every foreseeable risk to health, safety and wellbeing shall be appropriately addressed as noted in the previous section, any member participating in cricketing activities does so at their own risk and the club will not be held liable for any injury, loss of belongings, loss of earnings or other such aspects, unless deemed to have been negligent in addressing identified risks.

Accidents and First Aid
A first aid kit shall be available for use at all matches and training. The Captains shall be responsible for ensuring this is present on the day. All members, participants and spectators shall take reasonable care for the health, safety and well-being of themselves, and any other person who may be affected by their acts or omissions.
All coaches shall undertake appropriate first aid training. All Captains and Vice Captain shall be required to have an understanding of basic first aid, but will not be required to undertake formal training.

All accidents, however minor, shall be recorded in an accident book.
In the event of more serious accidents/injuries (e.g. fracture or dislocation) an appropriate person shall be appointed by the Captain or Coach to either call for necessary emergency service (e.g. ambulance) or if there is no further endangerment to the injured party, take them to hospital.
In the case of an accident involving a young person, their parents shall be informed and an incident accident report filled in.

Helmets and other protective equipment
Use of a protective abdomen guard or ‘box’ is mandatory for all batsmen and wicketkeepers, irrespective of age.
Young players, under the age of 18, must use appropriate protective equipment.,
A helmet with a face guard must be worn by young players (in both junior & adult cricket) when batting and when keeping wicket standing up to the stumps (as a guideline, closer than 5 metres) against a hard ball in practice and in matches.
For players aged 18 and above, it is recommended that any out-field player fielding within 5 meters of the batsmen on strike should use a protective abdomen guard or ‘box’, helmet and protective shin pads. This is not mandatory; however players should wear appropriate protective equipment whenever they are fielding in a position where they feel at risk.


No junior player of the age of 15 or under shall be allowed to field closer than 10 meters (11 yards) from the middle stump of the batsman on strike, regardless of whether they are wearing a helmet, except behind the wicket on the off side, until the batter has played the ball. Junior players, between the ages of 16 and 18 must wear a helmet and an abdominal protector (box) when fielding within 5.5 meters (6 yards) of the bat, except behind the wicket on the off side. Players should wear appropriate protective equipment whenever they are fielding in a position where they feel at risk.

All club equipment shall be reviewed for suitability in line with manufacturer’s recommendations a minimum of annually. Where the equipment is deemed not to be fit-for-purpose, the equipment shall be removed, disposed of and replaced as necessary.

In the case of a helmet, if the helmet is struck, the helmet shall be immediately cease being used and replaced as soon as possible thereafter.


Games, Nets and Training
Outdoor nets shall cause minimal nuisance or danger to other players or members of the public.
Surfaces should be maintained to provide a secure footing and be free from any defect which would cause a ball to lift, shoot or turn dangerously from the pitching area.
When players practice on the outfield they should do so in positions which minimise the risk of injury to fellow cricketers and spectators and damage to property.
The Coach(es) or Captain(s) should check and ensure that the area and equipment is safe for the type of activity which is to take place and that no damage or danger to property or persons is reasonably likely to occur.
For nets, the Coach(es) should ensure good net discipline and monitor participants continually during the session. The deliberate and frequent bowling of fast short-pitched deliveries should be discouraged.
Umpires are the sole judges of whether pitches are playable and conditions are fit for play. If no certificated or appointed umpires are present, the Captain shall make this decision.

Juniors and Vulnerable Persons in Cricket
NLWCC is committed to making cricket a safe, positive and enjoyable experience for all players, participants and spectators but particularly for young people and vulnerable adults. Over and above the items highlighted in the policy above, the following policies shall be implemented where Juniors and Vulnerable Persons will be participating.

All primary Coaches or those in charge of junior teams, whether paid or a volunteer, shall have appropriate ECB coaching qualifications.
Over Bowling is a common cause of back injuries in cricket. To ensure that young fast bowlers do not place undue stress on their bodies, every attempt must be made to keep the amount of bowling within reasonable limits. Strict bowling limits in line with ECB recommendations and local cricket governing body shall be adhered to.
The Club requires that all young cricketers, under the age of 18, provide medical and emergency contact details. This information shall be held by the Committee and will be passed to the Coach(es) and Captain(s) as necessary.
It is important that there is an appropriate ratio of supervising adults to young people, particularly on away trips, to ensure the safety of the group. The minimum ratio is 1:10 if young people are over 8 years old and there must be enough adults to be able to deal with an emergency (i.e. minimum of two).
For single sex groups, there must be at least one same gender supervising adult.
For mixed groups there must be at least one male and one female supervising adult.
When young players practice at the same time as adult members, there will always be at least two adults present at all times, unless a young player's parent/carer is present.
A completed junior club membership form is required for each young player.

Ground Maintenance and Equipment
Only suitably trained or competent members of the club, or suitably trained or competent sub-contractors appointed by the Club shall undertake hazardous ground works to the pitch and/or ground.
Protective clothing and equipment shall be provided for all suitably trained or competent parties when any hazardous work is undertaken.
All plant, machinery and equipment, (including fire safety), shall be suitable for the purpose for which it is intended, shall be maintained in a safe condition and use shall be adequately controlled.
All plant, machinery and equipment shall be reviewed for suitability in line with manufacturer’s recommendations a minimum of annually. Where the equipment is deemed not to be fit-for-purpose, the equipment shall be removed, disposed of and replaced as necessary.
When procuring work equipment / products, NLWCC shall assess them to ensure that the risks from their use are as low as is reasonably practicable and that they are suitable for the purpose for which they are intended. All considerations such as COSHH, noise, vibration, etc shall be reviewed.