Baseball and softball

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Guideline review date: 28 October 2021

This guideline is provided to support schools in implementing the managing risks in school curriculum activities procedure.

The CARA planner (DOCX, 600KB) must be used for the specific school context in conjunction with this guideline considering additional risks, hazards and controls and including environmental, facility, equipment and student considerations.

For activities beyond the scope of this guideline, complete a CARA record using the CARA generic template (DOCX, 488KB).

Activity scope

This guideline relates to student participation in baseball, softball or tee ball as an activity to support curriculum delivery.

For activities conducted at a non-Department of Education venue, and/or when engaging external expertise, request written risk assessment advice and attach it to this CARA record.

For activities conducted off-site, schools must comply with the school excursions procedure.

For activities conducted as part of representative school sport programs, schools should consult with Queensland School Sport.

Risk level

Medium risk
Baseball, softball or tee ball activities involving regulation equipment.

Activity requirements

If any requirement cannot be met, the activity must not occur.

If any other safety recommendation cannot be met, modify the activity (or elements of it) and/or identify and use the hierarchy of controls to implement alternative control measures to meet or exceed the minimum safety standard.

Competition rules and procedures with additional or more stringent safety requirements must take precedence.

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Students

Emergency and first-aid

Induction and instruction

Consent

Parent consent (DOCX, 306KB) is required for all activities conducted off-site.

Supervision

Principals make final supervision decisions for the activity. Sufficient adult supervision must be provided to manage the activity safely (including emergency situations).

For activities with students with a medical condition or disability that may impact on safety during the activity, consultation with parents is required prior to allocating supervision to determine the impact of students’ medical condition or disability on safety during the activity.

The number of adult supervisors required to fulfil emergency and supervision roles must consider the nature of the activity, students’ ages, abilities and specialised learning, access and/or health needs.

Before the activity, all adult supervisors must be familiar with the contents of the CARA record.

During the activity, all adult supervisors:

must be readily identifiable
must closely monitor students with health support needs
must comply with control measures from the CARA record and adapt as hazards arise
must suspend the activity if the conditions become unfavourable (e.g. extreme temperatures).

Supervisor qualifications

Principals make final decisions in determining supervisor capability (competence, relevance and currency) and are responsible for encouraging and enabling school-based activity supervisors to raise their qualifications to improve safety standards.

All adult supervisors must comply with the working with children authority—blue cards procedure and be able to identify, and respond to, risks or hazards that may emerge during the activity.

A registered teacher must be appointed to maintain overall responsibility for the activity.

For medium risk activities:

At least 1 adult supervisor must be:

a registered teacher with competence (knowledge and skills) in teaching baseball or softball; or
an adult supervisor, working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with level 2 coaching accreditation from Baseball Australia, Softball Australia or equivalent.

Facilities and equipment

The qualified adult supervisor of the activity, in consultation with the principal, determines the requirements for facilities and equipment appropriate to the local context.

Location must be suitable for the activity being undertaken, including a clearance of 8 metres outside the foul boundary line, to ensure safe participation and that safety rules and procedures can be followed.

Equipment must be fit-for-purpose, sized to match the ability and strength of students and used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Participants must wear personal protective equipment appropriate to the activity.

Players must wear enclosed footwear with smooth soles (e.g. sandshoes) or rubber cleats.
Players must wear a double ear-flap helmet while at bat and while running the bases.
Catchers must wear a protective cup (if appropriate), a catcher’s protective helmet, face mask, chest protectors and leg guards while receiving a pitch.
Umpires standing behind the catcher receiving a pitch must wear a catcher’s protective helmet, face mask, chest protectors and leg guards. If the umpire is unable to wear the recommended personal protective equipment, they should stand behind the pitcher.
Base coaches must wear a protective helmet.
Coaches under the age of 18 must wear a double ear-flap helmet in the coaching box.
Fielders should wear gloves appropriate to the activity.

Common hazards and controls

Further to those listed, include any additional hazards and control measures considering the local context of the activity.

Environmental hazards	Control measures
Visibility	Adjust the field orientation to avoid the sun affecting the line of sight of the catcher, pitcher, hitter or any infielder.
Weather	The school's sun safety strategy must be followed. Assess weather (Bureau of Meteorology) and environmental conditions prior to participating outside. Follow the managing excessive heat in schools guidelines when participating in very hot or extreme heat conditions. Ensure drink breaks occur regularly. Make water available for individual participants between drink breaks. Dry equipment (including bats and balls) before each pitch if conditions cause dampness.
Facilities and equipment hazards	Control measures
Boundary clearance	Use protective screens and a back net placed at a safe distance from the catcher, where possible. Establish an 8-metre safety zone around the playing area. If this cannot be achieved, consider ways of reducing risks, e.g. reducing the field size. Ensure there are no sharp or rough edges (e.g. portable signage) facing the field of play. Ensure playing fields do not have overlapping outfields. Where diamonds are placed parallel to each other, ensure there is a distance between the outfield on each diamond and between the dead ball lines. Establish a designated warm-up area for batter practice, at least 10 metres from the catcher, and consider the dominant side for each batter (i.e. first base side for right-handed batters and third base side for left-handed batters). Ensure all players warming-up a pitcher are fully dressed in catcher’s protective equipment. Position the batting team at least 10 metres back from either the first or third base line where possible and well clear of the catching area.
Chemicals	All chemicals in schools must be managed in accordance with the department’s chemical management procedure. All chemicals used in curriculum activities, except consumer chemicals, must be recorded in the school Chemwatch manifest. Consumer chemicals must be managed according to label instructions. Lines are marked on grass in accordance with the line marking of sports fields fact sheet.
Faulty or dangerous equipment	Use markers made from non-injurious material (e.g. foam). Check equipment for damage before and during the activity. Do not use damaged equipment. Do not use personal protective equipment with cracks, dents or damage.
Fast moving objects	Ensure that throwers are at least 5 metres apart during group instruction. Position left and right-handed participants to ensure maximum player visibility.
Playing surface	Conduct a field check to identify and manage surface hazards. Clear the playing surface from loose items or debris. Do not participate on a surface that is slippery, unduly rough or chopped up. Cover/fill playing surface hazards (e.g. sprinkler heads, base pegs) to be level with the surrounds. Use only rounded-over base pegs. Where possible, secure pegs under bases.
Student considerations	Control measures
Biological material	Manage bodily substances (e.g. blood) and open wounds before, during and after the activity. Consult infection control guidelines and Queensland Health’s exclusion periods for infectious conditions poster (PDF, 1.5MB) for hygienic practices and first aid.
Manual handling	Use correct manual handling processes when lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying.
Physical contact	Manage injuries according to established procedures. If in doubt, do not allow students to return to play after injury until medically cleared.
Physical exertion	Conduct warm-up/cool-down activities. Continually monitor participants for signs of fatigue and exhaustion.
Sharp objects	Remove accessories (e.g. jewellery, lanyards) before participating. Ensure fingernails and hair and clothing (e.g. pockets) do not interfere with the activity.
Student issues	Implement safety protocols during play, including: watch play at all times when warming up drop, not throw, the bat before running avoid intentionally clashing with an opponent when sliding is permitted (e.g. 2/3/home base only). Note: the batter/runner should run through first base on a single base hit and not slide or dive head first into first base remove dropped bat/tee as soon as possible consult with umpires and wait for permission to retrieve balls from other fields.

Additional links

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CARA guidelines