Sport now safer thanks to first aid partnership
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Sporting club volunteers have increased their capacity to manage first aid incidents through a recent series of free first aid courses.
The workshops were held thanks to a partnership between the Shire of Broome and St John Ambulance, and provided local clubs with the necessary skills to provide first aid both on the sporting field and in the community.
Five courses where held through June, with 29 sporting club volunteers successfully completing their accreditation.
Broome Motocross President, Darren Barclay, was one of the course participants.
“We would like to thank the Shire of Broome for the opportunity for us to up-skill our club members with current first aid training,” he said.
“It’s a skill our club requires due to the nature of our sport and it also provides more first aiders out there in our community to help someone in need if required - it’s a win-win.”
Shire of Broome Club Development Officer, Mike Doyle, said the support for the program from clubs and St John was a fantastic outcome for the community.
“There were 12 different clubs represented, so we will look to run something similar at the beginning of the 2019 sports year to continue to increase the number of first aiders in sport,” he said.
“We hope to also offer a sports trainer course through Sports Medicine Australia. This requires a first aid certification so we’ve already got a lot of volunteers halfway there.”
St John Ambulance North West Regional Manager, Andrew Graffen, said St John strived to make first aid a part of everyone’s life.
“This initiative is not only a way of recognising and rewarding the contribution of local volunteers but it has provided lifesaving first aid skills which will benefit the clubs, their members as well as the broader community,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to working with the Shire of Broome in future to increase first aid capacity at our local clubs.”
Anyone interested in developing their club should contact Mr Doyle on 9191 3456 or at [email protected].