Sport and Recreation Risk Management Planning

There is much discussion in sports and recreation about risk management planning and safety. It is a rare organization that truly believes that they are up to date or thorough in such planning as there always seems to be too much to do with little time and resources available. It’s also possible that before the recession your organization was far more on top of risk management planning than it is now. With budget cuts, lay-offs and other financial priorities, your organization may be like many, having let risk management planning slide.

Unfortunately, the recession has brought with it greater potential for lawsuits as injured athletes and patrons may be tempted to make fraudulent or exaggerated claims of injury. Consequently, risk management planning is even more important in challenging economic times.

Fortunately, risk management planning is not an all or nothing proposition. It is possible to establish goals and work on them incrementally so that highest priorities get accomplished first and other priorities are whittled away over time. If you were to judge your risk management planning like a diving competition, you might score it a 7 when work has been done on a consistent basis. When your organization loses momentum, the score might drop to a 5 or 4.

Risk management is certainly fluid and in order to improve over time requires ownership, management, coach, director, employee, volunteer, and athlete commitment. The downside of not making risk management planning a priority is that increased losses may occur, unexpected losses may occur, increased insurance premiums may result and the bottom line is that profits and sustainability may be negatively impacted. Nohr Sports Risk Management, LLC will assist you in your risk management planning. Please contact us if you have any questions.