Did You Know?
Good Sports Territory
The 2008 PSG is a member of the ACT Government Good Sports Territory Program which encourages positive sport behaviour.
The Good Sports Territory was developed to promote fair play and positive sporting behaviour on and off the field.
Too often we are confronted with alarming media reports or see people behaving badly at community sporting activities. Such behaviour rears its ugly head in many ways - participants abusing officials; spectators abusing officials, participants or other spectators; the “over-zealous” parent applying unwanted pressure on their child; and a ‘win at all cost’ attitude becoming prevalent. In the worst cases these behaviours have resulted in physical violence, severe injuries and/or criminal proceedings.
The Good Sports Territory aims to:
- Inform and educate the public on the importance of positive and acceptable behaviours in sport.
- Support organisations to implement strategies that deal with inappropriate behaviour at sporting activities at all levels; and
- Encourage organisations to recognise and reward individuals and teams that practice and display good sporting behaviour.
Through industry consultation five value statements were developed to assist in promoting the positive values and behaviours that we expect in sporting environments and competitions in the ACT. These five value statements are:
Enjoyment – for keeping the fun in sport;
Fairness – for playing fair and giving everyone a fair go;
Respect – for the players, officials and rules of the game;
Achievement – for doing our best rather than winning or losing; and
Thanks – for the people who make sport happen.
Information courtesy of Good Sports Territory Program – visit www.tams.act.gov.au
Injury Prevention
Sports injuries can be prevented by considering a wide variety of factors such as the environment of a particular sport, fitness levels, protective equipment and nutrition.
SPORTS ENVIRONMENT
-
The sports environment includes not only the weather, but also the facilities, surfaces and equipment that are being used.
-
Poor, wet or slippery surfaces, lack of goalpost padding or safety netting, obstacles to trip on and sharp objects, can all lead to injury.
-
Rules of the game need to be enforced and sometimes modified for children.
-
A safe environment will reduce the number of potential injuries.
FITNESS
- One of the easiest ways to help prevent injury is to stretch. By warming up your muscles, you make them more flexible.
-
Adequate fluid intake is important; preferably cool drinks should be taken before, during and after playing sport
-
Correct technique and appropriate training helps improve fitness. For children exercising, monitoring increases in activity to prevent the child from doing “too much, too soon” will help minimise injury.
-
Make certain that old injuries are adequately rehabilitated before continuing to participate in a sport.
-
Protective equipment such as eyewear, mouthguards, wrist, elbows, knee and shin guards, helmets, tapes and braces all contribute to safety. Make sure shoes are appropriate for the sport.
-
"In one recent study of rugby players, mouthguards were the most common protective equipment item worn, (55% by players in schoolgirl’s grade to 73% in Senior A competition). The next most common item was taping of body joints such as the ankle, knee, and hand."
Information obtained from www.elastoplastsport.com.au
SunSmart
Tragically Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Each year we have more than 1600 Australians dying from this preventable disease. By being SunSmart you are able to avoid this terrible disease. All you need to do is follow the 5 sun protection measures when you are outside.
Slip on some sun-protective clothing - that covers as much skin as possible
Slop on SPF30+ broad-spectrum sunscreen
Slap on a hat - that protects your face, head, neck and ears
Slide on some sunglasses - that meet AS1067
Seek shade
During the 2008 Pacific School Games it is encouraged that all competitors, technical officials, volunteers and spectators are all SunSmart and follow the 5 sun protection measures.
Information obtained from www.cancer.org.au/sunsmart
Classification in Disability Sport
If you think of any sport, you can think of ways that we group people to create a competition. Forms of classification are used all the time within sport, for example, between males and females or using age or weight categories. The golf handicapping system is a good example of how players are grouped based on ability, allowing players of varying ability to compete against one another. In that sense, the classification system used is geared to allow greater numbers of people to take part. Classification is also used to create a structure for competition between athletes with a disability and is no different in this respect.
Classification in disability sport, therefore, is simply the process of putting athletes into groups for the purpose of competition. As gender classification is used to minimise the effect that gender has on competition , disability classification is used to minimise the effect the impairment has on competition. All Paralympic sports have classification systems in place for their disciplines. A growing number of non – Paralympic sports are developing classification systems to give people with a disability the option of competing in a greater variety of sports.
Key Message: Classification exists to provide a structure for competition among athletes with different disabilities.
The classification system exists to minimise the effect that an individual’s impairment has on the outcome of the competition. The rational behind this is that a person’s impairment should not disadvantage any competitor and the performance is based solely on ability, the level of training, motivation and all the other factors that determine performance. In this sense impairment should not be a determining factor in performance – training should, motivation should, strength should, timing should – but not the fact that someone uses a wheelchair or perhaps has a vision impairment.
Classifiers
The people who put athletes into classes are classifiers. These people are trained officials who are able to apply guidelines and a process for classification on a sport-by-sport basis. Classifiers come from a range of backgrounds. Generally speaking, classifiers either have a medical background, such as doctors or physiotherapists, or are technical experts within their sport, such as coaches or ex-athletes.
Classification is not just an international issue. It is also applicable at national, state and local competition where variations of classifications exist. Needless to say the role of the classifier is a vitally important one. Knowledge of classification is also very important, particularly for athletes, coaches, teachers, parents and anyone with an involvement in sport for people with a disability.
Classification Systems
Early forms of classification were based on grouping people together who had the same, or similar, impairments. In recent years, however, classification systems have become more sport specific, grouping competitors together based on their functional ability to do the sport. There are exceptions to this, for example, athletes who are vision impaired only go through an eye test. Classification groupings also vary between sports, so an athlete who has a single leg amputation will be classified in different groups for swimming and for track.
There are other systems used to classify athletes with a disability. These are based on other factors, such as time, average score, or even IQ. The Special Olympics divisioning system groups competitors by age, gender and ability. It intends to create opportunities for the greatest number of people in a competitive and meaningful way, similar to the golf handicapping system.
Classification Methods
Functional classification involves a series of tests carried out by technical and medical experts (classifiers) to establish that the athlete meets the necessary criteria.
This includes:
- Assessing the minimum impairment – is the athlete actually eligible for disability sport?
- Observing the athletes as they participate in their sport in order to establish the optimum classification group in which they will compete.
The Australian Paralympic committee, working with the national sport organisations, is responsible for the training of classifiers in Australia.
The classification process can often be controversial – athletes want to be in the class that gives them the best chance of winning. The classifiers also have to take into account other factors, such as the effect of training on an athlete’s impairment, in order to ensure that they have been fairly treated.
