Every school should put the safety of its students at the top of its priority list. As a responsible facility administrator, it’s up to you to keep your students safe. But where do you start when it comes to handling such a broad and challenging obligation? How can you make sure that your school’s sports facilities are as safe as they can be? On this page, we’ll share three simple yet effective ways to keep your student-athletes safe in gym class and on the field.
Most Common Injuries in Gym Class and on the Field
The number of gym class injuries is growing year after year. It’s up to the teachers, coaches, and facility operators to mitigate and prevent student injuries in gym class and during track and field. According to recent research, over 60,000 US students experience some kind of injury each year during gym class. Inadequate safety equipment or subpar indoor gym standards cause a good portion of these accidents. The most common injuries include:
- Dislocated joints — Coaches often see their student-athletes go down from dislocated knees, joints, or ligament injuries due to slipping and awkwardly falling.
- Concussions — These injuries are common among fast-paced contact sports in which players can lose balance and uncontrollably hit the ground or other objects.
- Contusions — Similar to the two previous types of injuries, but different in that they can cause more harm to the student and even require medical intervention.
The three above are the most common types of injuries among student-athletes. Although, there are many other injuries your students can experience due to insufficient safety standards. Let’s address one of the most critical parts of your gymnasium regarding athlete safety — the hardwood floor.
Is Your Gym Floor the Best it Can Be?
In one of our previous blogs, we went into great detail on how a quality gym floor can go a long way in keeping athletes safe from injury. Low-quality floors significantly increase the chances of player injury, especially in sports such as basketball, volleyball, and any other fast-paced indoor sports. These activities require a lot of jumping and quick movement changes.
A high-quality and safe-to-use hardwood floor should provide adequate traction. It should also give the right amount of friction. Lastly, the floor needs to deliver just enough vertical deformation as athletes jump or run. Hardwood floors that meet all of these requirements are capable of protecting students from slipping, falling, and injuring themselves.
Gym Floor Hygiene
2020 has been a doozy of a year. With everything that’s happened, many people are starting to pay more attention to safety and germ protection.
When it comes to gym floor disinfection, you should implement a regular hardwood cleaning routine using mild cleaners that won’t damage your hardwood floor.
If you’ve got a high-traffic gym, you should consider cleaning the floor once or twice a day, to minimize the potential spread of viruses and bacteria. It’s essential to have an excellent COVID-19 hardwood maintenance routine to effectively maintain a high standard of hygiene.
Three Ways to Keep Your Student-athletes Safe From Injury
Aside from the gym floor, your gymnasium should be equipped with many other pieces of safety gear. For all contact sports, both indoors and outdoors, this includes helmets, mouthguards, and any other equipment that can contribute to the student’s safety and protection. The facility itself should also be equipped with protective gear. There are three main types of protective equipment that will keep your students safe during sports activities. We will go over them now.
Outdoor Field Padding
Outdoor field padding can considerably improve the safety standards of your sports field. Moreover, with so many customization options available today, you can personalize the field padding with details such as your school’s logo, mascot, and much more. The field padding will keep your players safe while also improving the look of the outdoor field.
Adding backstop padding should be your top priority. It can significantly reduce the risk of sprains, contusions, concussions, and other injuries. Additionally, if your school has a baseball field, consider installing padding on dugout railings and fences. While not as popular as field padding, dugout padding is just as important. It protects both the athletes on the field and the players and coaches sitting in the dugout.
Stage Pads and Scorer’s Tables
Most school gymnasiums are located just below the school’s stage. If your facility is also structured in such a way, installing stage pads can ensure that your student-athletes don’t get hurt if they collide with the stage.
In most schools, the bleachers and scorers’ tables are relatively close to the court. Upgrading your court with scoring table pads can help make your gym safer and more visually appealing. It will protect both the athletes and the fans, and offer you a blank branding surface for you to add customizable details to make your gym unique.
Gym Wall Padding
Gym wall padding plays a significant role in protecting your athletes from a variety of injuries, most notably concussions and head trauma. It protects players from collision injuries and enhances the safety of all facility users. If you’re looking to enhance your gym’s security standards, installing wall padding or replacing old and worn out pads should be your top priority.
At J&J Gym Floors, we specialize in creating custom safety products and equipment to help your school stay safe and stand out. With nearly two decades of industry expertise and over 17,400 completed projects, our experience is your guarantee!
Is your gym floor in need of refurbishing and redesign? Do you want to secure your outdoor playing field? Or maybe you need better wall padding. Whatever it may be, if you need help making your school safer, we’re here for you! Give us a call now at (973) 801-7219 or fill out our quick online form, and we’ll get back to you without delay.