Why Do You Need Risk Management Services as a Fitness Professional?
Risks are present in any type of business, in any industry, especially if you are working as a fitness coach or fitness professional in the sports industry. Fitness professionals may face higher risks than most careers, so you should understand the importance of risk management services and consider implementing these services to protect yourself.
What are Risk Management Services?
Risk management is understanding the consequences and identifying potential risks as a fitness professional, and developing a risk management strategy for your fitness studio, sports club, or training facility.
The best policies would understand the different levels of insurance depending on the profession and know-how each insurance plan can work for you.
If you manage a sports facility, sports organization, a sports team, or even a sporting event, an effective risk management plan is essential for any worst-case scenario. Although you don’t want anything bad to happen to yourself and your clients, it is always better to be prepared for the worst—and that is where risk management services come into play.
What are the Risks Fitness Professionals Face Daily?
Fitness professionals face risks every day at work. The best thing you can do is keep the floors clean and dry to prevent slips and falls resulting in minor and sometimes major injuries. Another way to prevent some of these risks is to make sure all the equipment is clean and dry.
However, those are not the only risks you could face as a fitness professional. Here are some examples of scenarios you should protect yourself from:
Risks in the Locker Room
You might think that the locker room is the safest place in sports facilities. However, some of the risks could endanger you and your facility. Slips and falls in the shower are one risk, and although we don’t wish for it—a simple misunderstanding between gym members may result in an assault.
Risks from High-Intensity Workouts
Workouts such as HIIT, CrossFit, Ninja Warrior Training, and Aerial Yoga are more prone to risks than regular workout routines. The risks are generally associated with injuries caused by your client’s fitness levels and the staff’s ability they are working with. An effective way to avoid these risks is to evaluate your client’s abilities to keep classes within their level and avoid harm.
Risks of Youth Fitness
Working with kids is an entirely different ball game, mainly because the risk of injuries is higher. Although kids’ workouts are not as intense as adults’ —it is always important to be prepared and be extra careful when it comes to fitness classes for kids. Sad to say, aside from risks involving injuries, cases of abuse related to youth sports and camps have risen in the last couple of years.
Risks with Weights and Exercise Machines
Some of the most common injuries that occur are when someone decides to lift heavy barbells without the help of a spotter. Another risk is improper or infrequent maintenance of fitness equipment and exercise machines. Some machines should be inspected for frayed and loose cables or any other damage that can result in harm.
Even the simplest things, such as treadmill placement and other heavy equipment placement, can result in injuries, so it is important to include all the little things in a risk management strategy.
Risk Prevention and Strategies for Fitness Professionals
The best way to keep your members, staff, and yourself safe during workouts in your training facility is to acquire risk management services specializing at sports risk management. But before anything else, here are some risk management tips that could benefit you as a fitness professional:
Safe Protocols
- Ensure all trainers in a sports facility or event can provide quality supervision. Personnel training and vetting is something you should never overlook. Without proper certifications and training, professional trainers and club members can be at risk.
- Use waivers but pay close attention to the transfer of risk. Extreme sports facilities, such as skateparks, snowboard trails, and skiing, all have waivers that state that patrons should play at their own risk—and this should also apply to all sports facilities. However, you might want to pay close attention to the fine print. Getting risk management services and insurance will provide legal help with what you can specifically point out in the waivers signed by members.
- You should learn about the medical history of every trainee or member. Not all members of a fitness facility are the same in terms of their ability and medical history—which is why you or your staff needs to find out about recent surgery and injuries of each member to prevent them from getting hurt.
Choosing the Right Insurance Provider
When choosing an insurance provider or risk management service, you need to ensure the insurance policy’s limits. You also don’t want to rely on insurance alone. Hiring only the risk management service is the most effective way to protect yourself and your club from these risks.
The Importance of Risk Management
Risk management will provide a safe environment during sporting events, fitness facilities, and teams you manage. GUIÓN PARTNERS understand how essential risk management is and address every issue by:
- Identifying risk: They do top-to-bottom checks of your event or facility to identify potential risks.
- Evaluating risks: They determine each identified risk and assign a priority level to each risk to avoid the most damage when it occurs.
- Risk mitigation: Once the risks are identified and addressed, the company will find ways to minimize or eliminate the impact of the hazards. Although some risks cannot be mitigated, minimizing the other risks and focusing their priority on the risks more likely to occur is the next best thing.
GUIÓN PARTNERS Sports Risk Management
With over 14 years of experience in the fitness industry and other industries that require specific risk management strategies, we are one you can trust. We provide a wide range of risk management plans that cater to almost any fitness professional and sports facility.
We provide risk management plans with subcategories and strategies tailored to your needs, whether you need emergency management, communications, or disaster recovery. More importantly, GUIÓN PARTNERS Sports Risk Management provides an excellent service that can prevent these risks from happening in the first place. Although there is no guarantee that these risks will never happen, partnering with the best will provide you with the best course of action for any situation.
References:
- https://www.guionpartners.com/risk-management/
- https://clubsolutionsmagazine.com/2019/01/fitness-risk-management-safety/
- https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/career-articles/understanding-risk-management-as-a-fitness-professional/