Risk Management For Sports Organizations

there is always a chance that something could go wrong. You might expose your players, volunteers and others to unintentional risks of harm. Therefore, you need to create as secure an operation as you can. Reducing safety hazards, of any shape and size, involves risk management. How does risk management work?

Think about all the things that might happen during an ordinary game. Then, think about financial risks, personal liabilities and employment responsibilities. You will get an idea of how important risk management becomes to your organization.

What’s Risk Management

Your sports league is a business, in many senses of the word. You have an obligation to other people, and that obligation is personal and financial. So, you must keep an eye on the future. If you don’t plan ahead, you might not know how to respond if an unexpected accident occurs.

Risk management helps you in that regard. It might seem like a complicated, generalized topic. But, you can think of it in three parts:

• First, risk management involves looking ahead to the future. A team leader should sit down and think about the potential for problems to occur. How do these accidents happen?
• Second, the person should ask themselves what they can do to avoid accidents. Can you take practical safety steps or follow regulations to keep everyone safe?
• Third, even after implementing risk management procedures, that doesn’t mean the organization is in the clear. Accidents can still happen in the best of times. Therefore, if something you didn’t plan on were to occur, what could you do to fix the problem? Do you have resources available to help you? What can you do to prevent the problem from happening again?

The plan you design to protect your team will look different from that of any other team. This is intentional, as it will provide you targeted protection any time you need it.

How Can I Prevent Risks for My League?

Risk management for a sports team might seem very challenging. After all, you have a lot of different avenues through which a problem could occur. For example:

• Players, staff members or spectators could get hurt during practices or games. In each instance, the person affected might suffer physical, emotional and financial harm. The team might be at fault for the losses.
• The organization’s hard assets could sustain damage. Equipment could go missing, get stolen or get destroyed in an unplanned disaster.
• Bad actors could take advantage of the team. Criminals, either outside or within the organization, might cause physical harm or monetary loss through their actions. These actions could impact the team and individuals within the team.

The outcome of any of these accidents could prove extremely devastating. The team could suffer financial or reputational damage. Therefore, you need to take a few steps to protect the organization and all involved with it from day one. There are a few steps you can take:

• Hire a risk management professional. They can help you understand different risks that might impact the team. They can essentially help you come up with a list of must-do activities to keep your team and others safe.
• Use rigorous hiring practices when adding talent to the team. Every employee must meet all qualifications and standards for employment.
• Maintain proper paperwork. Have all disclosures, consent forms, liability release forms and even emergency forms for all team members.
• Enforce the strictest safety standards for your players. Put their safety first. Never allow or encourage unsafe, illegal or even potentially dangerous activities.

Insure Yourself

One of the biggest ways that you can reduce risks for your team is to carry insurance. It will help provide financial help for a multitude of costs that might arise following damaging incidents involving the team. You might need:

• General Liability Coverage
• Equipment and Property Insurance
• Emergency Medical Protection
• Workers Compensation Insurance
• Commercial Auto Insurance
• Directors & Officers Insurance

Your Bene-Marc, Inc. insurance agent can help you take a close look at your team as a unique entity. That way, you’ll always get the coverage that works best for you. You’ll never leave yourself exposed to unnecessary risks in the event a problem occurs.