Sports Civility & Safety
Heinzmann, Kelley, McGonnell and Dr. Lemak all discussed safety-related issues in sports–whether the risk is injury to athletes, violence among players or parents, or criminal conduct of coaches, volunteers, officials and other administrators.

Heinzmann, who helped the New Jersey Attorney General’s office develop a “Model Code of Conduct” for coaches and in 1986 helped enact the nation’s first civil immunity law for volunteer coaches–protecting volunteer coaches from prosecution if they attended educational sessions–shared his perspective on violence in his segment, “Violence in Youth Sports: Facts, Myths & Videotape.” While the many reported instances of violence among parents of youth athletes suggest a “growing trend,” Heinzmann argued that isolated incidents do not necessarily indicate a growing trend. However, Heinzmann advised attendees to stay alert of aggressive behavior among parents, as it “may be a window into their behavior behind closed doors, which should prompt coaches to find out more.”
Kelley agreed that sports planners need to be proactive in ensuring civil behavior among players and their parents. In “Managing Toward Civility: A Process for Sports Event Holders,” Kelley suggested giving awards and recognition to those setting an example through their model behavior. Kelley likened the idea to instilling values in children through increasing levels of incentives, explaining, “Our goal should be to move people to a greater-level moral code of conduct and civility.”

NCSI has set the national standard for background screening aimed at keeping youth athletes safe on the field. Citing statistics that one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually molested before they’re 18 years old, McGonnell, in her session titled, “Relentless Pursuit of Safety,” warned planners that “child sexual abuse and molestation are happening every day in organizations, communities and our nation”–including organized sports. Among the NCSI measures to help organizations conduct successful background screenings to better protect youth, McGonnell explained, are knowing the seven risk factors identified by NCSI and strictly adhering to the five “red light” criteria.

While preventing harm to kids is a crucial concern in youth sports, preventing injuries is an equally important part of youth sports safety. Dr. Lemak founded NCSS specifically to raise awareness of injury prevention and emergency response skills for youth coaches and event organizers. Dr. Lemak and representatives from medical, sports and emergency-response fields developed the NCSS program “Prepare” to provide a foundation in the most basic areas of sports safety education and, thereby, decrease the number and/or severity of injuries and fatalities among youth athletes.

Kim Miller with Kids World Sports Center, a nonprofit sports center housing gymnastics, cheerleading, dance and martial arts in Grand Junction, Colo., felt the sports safety sessions were “thought provoking. Sports safety probably gets put on the back burner when we’re organizing,” she said. “We think of the little things that need to happen and often forget about what to do in a conflict situation.”

Sports Marketing, Managing & Sales
S.P.O.R.T.S. Institute also featured educational sessions aimed at helping attendees more efficiently manage and market sports events through technological and sponsorship resources. Godi discussed the top 10 trends and technology solutions for sports event planners, including online registration, which she described as basically an “event marketing tool incognito. You can use the registration list and attendee data as a marketing opportunity to sell sponsorships.”

Reinke advised the audience on marketing and selling sponsorships for sports events as well. Reinke emphasized creating something special at the event for spectators to connect with the sponsor, citing the example of Chrysler’s sponsorship of a Kick It soccer tournament. “We had several Chrysler Town & Country minivans on display at the tournament to showcase the vans’ ‘Stow N Go’ features, such as fold-down seats for extra storage, to market the vans to soccer moms,” he said. “Always look for new possibilities and set your event apart from others.”

P.K. Martin, governor of the Potomac Valley AAU, said he attended the S.P.O.R.T.S. Institute because “I’m always hungry for information. I thought Reinke’s information was critical because creating revenue streams for event operators is a must,” he said. “The cost of running events is higher than ever.”

Networking Opportunities
In addition to the educational sessions, the S.P.O.R.T.S. Institute offered attendees the opportunity to socialize after hours, network together and enjoy some of Birmingham’s premier sports venues. Monday night’s welcoming reception, hosted by the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel and Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center, was held at the prestigious Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, which showcases more than 5,000 pieces of sports memorabilia of Alabama’s sports legends, such as Hank Aaron, Carl Lewis, Joe Namath and many more. The 33,000-square-foot museum features displays, statues and interactive kiosks of more than 230 Alabama sports legends on three floors.

On Tuesday night, attendees were transported on charter buses to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. The five-floor, 144,000-square-foot museum rotates more than 1,100 vintage and contemporary motorcycles and sports cars from more than 140 different manufacturers worldwide. These networking opportunities at Birmingham’s sports venues were a highlight for some attendees, like Miller, who brought along her son just because of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. “I appreciate the way that you connected other activities to the conference,” she said. “It was a treat to go to the museums.”