USA Triathlon, like many national governing bodies of sport provide multi-sports race directors the opportunity to sanction their events for a fee in return for insurance, use of USAT branding, liability waiver form, risk management expertise, inclusion of their race in the athlete ranking system, use of USAT Competitive Rules and enforcement by certified officials, access to educational opportunities and race director certification, and more. What puzzles me is why any race director of a multi-sport race would choose to go it alone without this sanction.

Should Olympic athletes risk the spread of germs and shake hands with other athletes at the Olympic Games in London? Chief medical officer of the British Olympic Association suggested that athletes not shake each others’ hands and was quoted as saying, “At an Olympic Games or any major event the performance impact of becoming ill or even feeling a little bit ill can be significant… Essentially we are talking about minimizing the risk of illness and optimizing resistance. Minimizing exposure and getting bugs into the system and being more robust to manage those should that happen.” The advice of not shaking hands was rejected by the British government and so athletes will be free to shake hands, which is more consistent with the spirit of the Games.

Sports and recreation organizations and facilities face the challenge of providing first aid to participants and spectators who have medical emergencies. In recent years, AED’s (automatic external defibrillators) have become more common in public places and sports facilities. However, if someone goes into cardiac arrest, even if there is an AED in the vicinity, there may be a need to begin CPR immediately.