Re: wind-blown goal I must have misread or missed your post altogether. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. That is something I have never seen, but is definitely worth serious consideration when gusty wind conditions require. I often work with spare goals in the vicinity of the fields.
Re: wind-blown goal If there are other goals in the vicinity of the field I try to have them moved away and laid over onto the face of the goal so that the heavy part is already on the ground.
Teen Dies after soccer goal falls This probably didn't happen during a game, but it is a good reminder to always check that the goals are anchored. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...0,6589495.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-swest
One of the reasons we get our cards, and recertify every year is for the purpose of insurance. Maybe one of our good bunch on this forum can explain it better than me, but our USSF badges offers some form of protection against negligence suits for injuries. But, if we ignore the goal anchoring issue, I think our ability to withstand a suit would be limited. I am the equipment manager for our club in town. Every coach knows where to go to get a spare anchor if he needs one. And every goal is checked by our crews when the fields are lined before games. Double checked by the refereeing crew. No anchor...no game. You are courting disaster without an anchored goal. I have a friend who works for State Farm and I hear enough about portable goals, and portable basketball hoops to make sure they are anchored before we start a game. I don't care if I never work in that town again or at that school. No anchor...no game. R
[QUOTE=Rufusabc;10576866]One of the reasons we get our cards, and recertify every year is for the purpose of insurance. Maybe one of our good bunch on this forum can explain it better than me, but our USSF badges offers some form of protection against negligence suits for injuries. But, if we ignore the goal anchoring issue, I think our ability to withstand a suit would be limited...(snip) I[/QUOTE] Especially since virtually every piece of instruction we have as referees says we have to check the safety of the goals, and enforce it. (LOTG Law 1, and Decision 1, Law 5; Advice, 1.2 and 1.3; Guide to Procedures, where there's a little picture of a ref team checking the goal and the net before a match...wouldn't want that introduced against you in a lawsuit.) The Advice, 1.3, is the clearest on goals. Although you don't need to prove it to these bozos who want to play with unsafe equipment, here it is: 1.3 GOALS. The goals must be securely anchored to the ground. For safety reasons, if the goals are not securely anchored to the ground, the match shall not be played. Full stop.
About 10 years ago my 8 year old son was climbing on smaller, 6x6 metal goals stacked away from the fields as the fields were converted to baseball. The goal tipped on him and broke his humurous bone in his upper arm. Can happen very quickly, and not just with goals related to the game.
Botton line, if the goals are NOT "anchored securely to the ground". DO NOT play the match. Your State Referee Committee will back you up. In addition, your assignor should back you up as well. If you refuse to do a match and the assignor assigns another referee to do the match, the assignor should be brought up on ethic charges as well as the other referee if he does take the match. It is amazing how quickly a coach will find goal anchors when you tell him the game will not be played.
When I was a freshman in high school one of my friends was put into a coma for three days by a soccer goal that fell on his head and crushed his skull. One of my childhood friends has invented a safety device that monitors goals called the Goal Alert, it will help educate everyone about this virtually unknown danger. I think it will be mandatory in a few years. The website has lots of information about the product and it is www.goalalert.net. I am trying to get the word out before there are more injuries and deaths.
Bigkicker resurrected a several year old thread. The article may not be available any more. Some of the references in the stickied thread my still be active.