Cricket community welfare leads to First Aid and Defib training

Player, spectator, official and supporter safety is extremely important to all of us at the Manly Warringah Waratahs. It’s just one of the player welfare issues that we feel very strongly about.

Unfortunately a medical emergency happening within the confines of our club or the cricket community is just a numbers game. It’s not about whether it will happen, but when it will happen. We have already seen Sydney University player Beau Casson collapse at Manly Oval due to a known heart condition, while the club has previously been involved in a devastating experience with Gordon at Chatswood Oval in 4th grade with the passing on the field of a Gordon player.

We need to be prepared for future occurrences. So we decided to do something about it.

Working with our great friends at Healthcorp, we developed a training course that was open to Waratah players and officials, our friends form Warringah Cricket Club, as well as various junior representatives.

A group of 25 gathered at Manly Bowling Club last week and were taken through their paces in a thorough first aid course. The course was run by Roger Wilson from Healthcorp, as well as Brad Goodwin, the Intensive care paramedic from Healthcorp This included a review of our first aid processes at each ground, normal first aid and resuscitation training, head injuries, as well as how to use the defibrillators that are located at each ground.

It was a fantastic evening that we hope really makes a difference when it matters.

The Waratahs have already installed a defib in the umpires change rooms at Manly Oval and we are just about to install one at Grahams Reserve and Mike Pawley Oval. Each ground also has up-to-date first aid kits when needed.

All participants will receive a Healthcorp Certificate of Attendance. It will not be accredited as the full accredited course takes 8 hours. The focus was purely on a select number of emergency care treatments relevant to the cricket club.

As mentioned above, the club has also developed an extensive first aid policy, as well as detailed but simple processes for each of our 3 grounds.

We would like to thank Healthcorp and Defibtech Australia, a division of Device Technologies, for helping us organise the first aid course, the work they have done with us on all of our policy and procedures, as well as supplying the defibs for each of our grounds. You visit Health Corp at www.healthcorp.com.au for all your first aid and medical needs.

We are hopeful that in the event of an emergency, our club will be ready and prepared.