Faceguards at Club Level

[Matt]

Does anyone know of a legal requirement, imposed by the BCU or by any other body in the UK, for children playing polo at club level (not competition) having to be supplied with helmets and faceguards.

At present a club I attend only supplies helmets for polo games, with some old stalwart opposing the idea (and progression of competitive canoe polo within the club) of faceguards because he feels that it would encourage a gung ho attitude and more injuries. Namely people freely hitting each other about the head in an attempt to win the ball, which I believe is assault in the eyes of the law.

Any point I've attempted to put across about enforcing the rules to make the games safer has been shouted down by the same stalwart as making the game too competitive, more dangerous and less fun?!?

Long and short of it is I'd like to see helmets with faceguards introduced at the club along with teaching of the rules to make the game faster and safer.

Any suggestions or information gratefully received, please post on message board or e-mail me.

[michielv]

Hi,

Not sure about BCU rules but in Holland it is mandatory
to wear a facemask during competition.

As a coach for a bunch of youth players who rely on
club gear I had to make do with some old Ace white water
helmets without masks. After some minor accidents (kids
getting excited...) I managed to round up some old gear
(including one helmet we dug up from our training field)
and made sure we had a complete set of polo kit for every
player. Even a homemade facemask is better than no facemask.

This whole safety thing is incredibly important as it
prevents people from being scared away because of the
amounts of injuries.

Just my $0.02,

Michiel

[Marcus Williamson]

As far as I know there is no BCU ruling to enforce the use of a faceguard at club level. However I would sugest that the only responsible course of action is to enforce the use of facegaurds as club policy. I would suggest this is particularly important when the players are kids. For a start, most kids are a little unwieldy with thier paddles and could accidentally hit the other players. Also I would not like to be the person looking after them when little Jonny's mum comes down to give me bo@@ocking because her son got a nasty gash on his head! From a coaches POV I reckon it would also be good to get them used to faceguards ASAP 'cos they will HAVE to use them in a tournament. It might also be worth checking with the BCU about your affiliated club's insurance cover...!

[clyde]

Currently and this isn't new, The BCU says any Canoe Polo Session requires all participants to be fully kitted up which includes suitable helmets fitted with faceguards !

Any questions ?

Contact me - the BCU Canoe Polo Committee's Chief Referee and I'll help out where I can.

If you had a copy of th BCU Canoe Polo Year Book this would all be very clear.
Perhaps you friend could also do with a copy !


Paul Hammond

[dart]

can i check with you guys where can i buy tapes or Vcd about canoepolo regardless competition or guiding of the game...? thank you