21st April 2022
| Mallory Gray
Cricket Wales re-enforces its commitment to the safety and protection of players and officials.
Cricket Wales has today enhanced its position in relation to First Aid provision at regulated cricket activity.
While there have been recent changes in requirements for ECB Coach certification, Cricket Wales maintains its strong recommendation that all coaches should be First Aid qualified - and contemporaneously encourages all coaches and clubs to confirm their insurance position on this point with their broker or provider if they are not.
Coaches of junior cricket in any affiliated club environment must ensure, if they are not First Aid qualified* themselves, that a First Aider is present for all such activity.
As a duty of care, for any other cricket coaching or activity including matches - whether junior or adult, competitive or friendly - clubs and teams are also strongly encouraged to ensure that a qualified First Aider is present, to provide a first response, in the event it might be required; This may be a coach, a player (aged 18 or over), an official, team manager or spectator.
Clubs are encouraged to ensure that there are sufficient First Aid qualified coaches or other members/volunteers at a club to ensure that, minimally, junior coaching and activity is covered from a First Aid perspective.
All Cricket Wales coaches will continue to require an up to date First Aid qualification in order for them to be deployed as a community coach, or a casual Regional Pathway coach.
Cricket Wales CEO, Leshia Hawkins, commented, “Despite its clear physical and mental health benefits, all sport and physical activity, sadly, carries a level of risk. While cricket is not a contact sport and, mercifully, serious incidents in our sport are relatively infrequent, we must all still be alert to the possibility that a player, official or even spectator may be injured in the course of cricket coaching or matches, at any level.”
“We recognise our leadership responsibilities and Duty of Care obligations in this matter and want to ensure that clubs, coaches and participants understand the importance of as many club members as possible having the skills to assist a fellow participant in the event of injury occurring.
“First Aid is, quite literally, a life skill and we want to help as many of the cricket family in Wales to have the ability and confidence to assist should they be called upon”.
Details of recommended First Aid Courses* are available by contacting your Area Team. Cricket Wales staff are also available to support clubs to enhance their First Aid provision and may be able to assist in arranging bespoke courses at specific clubs, at a discounted rate, where demand is extremely high. Please contact your Area Teams to discuss your needs.
*Cricket Wales recommends a 3-hour face to face course and can arrange or signpost to appropriate courses across the country with specific sport/cricket content for any coaches, captains, players or other volunteers who wish to gain or renew a First Aid Qualification.