Table 1

Identified barriers, motivators, and enablers to sports safety policy in New South Wales, Australia

BarriersMotivators and enablers
Apparent low priority of sports safety at all levels*Reframing sports safety to appeal to the “drivers” for action of the various stakeholders*
Current lack of state-level leadership*A credible state-level leader
Current lack of support at the state level*Widespread support by representative bodies, including SSOs, non-government organisations, and government departments
Insufficient SSO and community organisational infrastructure*Capacity building and resourcing to improve SSO and community organisational infrastructure*
Limited SSO and community sporting organisational capacity for sports safety (including limited finances, people, time, expertise, and access to data)SSOs and community sporting organisations with the capacity for safety promotion; training and education essential; make it integral to core business so that it is ongoing and sustainable; integrate into existing club development and risk management initiatives
The volunteer nature of “grassroots” sports administrationConsumer (sports participants and parents of children) demand for “safe sport”§
Lack of control over facilities and environmentsInvolvement of representatives from facility managers (eg, local government) in policy development*
The geographic remoteness of rural clubs and associationsSpecific strategies to target rural and remote regions*
Difficulties in achieving effective dissemination of information to all levels of sportResources to support safety at all levels—finance, training, information; use of effective communication strategies; “train the trainer” approach; use of established networks
Lack of incentives to encourage uptakeAccountability for, and mandatory application of directives; links to accreditation
The very different nature of injury and injury risks across different sportsFlexibility to enable adaptation to a range of sports; based on universally relevant and applicable principles
  • * Conclusion drawn by the research team after all phases of the research.

  • Reported by SSOs during telephone interview.

  • Identified at the discussion forum.

  • § Identified at the roundtable meeting.

  • Identified at the discussion forum as a means of making policy work, but not favoured by SSOs.