Health & Safety Policy
Club Responsibility: As far as possible, the Club will aim to protect the health and safety of all members engaged in Club training and participating in Club competition.
Policy: The scope of the Health and Safety Policy extends to training sessions and organised Club events. In order to achieve its aim, the Club will:
- Endeavour to provide helpful guidance to members verbally and make the Health and Safety Policy available on the Club website
- Ensure that Club coaches are suitably qualified and have appropriate training to lead Club training sessions, and provide details of the Club coaches on the Club website
- Where possible, provide suitable facilities and equipment for Club training sessions and Club events including First Aid and Welfare facilities.
- Ensure that any organised Club race or Club event is subject to a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
Member Responsibility: Members should familiarise themselves with this Health and Safety Policy and such other guidance as is located on the club website. As members you have a responsibility to do your best to prevent harm to yourselves, your running partners or members of the public. As members you should acknowledge that you owe a duty of care to not wilfully injure yourselves or others by your negligent acts or omissions.
Reporting: The Club relies on its members to report any problems encountered whilst running on training routes. For example, dangerous stiles, damaged pavements, potholes, poor visibility etc.
Policy Review: The Health and Safety Policy, Club procedures and any associated Health and Safety Guidance will be reviewed, at least on an annual basis, to ensure that they remain accurate and reflect the Club ethos.
The Policy:
All members agree to abide by the Club’s Health & Safety Policy as follows:
Safety generally: All members must:
- Take personal responsibility for their own safety, whilst keeping a watchful eye on others running in the same group, particularly new members.
- Conduct themselves in a manner to prevent harm to others in the running group or to members of the public.
- Adhere to basic H&S principles when running and follow safety advice from the Run Leader or event officials.
Medical conditions: All members of the club declare themselves medically fit to run at their own risk and shall not hold the club responsible for any incident occurring through a personal medical condition or injury. Members with any medical conditions agree where appropriate to carry with them the relevant details of the condition and their name, address and emergency phone number contact details. Voluntary disclosure of medical conditions shall be the responsibility of the individual member or their carer in circumstances where they consider an individual risk assessment approach to their welfare may be appropriate.
Appropriate clothing: Members should understand the value of wearing appropriate clothing for the time of year and appropriate shoes for the variations of terrain. When running in the dark members should take responsibility for making themselves highly visible by them wearing “Bright fluorescent clothing with reflective strips/shapes” and please be aware that drivers may find it difficult to see you.
Staying together: Running groups endeavour to stay together as much as possible. Members should take care to listen to the proposed route before setting off. The group lead should ensure that a head count is taken and that a tail runner (back-marker) has been assigned to ensure that no one individual gets left behind. Whenever mixed ability occurs within a group, regrouping should take place at appropriate times along the route to ensure that no one individual gets left behind. If anyone decides to leave the group whilst out on the run, they must inform at least one other runner in that group. Upon returning to the start the group lead should check that everyone who started out has returned or can be accounted for.
Road Sense: Members acknowledge that it will not always be possible to plan routes to avoid unlit roads at night during hours of darkness and that they will wear a suitable headtorch when running. Routes passing along roads without footpaths shall be avoided where possible and when this is not possible runners shall run to the right to face any oncoming traffic or to the left at bends where forward visibility to the right is limited and be prepared to run in single file, and keep close to the side of the road.
First Aid: Members shall familiarise themselves with any individuals who have a recognised emergency first aid qualification within the Club (which should include qualified Club coaches and leaders).
Club Events: All sports events organised by the Club shall be kept under review and if necessary allocated members shall undertake and record risk assessments and Event Health and Safety Plans. All events shall be staged in accordance with the rules and guidelines stipulated by England Athletics and any other regulatory body and their insurers.
Accidents and Incidents: Whenever reasonably possible, one member of any running group should carry a mobile phone. In the event of an incident, members should first check if anyone is injured and locate an emergency first aider. It is advisable for at least one member to stay with the injured person, who should not be moved unless their location is immediately life threatening. If appropriate, emergency services should be contacted using 112 from a mobile phone as it will record your location; alternatively use 999. Finally, a member of the committee should be informed as soon as is practically possible in order that relatives can be informed and incident records made.
Incident records: Any accidents should be reported to a club’s Welfare Officer. Actual incidents involving any member or third party shall be formally recorded with a committee member.
Details of the Welfare Officer and committee members are on the Club’s website.