Looking After Our Players: First Aid & Medical Awareness

As a community, volunteer-run club, the safety and wellbeing of our players is everyone’s responsibility. To help us respond quickly and confidently to minor injuries and medical issues, we strongly encourage every team to have access to a basic first aid kit at games and training.

What should be in a basic first aid kit?
St John Ambulance Australia recommends that a basic first aid kit for sport and community activities includes items such as adhesive bandages (Band-Aids), gauze swabs, wound dressings, crepe and compression bandages, triangular bandages, gloves, saline, cold packs, scissors, tape, and a CPR face shield.

Many teams already have something in place, and kits don’t need to be expensive—a small backpack or pouch stocked with the essentials is a great start. St John Ambulance also sells dedicated sports first aid kits, but assembling your own over time is perfectly fine.

Sharing medical information helps everyone
Parents, guardians, and players are asked to make coaches and team managers aware of any medical conditions that may require support during training or matches. This might include asthma, diabetes, allergies, epilepsy, or previous injuries.

Having this information means volunteers can act quickly and appropriately if something happens and can reduce stress in an already challenging situation.

Practical extras that make a difference
Where possible, teams may also wish to keep a few condition-specific items with their kit or in the team bag, with consent from parents/guardians or players. For example:

• Quick sugar snacks or lollies for players with diabetes
• A spare reliever inhaler, if permitted and supplied by a parent/guardian/player
• Cold packs for hot days or muscle strains
• A note listing emergency contacts or care instructions saved on a phone for easy access

St John Ambulance notes that individual medications should normally be carried by the person themselves, but kits can be personalised to suit a team’s needs and environment.

Thank you
Our coaches, managers, and volunteers already do a tremendous job. These simple steps help ensure that if something does go wrong, we’re as prepared as possible—and our players can keep enjoying the game safely.

For more information on first aid kit contents, St John Ambulance Australia provides free guidance on their website: https://stjohn.org.au/fact-sheet/first-aid-kit