Deadly Court Side Objects

A few years ago, I was appalled to hear that my former triathlon training buddy was severely injured playing volleyball. I’m sure that you are thinking that she probably twisted her knee or somehow messed up her shoulder. It was nothing as ordinary and commonplace as that. She dove for a ball, crashing head on into a concrete barrier located a few feet outside of the sand volleyball court. Her injuries were so serious that she landed in ICU and she is still suffering the effects of those injuries today, because of the negligence of the volleyball tournament directors and possibly others. Lessons can surely be learned from this horrible accident.

If you are setting up volleyball courts, or any other sports court or field, make sure that there are no hard surfaces or objects that someone could easily dive or run into during the course of play. Basketball is a sport that has to address this issue as players regularly run out of the court and can easily collide with walls, doors, windows, poles or other objects. Other sports, such as soccer, football, baseball, gymnastics, and tennis come to mind as sports that require attention to detail of harmful objects in proximity to the playing area.

It is best to remove any dangerous objects from the vicinity of play. If the object cannot be removed, consideration should be given to finding a safer court or field. Padding the offending object is another way to protect players. At the very least, warnings of the hazard should be made to all players in advance of the practice or game. Since warnings can easily be forgotten in the heat of play, using bright cones or warning tape can assist in keeping players away from the object in question.