Baseball and softball

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Guideline review date: 24 September 2025

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

The CARA planner (DOCX, 232KB) 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, 98KB).

Activity scope

This guideline demonstrates the minimum safety standard for student participation in baseball, softball or tee ball as an activity to support curriculum delivery.

The Department of Education is committed to ensuring that curriculum activities are planned for and managed in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of students, staff and others.

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.

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

Teachers, in collaboration with other adult supervisors of the planned activity, determine additional risks, hazards and control measures relevant to the activity and the specific school/group circumstances in order to lift the safety standard above the minimum identified in the CARA guideline.

Consult review comments from previous CARA records to improve safety standards based on the advice from the previous supervisors of the activity at the school.

Prior consultation and collaboration with local expertise (e.g. venue manager) is required for local advice, emergency support mechanisms and additional supervision requirements to ensure participant and public safety.

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

Supervision

Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults, make final supervision decisions for the activity that considers the local context.

Appropriate adult supervision must be provided to manage the activity safely (i.e. prevent an incident from occurring and manage an incident if one were to occur, including managing emergency situations). The principal must give active consideration to the minimum standards set in the CARA guideline for the activity, the CARA planner and the risk assessment when determining the appropriate level of supervision.

See number of adult supervisors below.

Participants must adhere to all rules and advice communicated by the facility operator/owner and any safety signage at the facility/location.

Before the activity, all adult supervisors:

must be familiar with the contents of the CARA record, including the emergency and supervision plans.

During the activity, all adult supervisors:

must provide active and direct supervision—be constantly vigilant, attentive and rescue ready
must comply with control measures from the CARA record and adapt as hazards arise
must not rely on students to recover a person in difficulty at any time.

The activity must be suspended if the conditions become unfavourable (e.g. extreme temperatures).

Number of adult supervisors

Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults of the activity, determine the final number of supervisors to fulfil instructional, emergency and supervision roles for the local context that consider the nature of the activity, students' ages, abilities and specialised learning, access and/or health needs. In some instances, the final supervision ratio may be 1:1.

If the minimum safety standard cannot be met, modify the activity (or elements of it) and use the hierarchy of controls to implement alternative control measures to meet or exceed the minimum safety standard (e.g. reduce the number of students participating at any one time).

See frequently asked questions (FAQs) for further support.

Supervisor qualifications

Qualifications support the minimum safety standard for this activity. 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. and whether the activity leader meets an appropriate teaching standard.

*See FAQs for further support.

All adult supervisors must comply with the working with children authority—blue cards procedure.

Qualified adults for the activity

Recovery/emergency—CPR, first aid, rescue

An adult with current emergency qualifications is required to be quickly accessible to the activity area.

Supervisors must have CPR and first aid qualifications relevant to the activity. Emergency qualifications may include:

An adult with concussion management knowledge or training is required. Consult concussion management resources.

Medium risk activities

At least 1 adult supervisor is either:

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

See FAQs for further support.

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.

Confirm sport structures (e.g. batting cages) are regularly inspected to assess and maintain structural integrity. See safety alert—risks associated with metal sporting equipment.

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
Biological hazards	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
Visibility	Adjust the field orientation to avoid the sun affecting the line of sight of the catcher, pitcher, hitter or any infielder
Environmental conditions	Assess weather conditions prior to undertaking the activity, inspecting the intended location in order to identify variable risks, hazards and potential dangers. Follow the school's sun safety policy, including appropriate clothing, sun protection (e.g. sunscreen) and shade facilities when outside. Follow the managing excessive heat in schools guidelines when participating in very hot or extreme heat conditions. 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 (e.g. line marking chemicals) must be managed in accordance with the department's chemical management procedure. Lines are marked 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
Manual handling	Use correct manual handling processes when lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying
Injury	Manage injuries according to established procedures. If in doubt, do not allow students to return to play after injury until medically cleared. Students aware of the location of emergency and first-aid equipment
Physical exertion	Conduct warm-up/cool-down activities. Continually monitor participants for signs of fatigue and exhaustion. Ensure drink breaks occur regularly. Make water available for individual participants between drink breaks
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

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Links to external websites are for convenience only and the State of Queensland has not independently verified the information on the linked websites. It is the responsibility of users to make their own decisions about the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of the information at these external websites.

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CARA guidelines