UKU Outdoor Nationals this weekend seemed to mostly go well. However, as hosts we've spotted some flaws in our tournament.
It's a matter of concern to us that the majority are Health and Safety issues. Medical Cover - there wasn't any. Having made the initial booking several months ago, we were informed (voicemail message) on Thursday evening that the local St Johns Ambulance division were struggling to provide the level of cover that we had requested (an ambulance and 8 crew) and then on Friday evening that the 2 crew members that had been planning to attend had to cancel due to their son's unexpected admittance to hospital. We're aware that the value of a St Johns Ambulance crew has been widely discussed on BritDisc in the past, but would add that, in our opinion the local division had historically been very good at providing a crew, and competent in dealing with any injuries they have encountered. As far as we are aware, we were "lucky" (relatively) in that the injuries that occurred were mostly wasp stings. The ambulance that was called on Sunday was due one players dizzy spell after being stung and taking tablets. Could people please let us know ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) of any other injuries sustained at the tournament - we particularly noticed the Flyght Club 2 player in a sling at the presentation. Pitch Layout - several pitches were too close together We'd requested a minimum of 10 yards between each pitch. This didn't happen. On Sunday we attempted to minimise risk of injury by requesting that no-one set up chairs between pitches. This request was only partly met. For the SemiFinals and Final & 3v4 playoff, which were held on neighbouring pitches 1 and 2, no-one but substitutes were allowed into the space between the pitches. We feel that we should point out that spectating players should apply common sense in such situations - you may well be able to move out of the way of a player hurtling toward you from in front, and you *might* be able to move your chair out of the way, too, but what about what's happening on the pitch *behind* you ? In future, however, we intend to make sure that space between pitches at our tournaments is adequate, even if it means sacrificing pitches and game length. Rubbish Bins - there weren't enough We'd requested additional bins to be available pitchside. There were some. But not enough. However, it must be noted that we spent at least 1.5 hours collecting rubbish on Sunday, much of it within FEET of the available bins. Wayne is of the opinion that the incidence of wasp stings throughout the weekend would probably have been hugely reduced had rubbish been deposited in the bins provided, rather than left scattered along the sidelines. Pitchside Water - lack of water containers The UKU water containers have gone missing. We didn't find this out until too late to acquire a suitable quantity to replace them. We also didn't do too well at ensuring that the ones we had were distributed into the further pitches and regularly refilled. We feel that this should really be a task for the tournament organisation rather than the players - and are painfully aware that it's something so simple it gets forgotten. Pitchside Showers - early closing The Pitchside showers closed earlier than would have been useful. This is because Wayne booked them to be open until 6.00pm, and forgot to double check the timings once the schedule had been written. We'd like to thank all the people with rooms that allowed other players to make use of their showers. Pitchside Bar The Pitchside Bar & BBQ closed early on Saturday. Apologies for this. We don't know why! We're aware that a lot of people would have liked a cold beer and a bite to eat after their last game. The Captains Meeting At any future Layout Dreams events we will go through the content of the information package that we hand out and answer any questions that are raised. It seems that just handing out a package containing what we think is everything teams/players should know is not sufficient. Of course, it would help a little if players actually read the content of the package! That's it from us. We'd welcome any other (preferably constructive!) comments on these issues and anything else that we've missed. Sincerely Wayne Retter & Chris Hughes Layout Dreams ---------------------------------------------------------------- Wayne Retter Layout Dreams [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pootle.near.me.uk/mailman/listinfo/britdisc
