Safety & Equipment Policies

Safety Policy

Club Policy No. 5

Safety Policy

  • Players should apply sunscreen prior to commencement of play and reapply it during breaks in play on sunny days.
  • All players should make sure that they are fully aware of the rules of the game, particularly as they relate to safety.
  • All players must wear a mouthguard at all times during both training and competition. If possible, players should wear custom-made or professionally fitted mouthguards.
  • Players with a history of head injury should seek professional advice about the appropriateness of wearing headgear.
  • Players with a history of ankle injury should wear some form of external support (e.g. taping).
  • Thigh protectors may be useful for players who have suffered a recent corked thigh or those with a history of significant corked thighs.

Pre-season safety

  • Parents and guardians should satisfy themselves that the children for whom they are responsible are medically fit to participate, and sustain the rigours of Junior Football. Should parents/guardians have any doubts as to the medical fitness of their child they should consult a suitably qualified physician for guidance.

Pre-game safety

  • All players should warm-up for about 20 minutes before the commencement of each game. This should include stretching to increase flexibility and slow jogging which progresses to more intense running activities, with and without a football; Note: the Coach will provide an outline of the appropriate warm-up routine.
  • Players should have a balanced, nutritional diet.
  • Players should ensure that they are adequately hydrated (i.e. had enough water) before training and matches.

Equipment Policy

Club Policy No. 6

Equipment Policy

Good quality equipment (player clothing, footballs, first aid kits, etc.) is essential to running a successful football club. The purchase and maintenance of equipment is one of the PJFC's major expenses. Loss of equipment, in particular jumpers, can result in an unnecessary large club expense.

Allocation and returning of equipment

Player jumpers

Players will be allocated a team jumper at the start of each season. Players (or their parent/guardian) must return the jumper to the Team Manager immediately after the last game of the season.

Officials

Each season the Club allocates equipment to Coaches and Team Managers, e.g. interchange jackets, match and training balls, first aid kit, goal umpire's jackets and flags, drink bottles, etc.

The equipment distribution is usually in the form of a number of items (and often in bags) given to the Team Manager and Coach at the start of each season. Equipment can be replaced or topped up, but all requests must go through the Equipment Steward.

As far as possible, the PJFC looks for low cost options in purchasing equipment, which means we sometimes purchase items in bulk and will have ready replacements available. We can often purchase items cheaper than the usual retail prices, so it is very important that Team Managers and Coaches put all requests through the Equipment Steward not matter how small the item might be.

Coaches and Team Managers must take care of all allocated equipment. Team Managers should retrieve player jumpers as soon as possible after the last game of the season. As soon as the season ends but no later than 1 October all equipment must be returned to the Equipment Steward.