Risk Assessment

1. Introduction

The Club is bound by an EPA mandate to perform a Risk Assessments for every event at National, Regional and Club Level, including club closed events and coaching sessions, as a condition of EPA Insurance.

The attached Risk Register sets out the risks and mitigations that are applicable to any Pétanque event hosted by Stockton Pétanque Club. It is our intention to publish this as part of the club's rules and to make it available for inspection at any time by the EPA or their insurers.

In the event of an incident requiring a claim to be lodged, then this document will be produced in evidence that Stockton Pétanque Club took appropriate precautions and cannot be considered as negligent.

2. Context of Risks Considered

Stockton Pétanque Club plays on a purpose-built terrain on the field at the rear of the Stockton Football and Cricket Club (SF/CC) clubhouse.

The facilities for car parking, first aid facilities and access for emergency vehicles are provided by SF/CC and are not specific to Pétanque events.

Our terrains comprise a light covering of gravel on top of a clay surface. We rake these regularly and apply weed killer to minimise the risk of players or spectators tripping on the terrain or weeds. Our terrains have permanent strings to mark the 'dead-ball' area for playing purposes. The strings are laid close to the surface of ground and we inform all players of the existence of these strings and other potential hazards at the start of all tournaments

Whilst we are playing there is always a risk of a boule striking a player or a spectator. We mitigate this risk by ensuring that all players are aware of the principles of good play by providing formal coaching sessions which encourage all players throw their boules in a responsible manner. In particular, when a player is shooting, we always ask any players involved in adjacent games to stand clear of the line of the shot.

We have club membership of 30 players, including two juniors. Each member is issued with playing rules and all of our juniors are accompanied by their parents or other responsible adult whenever they play in club competitions.

From time to time we host Regional competitions, National Competitions and friendly 'come and try' events for local organisations. For each of these events we have a registration system and always inform participants of the safety warning notice and any special rules of the day.

When we stage an event where there are spectators present, we provide chairs for seating on our patio and on the grass verges next to our terrains and discourage spectators from walking on the terrains.

For some of our events we provide tea & coffee in the club-house and may also provide a BBQ on a patio adjacent to the club-house  which is a safe distance away from the playing terrain. We provide bins for litter and waste food which we empty after every event and also during events when they become full.

3 Risk Management

We believe that this Risk Assessment covers all Pétanque-specific aspects of any event staged or hosted by Stockton Pétanque Club and do not consider we need any special arrangements for any particular event provided we continue to implement the mitigations stated.

We have a capacity of 8 concurrent triples matches. We do not feel it necessary to notify local emergency services of such events with a maximum of just 50 players plus officials, and with spectator areas that are not enclosed.

This Risk Assessment will be reviewed by the Committee on an annual basis and will be presented to our members at our AGM.

Agreed and approved by the Committee of Stockton Pétanque Club

27th October 2016