Safety Officer: Court Check and Injury Response Protocol
Each team names a safety officer who checks the court and responds to simulated injuries during a 4v4 team handball game day using Check, Call, Care. It builds risk prevention at sports events.
How to play
- Protocol: Check (stop play), Call (the teacher) and Care (only what you're trained to do). Sprain: rest, ice, gentle compression and elevation; blow to the head: no return to play (4 min).
- Each team of 5 names an officer, who checks the court with the checklist: dry floor, no loose objects, backpacks 6 ft (2 m) back, stable goals, laces tied and no jewelry (4 min).
- Game day on two courts: four teams play 6-minute 4v4 games with a keeper and the fifth referees. During each game, secretly hand one player a scenario card (ankle, nosebleed, blow to the head or dizziness), and that player sits down and acts it out (12 min).
- The referee stops play and the officer runs the protocol with the practice kit while the teacher checks each step (included in the time above).
- Debrief: each officer explains what risk they found in the court check and what they'd do differently in their response (5 min).
Rules
- For any incident, play stops on the whole court.
- The officer never moves an injured player who can't get up alone and never gives medication.
- Simulated injuries are taken seriously.
- Safety: no contact on a shot.
Variations
Easier
Only one scenario per game, the sprain, with the teacher guiding each step.
Standard
Checklist inspection, four scenario types and the full protocol.
Harder
Add scenarios with two injured players at once; the officer must decide whom to help first and why.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: serves as safety officer consistently or coordinates the checks from the table.
- Anxiety or autism: gets the protocol script ahead of time and is reminded that the scenarios are simulated.
- Advanced players: as a player, may only shoot after a pass with no dribble.
Learning goals
- Spot hazards in a facility before a competition.
- Apply the Check, Call, Care sequence for an injury.
- Respond calmly and in order to a sports injury.
Equipment for a class of 25
- team handballs: 2
- small goals: 4
- pinnies: 20
- first-aid kits: 2
- scenario cards: 8
- worksheets: 5
Teacher tip
Use a practice first-aid kit; the real one must always be located and close at hand.
PatioLab has "Safety Officer: Court Check and Injury Response Protocol" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More main activities for High School
1-2-3 Touch Cooperative Rally
Two groups of three, one on each side of the net, work together to keep the longest rally possible in three phases: one touch, two touches, and three touches per side.
1-2-3-2-1 Running Pyramid Intervals
An interval workout where the fast segments build from 1 to 3 minutes and back down, with half that time as jogging recovery.
1-on-1 Self-Pass Volleyball
One-on-one games on narrow 10 x 20 foot courts where each player must self-pass before sending the ball over.
10-20-30 interval running in pairs
The 10-20-30 method strings together 30 seconds of easy jogging, 20 at a moderate pace and 10 at top speed, in five-minute blocks.
1v1 Ball Volley Matches
1v1 ball volley: singles games on a small court with a low net, hitting the ball over the net and allowing one bounce.
2-on-1 Fast Break with a Chasing Defender
Two attackers push a fast break against a defender waiting at the basket while a second defender chases from behind with a few yards' head start against them.