I’m risk adverse. When it comes to GVR facilities, programs, and services, it’s safety first. No two ways about it, no equivocating. The last thing that anyone wants is for a member to be injured. The result could be costly for the injured individual and GVR.
A little-known part of my job is to read and sign-off on every incident report submitted to GVR, whether by members, volunteers or staff. Most incident reports describe minor accidents such as when some individual falls in a parking lot and skins their knee or an ankle is sprained when competing in a sports event. Each and every accident is examined to determine if GVR can make even minor facility improvements that can minimize the risk of injury.
At a recent Planning & Evaluation Committee meeting, GVR Tennis Club leaders brought to the committee’s attention that cracks in two Las Campanas Center tennis courts were large enough to pose a potential hazard to players. That was all I needed to hear. The next morning GVR’s Facilities Director and I walked both courts end-to-end and agreed that the courts must be closed immediately, which they were. The P&E Committee asked the GVR Board to fund long-term repairs to both courts, and the Board agreed with a $123,000 ‘not-to-exceed amount’ for the repairs.
Interestingly, a GVR member reported at the May 22 GVR Board meeting that a contractor who repairs tennis courts told him that the cracked courts at Las Campanas were not that bad and the likelihood that someone would injure themselves was remote. Maybe, maybe not. Years ago, when I worked for the National Recreation and Park Association I helped launch the Recreation & Parks Law Reporter. What I learned through the experience is that there is no substitute for being proactive about preventing potential recreational injuries. And what I know for certain is that no one has or will be injured on the two Las Campanas Center tennis courts while they are closed and awaiting repair. It doesn’t get any safer than that.