What is a typical first step in risk management within athletics departments?

• A. Identify hazards
• B. Increase game schedules
• C. Hire more staff
• D. Expand stadium

Answer: (A)

Identifying hazards is the first step in risk management because you can’t manage what you can’t see. In athletics departments, hazards are anything that could cause harm to players, staff, or spectators—unsafe field conditions, faulty equipment, insufficient medical coverage, weather or heat risks, scheduling and travel risks, crowd safety, or risky training loads. By systematically spotting these potential sources of harm, the department can assess how likely each risk is and how severe the consequences would be, which helps prioritize which risks to address first and design effective controls. Once hazards are identified, you move on to evaluating risk and implementing measures such as equipment maintenance, facility inspections, emergency action plans, staff training, and clear policies. Actions like increasing game schedules, hiring more staff, or expanding facilities affect exposure but don’t establish what could go wrong, so they aren’t the initial step.