1. Polocrosse Association of New South Wales PLAYER INDUCTION PROGRAM

2. So, why are we here? Don’t be hasty when it comes to safety.
The purpose:
To ensure that everyone associated with Polocrosse is aware of, and understands, basic aspects of our sport that directly impacts the safety of players and spectators.
The overall goal of induction training is to:
Reduce the number of accidents
Reduce the severity of accidents
While some people may view this training as stating the obvious remind them that the presentation is designed is to lift the minimum standard across the sport and that the current rate and severity of accidents indicates, that as a sport we all need to do more to ensure everyone's safety.
You don’t need to cause the accident to be hurt by it! The most experienced player may fall victim to the error of another player. Alternatively, they be the umpire of a game where a life altering accident occurs.

3. Objectives: The objective of this presentation is to:
Ensure everyone has an appropriate understanding of the risks
Ensure individuals know how their decisions can impact risk
Identify the things that can be done to reduce risk
Provide individuals with the sufficient information so that they can make informed decisions.
Promote individuals taking ownership of their decisions and understand that they are accountable for their actions.

4. What contributes to risk?
What contributes to risk of injury?
Ability of players
Recognize dangerous situations/plays
Knowledge of rules
Ability to apply these rules
Use of poor safety equipment
Use of old/damaged helmets
Nature of horses to act in dangerous ways
Nature of the sport
Attitude of individual and fellow players
Surrounding hazards- other players and spectators, cars, fences etc.
Umpire’s ability
Discuss each element shown on the slide and how it may impact safety. Promote group input by asking for other aspects that may contribute to risk.

5. What factors will reduce the risk?
Human Factors:
Attitude
Knowledge of the rules and application
Situational Awareness
Horsemanship
Protective Equipment
Helmet
Undamaged
Well fitted
Faceguard
Leg guards
Protective vests
The Horse:
Temperament
Ability
Fitness Level
Education
Training and experience
The above 3 factors are key areas over which every individual has a high degree of control.
Human factors? Relates to the decisions we as people all make. For example we all have control over the items listed on the slide.
Discuss how attitudes may affect safety - Note : The Attitude of all players, umpires, coaches and spectators are all important. And most players at some time are umpires, coaches and spectators.
Discuss how knowledge of the rules can impact safety
Situational Awareness: what is it? Discuss
Situational Awareness is the ability to identify, process, and comprehend the critical elements of information about what is happening in the environment. Put simply, it's knowing (not guessing or assuming) what is going on around you
The polocrosse field is a complex environment. (more complex than some people realise) for example. At any one time it involves 6 individuals (often of different ability) on 6 different horses moving in 6 different ways across a confined space.
Key Outtake is that players should always aim to know where all other players and umpires are.
Horsemanship. Discuss how horsemanship may impact safety and practical examples of what people can do to improve their riding ability.
Key outtake is that if you not in control of your horse your not in control.
A competitive game is not the place to introduce a new horse to polocrosse. Any horse playing a game must be under control, have the able to line up, adequate stop, players must have control at whatever the pace of the game is (A – E grade).
Player Numbers. Numbers are not there for decoration. They help other players and the umpire identify who is in what position. Players incorrectly numbered or not wearing numbers put them selves at risk.

6. What factors will reduce the risk?
Human Factors:
Attitude
Knowledge of the rules and application
Situational Awareness
Horsemanship
Protective Equipment
Helmet
Undamaged
Well fitted
Faceguard
Leg guards
The Horse:
Temperament
Ability
Fitness Level
Education
Training and experience
The Horse
Players have responsibility to ensure that their horse is not a threat to others due to:
poor temperament (eg biting, kicking, not lining up)
An inability to meet the demands of the game (Eg stopping, turning)
Fitness. Fitness is not such an obvious factor however when an unfit horse tires it is more susceptible to tripping or stumbling and may be unable to play at the tempo of other players and entice the rider to make poor playing decisions to compensate for their underperforming horse
Discuss other ways the horse may impact safety.
Highlight that riders need to be honest with themselves and not just laugh off or casually ignore deficiencies in their horse. Eg: it not ok to do nothing about your horse if it keeps rearing up in line ups.

7. Protective Equipment Up to standard, not down to cost
In Polocrosse there is very little in the way of protective equipment. Obvious protective equipment includes:
The helmet,
Face guards, and
Leg and knee guards.
Ask group to consider what other safety equipment may be available before moving on.

8. Protective Equipment Up to standard, not down to cost
THE HELMET
Helmets should be replaced every 5 years
Helmets are made up of a number of materials and components that together are designed to absorb and distribute the force of an impact within thousandths of a second so that the rider’s skull does not bear the full force of the impact.
In an accident, the hard outer shell of a helmet distributes the force of an impact over a greater surface area before the middle Styrofoam layer then tries to absorb as much of the distributed force as possible.
The ability of a helmet to do all this over a few milliseconds can be the difference between whether or not the rider suffers what is called a focal traumatic brain injury.

9. Helmets- the unseen damage
Your helmet needs to be destroyed and replaced: If you have been involved in an incident where you banged or knocked your head, and where you experienced one or more of these symptoms: (a) Concussion: loss of conscious or memory (b) Headache (immediate or delayed) (c) Feeling dizzy or ‘off balance’ Or if your helmet received a significant impact: (d) Crushes the helmet (e) Visible damage to the helmet
Like many other things we use, helmets are not indestructible and can be broken and, over time, deteriorate. Not surprisingly, the ability of a helmet to provide protection is reduced by deterioration and destruction (which includes partial destruction.)
The time it takes a helmet to deteriorate is significantly influenced by exposure to environmental factors such as heat, cold and moisture such as rain or sweat and age. Partial destruction may occur through a variety of ways ranging from falling off a horse, dropping your helmet, throwing your helmet into the back of the float through to using the wrong cleaning agents.
Unfortunately, there is no simple practical way to look at a helmet and determine whether or not it is in a serviceable condition so looking after your helmet and replacing regularly is important.
So the key thing to take away from this is that with the difference between a good and bad helmet being measured in thousandths of a second a small reduction in the performance of a helmet can significantly increase the likelihood of serious brain injury. This is why your helmet should be replaced either:
As directed by the manufacturer,
After it is subjected to significant hit/force, or
As recommended by Standards Australia, every 5 years.

10. 3838 STANDARDS Helmets for horse riding and horse- related activities
What is a standard?
Published document established by consensus and approved by a recognised body (in this case standards Australia)
A standard sets out specifications and procedures for safe use
3838 compliant, what does it mean?
Passes a series of design and conditioning tests, ensuring the quality of the helmet will be
consistent.
Generally, Australian Standards on their own are not law although they are often adopted by governments and governing bodies. In the case of polocrosse, the PAA adopts the Australian Standard which means that
To play polocrosse, players must wear a helmet that complies with the Australian Standard 3838.
The 3838 Standard ensure that helmets are safe, reliable and will consistently perform the way they are intended to for common and repeated use. In simple terms this means that an approved helmet will provide a certain degree of protection during an accident.
To become AS3838 compliant, helmets are subjected to a series of tests. Helmets are also required to comply with other elements such as marking specifications, and non-corrosive fixing equipment such as plastics and webbing for the chinstrap.
NOTE: According to the 3838 standard: A visual inspection can show that a helmet is ‘unsafe’ but cannot show if it is ‘safe’, as some damage may be invisible.

11. Fitting a Helmet Correctly According to AS/NZ 3838
Finding correct size
Should feel snug on your head with no pressure points, no excess rocking
Front of helmet should sit approximately one/two finger width above eyebrow.
Adjusting chin strap
Should fit snug so that the rider can fit two fingers underneath the strap
Adjusting side straps
Should be angled forward to correctly position the buckle under the jaw
Check your work
When moving head up and down/side to side the helmet should not move position.
How to fit a helmet:
How do you know what size you are? Wrap a tape measure around your head;1-2 finger widths above eyebrow, above the ears. Take measurement in cm e.g. 56cm
When trying on the helmet it should feel snug, with contact to head at all points of the helmet. Shake your head as if you are saying yes and no and if there is excessive rocking or blocks your vision the helmet is too large.
The front of the helmet should sit approximately one/two finger widths above the eyebrow.
When tightening the chin strap you should be able to fit two fingers underneath the strap, or when you open your mouth you should feel the helmet being pulled down on your head.
Adjust the side straps so that the helmet remains in a fixed position; high enough off the forehead so not to obscure vision although low enough on the forehead to protect the frontal lobe.
Then check your work- When moving your head side to side and up/down the helmet should not move position.
DO NOT purchase a riding helmet with the intention of the rider ‘growing into the helmet’; this is potentially very dangerous and defeats the purpose of the helmet.
This is due to the helmet excessively slipping on the child's head, significantly increasing risk of trauma to the back of the neck/base of the skull/ front of the skull. Not only this, a space is also left between the individuals skull and the helmet; leading to an uneven force being applied on the skull when falling; significantly defeating the purpose of the shock absorption roles as the helmet has become another point of contact during a blow to the head.
NOTE: DO NOT purchase a riding helmet with the intention of the rider ‘growing into the helmet’; this is potentially very dangerous and defeats the purpose of the helmet.

12. Rules/standards which need reminding
The Do’s:
Space between yourself and the rider in front (aiming for 5meters)
10m clear area during penalty throws
Safe claims/ride offs- shoulder to shoulder
Be compliant with safety lines
Respect umpires decisions- players and spectators
Wearing player numbers- Not wearing numbers can lead to confusion between players and umpire; increasing risk of collision.
The do not’s:
Do not use your horse as a weapon
Do not abuse or ridicule an umpire
Do not ride over the back of horses

13. Rules and Standards
All umpire allocation requires approval by tournament umpire
If allocated umpire is unavailable, replacement with equal or greater competency is expected (no probationary umpires are to be used as replacements!)
Where appropriate and possible, probationary umpires be paired with seasoned umpires for developmental opportunities.
Wherever possible two umpires should be provided.

14. Spectator expectations Not just on the field
Goal umpires- age (14-years of age and above), 2 MAXIMUM at each goal mouth, white jacket to be worn where available
Safety Lines- respect these lines for own safety
Verbal bashing of players and umpires- never ridicule a player for making a mistake or not winning
Respect umpire decisions

15. Umpires’ Responsibilities
Ask yourself:
are you experienced/competent enough to umpire this game?
Do I need assistance?
This is for both your own safety as well as the players.
Place the safety and welfare of the players and other participants above all else.
Have a thorough knowledge of the rule book
Wear the correct umpire attire- white trousers, boots, white helmet, umpires jacket (not wearing this is a safety concern). Be suitably mounted.

16. Insurance Key points to note about insurance are:
Polocrosse insurance provides all participants with a basic safety net to fall back on. Players should not assume it covers every aspect. The only way to know if its right for you is to read the policy and make your own decision regarding whether or not you wish to take out private insurance.
A new insurance provider has been engaged by PAA for 2017 which has resulted in a reduction in fees. The new guide will be placed on the NSW website.
The more accidents we have the more claims we have the more our premium rises.

17. QUESTIONS
It’s easier to ask a dumb question than it is to fix a dumb mistake. Safety in our sport is everyone’s responsibility. Be proactive and responsible.
Safety in our sport is everyone’s responsibility. Be proactive and responsible.