safety at World Gymnaestrada
One concern I had on arrival at World Gymnaestrada 2011 was safety of the participants.
With no competition, no awards on the line, you’d think there would be comparatively few injuries.
Yet I saw many people there in casts. And a few in wheelchairs.
This girl was injured 2 days before travel to Switzerland. (She came with her group, anyway.)
At Gymnaestrada 2011, 154 people were treated on Wednesday, July 13th, with 19 people evacuated to hospitals for small trauma (sprains, strains, etc.).
Organizers had 82 medical staff on duty each day to care for the 19,000+ on site.
Overall, I felt Gymnaestrada performances were fairly safe. One Acrobatic Gymnast from Portugal had a bad fall on a double back. He was taken out in a stretcher, the worst injury I saw personally.
Next day a Canadian Acrobatic gymnast (who was also showing double back) told me that it turned out he was OK.
Kara, 
mattias Marois 12:08 pm on August 4, 2011 Permalink |
wow! yeah thats not good!, at the gymfest this year, one group the coaches neglected to spot a child doing front tucks on mini tramp, she nearly hit her head on the tramp several times, and her head did hit once, not good, thank goodness that child did not get seriously hurt, but it was very possible,
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Norm Lewis 12:44 pm on August 4, 2011 Permalink |
I would hope that by the end of the Gymnaestrada your concerns were suppressed? I know that I was quite pleased with the safety of the event and at each of the venues. I was also witness to that very unfortunate crash out of double back, but I am not sure that there was much that could have prevented it. I’m not sure what the intentions of this tweet are but I feel like I would like to give kudos to all of those in charge of safety at this event. With over 600 Canadian athletes that were all subject to the jet lag, the scorching sun, and the ten straight days of “go go go” I am only aware of two breaks and one of them was a coach. While 154 may seem like a large number to some readers for a single day, I think it is important to keep in mind that there were 20,000 PARTICIPANTS at this event. I would also assume that a large portion of that number was due to dehydration and heat stroke as was my only other witness of paramedics being required on site.
As a manager and coach I truly feel that the safety of this event couldn’t have been better organized and enforced.
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coach Rick 2:21 pm on August 4, 2011 Permalink |
Thanks Norm.
It’s great to hear you feel that way, being on the INSIDE.
See you in Denmark.
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Kara 11:45 am on August 5, 2011 Permalink |
I completly agree with EVERYTHING Norm said. I have been a team chaperone of many differnt gymnastics events including Nationnals, Westerns and training camps and now World Gymnestrada. When taking into consieration the sheer numbers of participants, the range in ages and abilities and the environmental factors.. this event was very well done. Yes there were injuries, but I suspect the ratio of injury to participant was much lower then at a Canadian National Championships!
Way to go Switzerland, for a job well done!!! And I can not wait to go again in 4 years!
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Gymnaestrada safety — Gymnastics Coaching.com 4:02 am on August 13, 2011 Permalink |
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