Newsletter Articles

The Muskoka Tragedy

April 10, 2011

(Another) wake-up call for servers of alcohol

Shelley Timms, B.A., LL.B., LL.M.
Timshel Services Inc.
Alcohol Risk Management
Timshel@timshelservices.com

Editor’s Note:
Campus Recreation departments which operate golf courses with restaurant/ bar facilities attached may find this article of interest. There is a (pardon the pun) sobering message here for any recreation organization which sells or distributes alcohol at any of its venues.

On July 3, 2008, a car with 4 occupants crashed through a guard rail, and flipped into Lake Joseph in the Muskoka region of Ontario. One person was able to escape while the other three died. As information was made available to the public, it was alleged that the group had had lunch and were drinking at the Lake Joseph Club bar. Further, it was alleged that 31 drinks were served to the group.

Charges were laid in January 2009 against the bar staff — two servers and one manager – and the licencee, the Board of Directors of the corporate owner, ClubLink (operator of a network of golf courses in Ontario and Quebec). The charges included permitting drunken behaviour on the premises and serving liquor to people who were obviously intoxicated.

Read more

Alcohol Awareness and Education within Club Sports

April 10, 2011

Getting your teams to “Make Smart Choices”

Kate Durant
Club Sports Program Coordinator
Student Activities
University of Connecticut

Underage Drinking, Alcohol related illnesses, students being rushed to the hospital, hazing and drunk driving accidents are a common occurrence on college campuses. Students suffer the consequences of fines, community service, probation of their organization, being expelled from the university, or worse – life altering injuries. The University of Connecticut Club Sports program focuses on turning our students athletes into student leaders. One distinct aspect of our programs is that they are exclusively student run. We form student committees consisting of volunteers from our various teams which collaborate to run six on-campus events. One of these events focuses on Alcohol Awareness and Education.

Read more

Summer Camps: A Risk Manager’s Perspective on 3 Key Points

April 10, 2011

Joe Risser CPCU, ARM-P
Director, Risk Management
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Summer camps offer a wide range of activities, facilities and services all combined to provide educational, recreational and social opportunities for enjoyment and growth of campers, staff and parents. Doing so successfully involves a wide range of special skills and knowledge in addition to general business and risk management.

Managing risk can involve:
CONTROLLING RISK to prevent losses,
TRANSFERING RISK and losses to others
PAYING FOR LOSSES through insurance or other financing

Let’s keep these techniques in mind as we look at 3 Key Points of managing risks in the operations of summer camps:

Read more

Summer Camps Checklist

April 10, 2011

Ian McGregor, Ph.D.
President, McGregor & Associates

Since Summer Camps participants are minors, these unique programs should automatically be classified as ‘high-risk’. Since the standard of care for minors is very high (the reasonable parent test), program planners need to pay extra attention and sound risk management principles incorporated into all planning efforts.

The following checklist is designed to alert professionals to the key risk management areas that need to be addressed when planning a Summer Camps program. For more detail in each of the identified areas, consult the new text: ‘SportRisk: Risk Management Planning Resource’ .

Read more

Collecting Medical Information for Camp Programs

April 10, 2011

Debbie Marinoff Shupe
Manager, Recreation Services
McMaster University

Many university recreation and athletics programs are in the camp ‘business’. For a whole host of reasons, it’s a great idea — from summer employment for university students, to community building, to fund raising – the benefits to the university are numerous. Are you prepared for this risky business?

When parents register their children in a university camp program, they have high expectations (and rightfully so!). They expect that children will be safe, have fun and learn lots of new skills. They also expect that camp staff will be able to handle any medical emergency that comes their way.

There are many important elements related to running a camp. Collection of campers’ medical information and addressing the first aid needs of campers are just two of these elements.

Read more

Implementing a Missing Child Procedure within a Campus Recreation Department

April 10, 2011

Jonathan Hart
Assistant Director of Campus Recreation
Facilities and Operations
Georgia Institute of Technology

What would you do if a child was reported missing in your facility? Would your staff be prepared and able to react to this unimaginable scenario and possible life-threatening situation? Before you are faced with having to assemble a ‘search party’ as a means of finding the missing child and reuniting them with their parent and/or guardian, consider employing the following information to assist with safeguarding your facility, programs, and aiding the staff against the threat of child abduction.

Last spring, we (Campus Recreation Risk Management Committee) were charged with developing and implementing an effective protocol that would enable us to properly train/instruct staff (mostly students) to effectively handle and react when a child is reported missing. We discovered a national program called Code Adam (named after Adam Walsh who was abducted and brutally murdered in 1981) to assist in our pursuits.

Read more

For more information on our Online Courses,
contact us now!