Portable Soccer Goal Safety | Australian Government Standards You Need to Know
Posted by RICHARD TINKER
IS MY PORTABLE SOCCER GOAL SAFE? Soccer Goal Safety and Australia's Standards/Rules On Goals.
Safety of a goal should be considered first when purchasing a portable goal. Understanding the government rules and regulations will help you work out if the goal you are looking at is safe for you, your club or school.
Questions on safety when purchasing a soccer goal or net are usually considered last, or not at all. It is important that you know what's the truth.
Quickly learn everything you need to now about the rules and regulations on portable soccer goals here.
We consolidate the most recent data to assist you in grasping the basics of Australian Regulations on Portable Soccer Goals.
What are the government rules about goals? We reduce the confusion to cut through to what you need to know. To quote ACCC they say:
“Under the Australian Consumer Law, mandatory consumer product safety standards (also known as mandatory standards) are introduced when considered reasonably necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of injury.”
The document that is directly responsible for goals is called the Australian Standard AS4866.1-2007, Playing field equipment—Soccer goals—Safety aspects, published by Standards Australia.
The link to this document can be found here
Be safe with the right football goal. Government standards are there to keep everyone safe. SUMMIT and Bownet goals are good to go!
SUMMIT and Bownet goals all fall within government standards. When you purchase one of our goals, you can be assured they are safe and ready to use. All our goals fall under the minimum weight, have correct connection points and are not considered an issue around cross-bar dangers.
We suggest that your read all our documentation about correct safety and set up of your goals. It is important that you have all goals correct set up and held in place.
To summarise these rules, there are a few things that you should be considering:
1. Is the goal 28kg or more?
If so, then you will need to follow every part of the guidelines. The company that you are purchasing the goal off HAS TO HAVE them approved and labelled with WARNINGS of potential injury or death. If the goal HAS NOT had this applied, the manufacturer is selling you a goal that is not compliant. There could be issues with insurance if goals are deemed unsuitable for use.
Portable soccer goals over 28kg must have:
- Two side ground bars and a rear ground bar
- An effective ground anchor system with at least one anchor point on each side of the rear ground bar and instructions on the use of the system
- Crossbar and support bars
2. Never allow people to climb or hang on goals
3. Always anchor down goals
Some things to keep in mind when considering a safe goal
PVC Soccer Goals - Say NO to to dangerous goals
There is NO place where PVC goals are an advantage to clubs or players, especially when there are better goals available. PVC goals take a long time to put up and can deteriorate, sag and be affected by weather. But crucially, they can be dangerous and may not pass Australian standards. Read more about moveable soccer goals product safety laws.
Why is weight of a goal so important?
Heavy goals are dangerous and can cause injury or death – see PVC goals. All goals that SUMMIT Sport sells fall under the minimum weight for Government rules on soccer goals (28kg+ ). This means that safety is paramount and the chances of goals causing injury is lower than what the government standards have set out. The heaviest goal we have in the range is the Bownet 8x24 full sized portable soccer goal at 20.80kgs.
Cross bar dangers
Watch a game of junior sports where there is a goal, one of the things you will notice is how kids will lean-on, pull and hang off the goal. This is a major danger and has caused serious injuries and deaths leading to government imposing rules and regulations to portable goals. If you have not so already, please read about the importance of goal weight and the dangers of PVC Goals.
All goals supplied by SUMMIT fall within the rules laid out by these documents. Added to this, Bownet goals don’t have a solid cross bar. The flexible material makes it an incredibly difficult to pull done especially once properly secured down. Even under the extreme case of one falling over, the lightweight and soft material of the goal is considered well under the threshold of government required weight. The SUMMIT aluminium folding goals has a rigid cross bar, but is also well under weight and comes with metal securing pegs.
For clubs, schools or parents purchasing goals, we suggest that you read all the details from Australian Standards. For more information you can go to these sites:
https://www.productsafety.gov.au/about-us/publications/moveable-soccer-goals-supplier-guide
https://footballfacilities.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/10/Goalpost-Safety-Notice.pdf
Make sure you are aware:
Metal or steel net hooks are not permitted on goalposts. In accordance with Australian Standard AS4866.1. Nets should only be secured by tape, velcro, plastic net clips or another safer alternative.
IFAB Laws: All football goals that are installed as a permanent structure on a football pitch must be properly secured, installed at the regulation width and height, as per the IFAB Laws of the Game, and should have no sharp edges protruding that may cause injury. https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/get-involved/refereeing/resources
All goals (including portable goals) must be firmly secured to the ground.
The mandatory standard applies to free-standing and moveable soccer goals that weigh 28kg or more.
If a Club uses portable goals for competition, it must ensure that the goals conform to the current Standards Australia Handbook
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