injuryupdate
25-09-2004, 07:37 PM
The Sydney Swans may have welcomed the adverse weather in their Elimination Final against the West Coast Eagles (who would have been less accustomed to the conditions), but the authorities must have wrestled with the question of whether the match should have been suspended during the second quarter. Current guidelines for the risk of lightning injury in sport suggest that matches should be suspended if there is evidence of lightning within 30km of the venue (the 30/30/30 rule). Without much doubt, this guideline was not followed during the Swans-Eagles final, where it was pretty obvious that lightning originated from a thunderstorm closer to the stadium than 30km at one stage. However, these guidelines are based on fairly general observations. It is probable, although not certain, that the large stadium stands at a ground like Telstra Stadium may make the competitors and spectators almost completely safe by giving a continuous high structure that will conduct any nearby lightning strikes to the earth. There have been lightning deaths in Australia at sporting events, including earlier this year at a cricket match in Canberra. However, there are no notable incidents from any of the major professional sporting fields in Australia, suggesting that these venues may be safe. This issue is another that highlights (see more below) the lack of a coordinated approach to safety in sport in Australia. Although the AFL conduct injury surveillance (read the AFL's latest injury report in .pdf format), the relatively small numbers of AFL games (compared to the number of sporting events around the country) suggests that single sporting bodies may only be able to gather limited information internally about small but potentially fatal risk situations (like lightning strikes). Even though we are entering an election period, it is unfortunate that there is very little noise about establishing a government body in Australia that is responsible for trying to promote safe sport.