Safe Out There: Contact, Intensity, Gear, Buddies and Bike Lanes

Remember from Grade 9

In PPL1O you learned to dress for activity, wear required protective equipment (including the 2-V-1 helmet fit check), keep medical devices like inhalers on hand, warm up and cool down, check spaces for hazards, spot a partner in strength training, follow buddy and supervision rules in water, and dress for Canadian weather.

Grade 10 adds four skills: controlling contact, adjusting intensity to how your body is doing today, checking specialized gear (climbing, cycling), and safe travel on trails and in bike lanes.

Hook: three seconds

A cyclist is riding beside a row of parked cars. A driver opens a door without looking. The cyclist has less than a second to react. Riding one metre further out would very likely have avoided the whole problem.

Most injuries in physical activity are predictable, which means most are preventable if you know what to look for.

What A3.1 asks of you in Grade 10

Demonstrate behaviours and apply procedures that maximize your safety and that of others in a variety of settings. The curriculum's examples:

• controlling the amount of physical contact;
• adjusting your level of exertion to changes in your physical condition;
• wearing protective equipment when appropriate (for example, when wall climbing or cycling);
• showing social responsibility by helping to create a safe environment and encouraging others to do the same;
• using the buddy system when hiking, cross-country skiing or swimming.

Settings include the gym, fitness room, field, hiking and snow trails, recreational facilities and bicycle lanes.

Controlling contact

In most class activities (soccer, basketball, ultimate, floor hockey), contact is not part of the game, but players still collide. To control contact:

• Play the object, not the person: go for the ball or disc, never through a player.
• Use body control: be able to stop or change direction within a step or two; slow down in crowded spaces.
• Keep sticks and racquets low and under control.
• Know the contact rules for the activity and the level of play (for example, ringette and ultimate are non-contact).
• Communicate: call "mine" or "yours" so two players don't go for the same ball.

When contact does happen, stop, check on the person and play on only if they're OK. Any blow to the head means remove the person from play and follow the concussion steps you learned in Grade 9.

Adjusting intensity to your physical condition

Your body is different every day. Lower your intensity, or rest, when you notice:

• you're getting sick or recovering from illness (rest when you have a fever);
• poor sleep or unusual tiredness;
• heat and humidity or poor air quality (for example, smoky air from wildfires);
• an injury that hurts more as you move (sharp pain is a stop sign; normal muscle effort is not);
• asthma symptoms starting.

Use your effort scale: on a low day, aim for 4 to 5 out of 10 instead of 7 to 8, or switch to easier activity like walking or stretching. Stop and tell an adult for chest pain, fainting or dizziness, or trouble breathing.

Specialized protective equipment

Wall climbing (in a gym or climbing facility):

• a properly fitted harness, buckles done up as the facility shows, and a helmet where the facility requires it;
• only trained, supervised belayers; climbing on a rope that's checked by staff;
• a partner check before every climb: harness, knot or connection, belay device, then "On belay?" "Belay on." "Climbing." "Climb on."

Cycling:

• In Ontario, cyclists under 18 must wear an approved bicycle helmet. Use the 2-V-1 fit check.
• An Ontario bike must have a working bell or horn, and from about half an hour before sunset to half an hour after sunrise, a white or amber front light and a red rear light or reflector, plus white reflective material on the front forks and red on the rear.
• Before riding, do the ABC check: Air in the tires, Brakes work, Chain is clean and on.

Riding safely in bicycle lanes

In Ontario, a bicycle is a vehicle under the Highway Traffic Act, so cyclists follow the rules of the road.

• Ride in the same direction as traffic, in the bike lane where there is one.
• Stay about 1 metre from parked cars, outside the door zone.
• Shoulder check before you move left or change lanes, and use hand signals.
• Obey traffic lights and stop signs; make eye contact with drivers at intersections.
• Drivers must leave at least 1 metre when passing a cyclist where practical.
• Ride single file in a group when traffic is around, and keep a gap so you can stop.

Trails and the buddy system

For hiking, cross-country skiing and swimming, the curriculum's key practice is the buddy system: never go alone. Before you head out on hiking or snow trails:

• leave a trip plan with someone at home (where, who, route, when you'll be back);
• check the weather and trail conditions; know when it gets dark (very early in December);
• carry water, a snack, extra layers, a charged phone and any medical devices;
• stay on marked trails, and turn back if conditions get worse or you're behind schedule;
• in the water, swim only in supervised areas with a buddy, as you learned in Grade 9.