Development of a concept with measures for "safety and sports accident prevention in club sports at the municipal level" in sports organizations and municipalities in NRW, Germany

Introduction:
Sport and exercise are healthy and worth promoting. The positive effects, e.g. in terms of health, prevention, social behaviour, integration and quality of life, are well recognized. Every year, around 400,000 sports accidents occur in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. To counteract this, the federal state government supported this project and thereby took on a pioneering role throughout Germany and initiated an important first step towards a more professional sports accident prevention - leading the way for other federal states in Germany.

Objectives:
The goal was to develop a comprehensive concept to reduce the number and severity of sport accidents, injuries, and damage in club sports in NRW. It has been running since May 2019 and has been extended several times.

Methods:
Firstly, our scientific research (evaluation of our accident database and scientific literature research) identified the sports with the most or particularly many serious injuries as well as existing sport-specific prevention measures. Based on this, we analysed existing data and interviewed club executives, trainers, and athletes. In addition, several sports facilities were inspected. The knowledge gained up to that point was then incorporated into more than 20 sport-specific workshops with experts. In addition, an impact and evaluation model were developed.

Results:
The results included numerous sport-specific "information boxes". These boxes contain target group-specific information on warming up, on specific preventive exercises, on equipment or sports facility safety. Furthermore, a guide on sports facility management was developed. It is aimed primarily at operators of sports facilities.

Conclusion:
Sports federations are missing not only know-how but also the resources needed to deal adequately with sports accident prevention. With the support of the Foundation for Safety in Sport, information, training, and consulting services are to be expanded. At the level of the sport clubs and municipalities, it became apparent that there a lack of basic knowledge about sports injury prevention, so the measures are aimed primarily at providing information, training, and advice to support the clubs. The challenge is to successfully integrate or address the complex structures of sport and the numerous influencing factors, stakeholders, and target groups. Long-term commitment is necessary to set up sports injury prevention in a professional manner.

Keywords: Data analysis Impact analysis Sports federations Municipalities Sports clubs

German - Bochum - NRW - Germany