Junior policies and safeguarding 5 of 5

5. Bad Weather


Bad Weather Safeguarding Advice

When Harrogate RUFC (“the club”) directs that training or play is at your discretion due to poor weather conditions there are a few things you must consider before going ahead.

As head coach and manager you must put the welfare of your players before all other considerations.

It is never too late to call off a fixture or training session and is far better to cut a session short if weather conditions deteriorate than to risk the welfare of young players.

Things to consider are:-

  • The ground you play on must have no standing water. A head injury, collapsed scrum or pile up of players can have devastating effects on water logged ground.
  • The ground should be soft enough to take a stud, if in doubt do not play contact rugby.
  • The ground must be clear of debris, litter and dog mess (it is particularly important to check this if you choose to train on the Stray).
  • You must ensure you have sufficient coaches for the number of players attending. With bad weather people often pull out of arrangements at the last minute. The coach numbers referred to in the ratios apply to ‘trained, DBS’d’ coaches and are the minimum required.(1:6 under 7 years old; 1:8 under 8 years old; 1:10 over 8 years old)
  • You must have a full medical kit (including emergency blankets) and trained first aider present for all training sessions and matches, regardless of where they are held. The majority of rugby injuries (broken bones etc) are not considered life threatening by the ambulance service, no matter the age of the player or weather conditions. The standard response time of the ambulance service is 40 mins to attend a non-threatening call out, an awfully long time for a child to lie on wet, cold ground exposed to the elements.
  • Make sure that the site you train or play at has mobile phone service and can be easily identified and accessed by the emergency services if necessary.!
  • Young players are not as resilient in cold, wet weather as adults, and can suffer symptoms of hypothermia even in relatively mild conditions if they are not wearing the correct clothing or are inactive for too long. Don't be embarrassed to remind your parents constantly about many thin layers of clothing, water proof jackets etc, particularly if they are in the habit of leaving their children unsupervised at training. Please be aware of substitutes and players not involved in games.
  • Make sure you have contact details for all parents in case you need to cut a training session short. Parents should make private arrangements for another adult to supervise their child if they leave them alone at training (something the club discourages under 13 years of age). If you, as coach or manager, make arrangements for an adult to supervise or transport a player, the adult should be DBS vetted.
  • Think about toilet facilities, access to fresh water and hot drinks.Training/matches played away from the club are often at locations where these are not readily available, which can cause distress to younger players.