Player Welfare & Safety Programme:
The Sports Office has enhanced its work with the RFU and Premier Rugby to support their world-renowned player welfare and safety programme in elite rugby.
Prior to the current season, the Sports Office Client Management team visited every Gallagher Premiership club. They met with medical staff to share best practice in injury surveillance and medical monitoring; when using the company’s rugby-specific performance management system, The Rugby Squad. They also offered additional advice about using the system for many other aspects of performance, preparation and athlete monitoring.
The team met with new members of staff at each club. A written Practitioner Guide and a series of guidance videos have also been produced. These show how best to use The Rugby Squad systems in this specific injury surveillance area.
They will also ensure new staff are able to support all processes within the Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project.
Andy Gorski, Head of Client Services at The Sports Office, commented: “Our visits to clubs in the Gallagher Premiership provided a fantastic opportunity to contribute more to this important injury surveillance and player welfare programme.
“It was the first time the Sports Office client team met with club medical staff. Which proven to be a beneficial experience for everyone. We were able to offer additional support on the best use of our systems for additional performance management activity.”
Gorski added: ”The Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project provides the sport with important data that can help improve standards of player welfare and medical management. We continue to work with our clients at the RFU and Premier Rugby to offer them the support they require to maintain and enhance this crucial initiative.”
Rugby Injury Surveillance Project:
The long-term Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project has been possible due to the bespoke performance management system, developed by The Sports Office. The study is set to improve professional player welfare and is the most comprehensive of its type.
The Sports Office worked with senior medical staff at the RFU to develop a system which allows sports medicine and coaching personnel at clubs and national teams to easily input an extensive range of medical and performance data. The system then supports extensive analysis of this. This includes sharing management information, the creation of detailed medical reports and baseline data to identify patterns and trends in injuries, via comparison with previous seasons.
The RFU, Premier Rugby and the Rugby Players Association originally commissioned the Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance project in 2002 as joint creation. It monitors player injury risk in Premiership, European club and international competition, as well as in training.
The Sports Office provides online performance management systems for elite sport, which offer a range of functionality. The systems support key performance processes including athlete monitoring and training load management. Also, injury prevention, sports science, sports medicine, administration, coaching and sports analytics.
Many elite rugby organisations throughout the world are among the company’s varied client base. These include governing bodies, teams in the SANZAR Super Rugby competition, the Australian NRL and clubs in the UK’s Rugby League Super League.