Are You Prepared for an Emergency?

ANNUAL SPORTS SAFETY SYMPOSIUM 2019 - TOKYO, JAPAN                                                                                                   

OVERVIEW OF THE WORLDWIDE SPORTS EVENTS INDUSTRY 

The sports events industry is growing worldwide, with attendance rates increasing with almost 4% annually. This trend also draws more interest towards practicing sports. In Japan, 68,8% of the population were engaging in sport activities in 2016, a 5,8% rise since 2011, forecasts revealing even more growth potential in the years to come.

 

Among many benefits, this growth in sports popularity also carries risks, especially in the case of professional athletes, that often engage in more serious and frequent training, performances, and competitions – making them more exposed to injuries or other type of emergencies.

 

In order to prevent and minimize the occurrence and consequences of these situations, an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) shall be put in place.

 

WHAT IS EAP?

EAP is a written document that is meant to prepare and organize individuals’ actions during potential emergencies.

IS EAP NECESSARY?

In the US and most European countries EAP is required by law within most circumstances (e.g., workplace, events). At the same time, the number of court cases and news headlines related to the lack of adequate emergency preparation keeps increasing, with up to hundreds of catastrophic, irremediable injuries happening each year, and tens of thousands of dollars being lost in corresponding trails.

IMPORTANCE OF EAP

The chance of survival or adequate recovery decreases every minute in the case of extreme emergencies. EAP reduces the risk of athletes’ injury complications, follow-up court cases, as well as the financial, time, and reputation-related costs associated with these matters. EAP creates and assures a safe environment for athletes.

EAP WITHIN JAPANESE SPORTS EVENTS

Currently in Japan, EAP for sport activities is an emerging concept mainly used in schools. The rapid growth of the Japanese sports’ scene, along with the lack of awareness of EAP, highlight a low level of preparedness in the case of a sport-occurring emergency.

 

In this sense, an annual Sports Safety Conference is being held in Tokyo, Japan, it’s 6^th edition having taken place on the 30^th of November 2019. This conference was meant to introduce the latest trends and advances in the sports’ safety field and pave the path for 2020 sports events.

During this conference, Sports Safety Japan introduced eapdraw – a web application that aims to provide a new approach to EAP, contributing to a safe development of sports activities in Japan, prioritizing athletes’ well-being. The app was created in collaboration with Sunbears. Along its emergency evacuation drill-drawing function, the application serves as an e-learning tool, meant to encourage adequate use of EAP and help promote the concept of EAP among larger audiences.

ATHLETES SAFETY DURING THE OLYMPICS

Such application is particularly important now, with the approaching of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

 

Olympic Games are often more complex than other sports events as performances are being held in multiple venues simultaneously, all which require a large number of medical staff. Therefore, as host countries are often in charge of providing emergency care, developing an EAP shall be a key aspect to be considered in the preparation for such an influential event.

REFERENCE LIST

911 CONSULTING (2019) What does non-compliance cost? [online] available from https://911consulting.net/resources/faqs/

eapdraw (2019) About eapdraw [online] available from https://eapdraw.wixsite.com/eapdraw

Kokucheese (2019) The 6th Sports Safety Symposium [online] available from https://kokucheese.com/event/index/577986/

National Athletic Trainers' Association / NATA (2013) Why are Emergency Action Plans (EAP) important? [online] available from https://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/white-paper-emergency-action-plan.pdf

Occupational Safety and Health Administration / OSHA (2019) Do I need an Emergency Action Plan? [online] available from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/evacuation/need.html

Occupational Safety and Health Administration / OSHA (2019) Emergency Action Plan [online] available from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/evacuation/eap.html

Olympic Games (2019) Tokyo 2020 [online] available from https://www.olympic.org/tokyo-2020

Sports Safety Japan (2019) WHAT IS SPORTS SAFETY? [online] available from http://www.sports-safety.com/

Statista (2019) Sport Events Worldwide [online] available from https://www.statista.com/outlook/272/100/sport-events/worldwide

Statista (2019) Sports in Japan - Statistics & Facts [online] available from https://www.statista.com/topics/4986/sports-in-japan/

Toresdahl, B., Courson, R., Börjesson, M., Sharma, S. and Drezner, J. (2012) ‘Emergency cardiac care in the athletic setting: from schools to the Olympics’ British Journal of Sports Medicine 46 (1), 85-89. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2012-091447