Safety Guidelines for Secondary Interschool Athletics in Alberta

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• Appropriate measures to protect student athletes from injury by potentially
dangerous and immovable objects (e.g., goalposts, protruding stage, bleachers,
and benches) should be implemented. Measures may include such things as
covering the object with protective padding or relocating the activity.
• Potentially dangerous and immovable objects must be brought to the attention
of student athletes, teachers/coaches and officials.
• A designated safe area should be provided for spectators.
• School authorities should give consideration to development of long-range
facility and playing field maintenance plans
Condition of Equipment
• All equipment should be checked by the teacher/coach prior to each use to
ensure it is in proper working order and free of defects and repaired as
necessary (see Appendix J).
• Equipment should be inspected and maintained on a regular basis based on
manufacturers’ recommendations by capable and knowledgeable personnel and
documentation of inspections and maintenance maintained.
• All equipment must be of a size and mass that is appropriate to the age, size and
strength of the student athletes.
• All student athletes should be required to use protective equipment to prevent
reasonably foreseeable injury associated with the activity. Protective equipment
should conform to recognized standards, be appropriate for the activity and
suitably sized.
• Teachers/coaches should be aware of the equipment’s purpose, its proper
operation, and any manufacturer’s warnings with respect to improper use.
• All equipment should be used only in the manner it is intended.
• When using any equipment not described in this document, care must be taken
to ensure it is safe for use and does not show signs of deterioration, e.g., no
sharp edges, cracks or splinters.
School/Team Equipment
• School/team equipment used by student athletes, e.g., football sled, volleyball
net, backstop, baseball base, hockey net, and basketball backboard, should be
safe for use.
• Where school boards or schools provide protective equipment, all equipment
must conform to recognized standards.
• When borrowing, renting or lending equipment for interschool athletic activities
(e.g., wrestling mats or landing mats, lane ropes), the teacher/coach should
ensure that equipment conforms to recognized safety standards and that it has
been inspected for safety.
Personal Equipment
• Personal equipment brought by student athletes for use in interschool athletic
activities e.g., football helmet, eye protection, hockey stick, water bottle,
racquet, shoes, protective pads, should be safe for use.
• Student athletes and parents/guardians must be made aware that personal
equipment brought from home must be in safe playing condition.
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Safety Guidelines for Secondary Interschool Athletics in Alberta - February 2012