Injury Reporting 101 - The More You Know!

What Is Injury Reporting?

Injury reports is the reporting of sports-related incidents that do harm to an athlete during a practice or game. Completing an injury report is an important step for youth sports organizations to ensure proper communication and implementation of emergency action plans. All incidents must be documented, no matter how small, so the organization can properly support athletes and parents and better understand how the injury was dealt with.

The report should include whether or not emergency personnel were contacted and if the parents/guardians were made aware of the incident. Coaches should also outline the nature of the injury and how it happened, including the names of witnesses, should additional details be needed. Best practice is keeping injury report copies in the first aid kit and on the organization's or league’s website. Web-based sports safety platforms like InjureFree can house injury reports safely as well! With that, be sure to provide education and instructions to coaches and trainers on how to complete the report and who to relay the report to once it is complete.

Why Is Injury Reporting So Important?

1. To Avoid Future Incidents!

By reporting even minor injuries, you can better understand the injury itself and how it happened. This allows you to identify where additional support is needed and determine methods and strategies for avoiding similar incidents or improving safety in the future! 

2. Detail Information for Future Reference

Finally, coaches and trainers must maintain a record of an athlete's health history. Past injuries like concussions can affect an athlete’s return to play, so this information is crucial to reference following an injury to make more informed care decisions. When an injury occurs, it’s easy to forget details over time, so it’s important to complete an incident/injury report as soon as possible! 

Click here to view example incident reports and learn more about how injury reports improve safety.

References

1. https://www.injurefree.com/
2. https://youthsportsfoundation.org/accident-incident-report-forms/
3. https://devzone.positivecoach.org/resource/worksheet/sample-injuryincident-report#:~:text=It%20is%20critical%20that%20any,how%20an%20incident%20was%20dealt.
4. https://upperhand.com/importance-of-incident-reports-in-sports-and-fitness/
5. https://www.nfhs.org/articles/reporting-catastrophic-injuries-promotes-improved-safety/