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Sports Medicine Australia SMA is the leading source of information for injury and illness in sport and physical activity, as Netball Victoria adopt their policies so does Highvale Netball Club (HNC).
Note: Saturday Competition is governed by Waverley Night Netball Association (WNNA) weather guideline. The health and safety of members is a primary concern to HNC. HNC, has a responsibility to provide a safe environment for players and coaches, not only to reduce the potential of injury, but also to meet legal duties of care.
This section of the guideline is developed to guide our response to wet weather and its effects on netball training. Netball is played all year round and has traditionally been a winter sport.
This means that on more than one occasion during the year HNC will be faced with making a decision on whether to cancel or continue training during wet weather. It is obviously preferable that training is not cancelled, however, if the courts become dangerous it is in the best interest of all to cancel training.
If there is a high likelihood of heavy rain training will be cancelled. This will be done as early as possible while allowing as much chance of going ahead with training as possible.
Training will continue in the event of light rain without an alert of severe wet weather from the Bureau of Meteorology.
** In the event of a lightning strike, training and games will be immediately suspended **
The Department of Health and Human Services has a health alert system that notifies of forecast heat wave conditions that are likely to pose an increased risk to human health. The department has identified temperature thresholds for Victoria above which heat-related illness and mortality increases. As a result, HNC, will receive alerts related to hot weather and Thunderstorm Asthma.
The HNC community will be notified via the Slack Team App if there is a significant alert and whether training will be modified or cancelled, as appropriate.
Communication about Saturday competition changes will occur via the Slack Team App and be governed by the Waverley Night Netball Association weather guideline.
Netball is considered as a sport risk classification level 3.
To mitigate heat health risk HNC training will be modified in accordance with the following recommended actions:
The following guidelines have been adapted from information provided by the Netball Victoria website:
Netball is a sport which when played outdoors is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and is an issue that has particular relevance.
Netball uniforms do not particularly provide much coverage, so it is important to ensure clothing that covers as much skin as possible is worn during and in between training/game breaks where possible. Encourage wide-brimmed hats to be worn whenever not on court to protect face, neck and ears from the constant UV.
It is recommended that approximately 20 minutes prior to training or playing in peak UV periods, players and participants should be encouraged to apply sunscreen to exposed body parts and to reapply every two hours. It is recommended that a broad-spectrum SPF 30+ (or higher), water soluble sunscreen is used. It is the responsibility of each member to supply and apply their own sunscreen.
Where possible, maximise natural shade at all times. Encouraging participants to take breaks/hydrate etc. in the shade where possible.
Drink plenty of water both before and when playing netball, as your body gets dehydrated quickly when out in the sun. Loss of fluids can exacerbate sun exposure effects and cause serious health problems if left untreated.
On game day we are governed by the rules of Waverley Night Netball Association.
The committee of management of Waverley Night Netball Association is responsible for making decisions in relation to weather conditions. This may be to postpone the game, move to another court/venue or cancel the match.
Training nights are governed by the HNC Committee. The decision to cancel training due to extreme weather will be based on participant safety, determining whether the current weather conditions increases the risk of injury beyond an acceptable level.
Highvale Netball Club will notify members via Slack Team App.
Waverley Night Netball Association have procedures to notify participants of cancellations as per their weather guideline.
In all adverse weather conditions, Highvale Netball Club and Waverley Night Netball Association will apply common sense in determining the course of action to be taken at the time.
REG NO. A0019001H