Athletic Business – October 2013
EMERGENCY Preparation
What is being done to keep players and spectators safe at high school sporting
events?
By Emily Attwood
The tragedy of the Boston Marathon brought to light the unexpected vulnerabilities surrounding athletic
events and facilities. In the weeks and months after, everything from road races to NFL stadiums has been
scrutinized in a new light. The next security threat will likely not come during a marathon – but where? A high
school basketball game?
“You’re aware of the 7.6 million high school athletic participants, but then you have half a billion spectators
going through high school gates during a year,” says Mike Blackburn, associate executive director of the
National Interscholastic Administrators Association. “Those numbers would surpass collegiate and pro
attendance annually. You don’t have the large on-site, one-time gathering, but collectively, those numbers
are significant.”
Such numbers can create an opportunity for not only a planned and targeted security threat, but any number
of other potential types of conflict. It could be gang-related violence erupting in a parking lot after a game, or
even something as limited as a conflict between two players. “Any athletic venue is a potential source of
security breach,” says Blackburn. “A parent going out onto a baseball diamond to approach a coach or an
official – you could have an incident and you need a plan for it.”
AFTER SCHOOL AN AFTERTHOUGHT
Most states require high schools to have emergency procedures in place, but that planning doesn’t always extend to
afterschool events like athletics. It’s that shortcoming that led to the creation of the Safe Sport Zone training program.
“Safe Sport Zone offers a hands-on, face-to-face presentation based on a personal experience from an athletic
administrator’s perspective,” say founder and President Jay Hammes, who recently retired from his post as lead athletic
director for the Racine (Wis.) Unified School District. “It runs the gamut from dealing with spectator issues, gate
entrance, facilities maintenance, evacuations procedures, and almost any emergency any school official would
encounter at an event.”
Hammes partnered with the NIAAA to create Safe Sport Zone to provide afterschool event safety training. More
recently, the groups have been working with the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) to
discuss the issue of afterschool safety and security. The three groups, along with the National Federation of State High
School Associations, the Department of Homeland Security and representatives from five Mississippi High Schools, met
in November 2012. “The summit indicated there are gaps related to emergency response preparedness, evacuation
capabilities, and lack of education and lack of education and training for those responsible for event operations,” says
NCS4 director Lou Marciani. “The overall consensus was the need to build stronger, more secure and resilient safety
and security measures.”
This summer, Hammes was a part of the NCS4 Conferences first high school program, as well as a task force aimed at
evaluating the risks present at afterschool athletic events and what needs to be done to mitigate those risks. “The NCS4
Conference solidified what Safe Sport Zone has been advocating; schools should be practicing evacuations after football
and basketball games,” says Hammes. “The possibility – even thought it has a low probability – of a conventional
explosive entering a high school event is real.”
That realization should be enough to put administrators on alert. But it’s more than that. Tornadoes, fires, gang
incidents, storming the court – it’s all part of Safe Sport Zone training. “The most important learning is preparing school
officials and first responders to implement interscholastic and afterschool emergency operations plans,” says Marciani.
“By having plans in place to keep spectators, athletes, official and employees safe, schools play a key role in taking
preventative and protective measures to stop am emergency from occurring or reduce the impact of an incident.”
At the center of any successful emergency plan is having a team that knows what to do. “we are advocating that schools
select their management team and develop a master plan for their events,” says Hammes. “No one can do this without
a team.”
The team can include anyone from announcers to hired security to volunteer parents working the concessions stand, all
of whom need to be trained not only in how to react to a given situation, but how to communicate with the people
around the, says Blackburn. “If it’s a violent weapons situation in your gymnasium, your police and security personnel
are going to be important, but I think one of the most important factors is properly training your announcer in work with
the crowd.”
“It’s important to train personnel on moving the fans through the gate,” says Hammes of the screening process used in
the Racine USD and recommended by Safe Sport Zone.
“The other area to work on is dealing with the unsportsmanlike spectator,” he adds, referencing several incidents
highlighted in the training in which a confrontation between an adult and student quickly escalated into chaos. “ There
is a right and a wrong way to deal with the unruly spectator that can diffuse the problem before it explodes.”
PREPARE FOR THE WORST
Will the next high school sporting event you attend end with a terrorist situation or even a fight in the stands? Probably
not. “The vast majority of high schools do have communities where the wholesomeness is still there, “ says Blackburn.
“What we see on TV is the other side of it. It’s real. There’s no way to sugar coat it. The incidents that they have had in
many cases could happen to those softer targets.”
Hammes hopes that the work being done by Safe Sport Zone, the NIAAA, NCS4 and other organizations will contribute to
a cohesive model for afterschool athletics and events across the country, bolstering safety and reducing the threat of a
targeted attack, but notes that no one organization or program can do it all. “I trained 32 schools and districts last year,
but there are 18,684 high schools offering interscholastic sports in the country,” he says. “We are all in this together
and need to continue to move forward.”
“Unfortunately, it’s a cultural change and societal change, not necessarily for the better,” adds Blackburn. “It’s
something to prepare for. More than anything, it’s proper planning and safety to head those things off before people
enter the venue. That’s the key. But then when an incident does occur, having the personnel in place to deal with it. I
don’t know that you can plan for every unknown that is out there, but we’re taking a step in the right direction.”
As part of the Safe Sport Zone training, organizations president Jay Hammes recommends the following
actions to bolster safety at events:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Requiring photo ID for all spectators
Prohibiting bags larger that 12 by 12 by 12 inches
Utilizing shirt-pocket camcorders
Conducting visual searches, randomly using a metal detector wand
For more information on Safe Sport Zone or to learn how to schedule training, visit
www.safesportzone.com.