Compliance with the Spanish standard (UNE-EN) for basketball hoops and soccer goals in municipal sports facilities in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, Mexico

Abstract

Safety in the sports fields is a necessity and a right of all people, whose obligation and responsibility will be in charge of those who guarantee safety in sports facilities. In Mexico, in the decade from 2010 to 2019, there were 40 cases of people, mainly minors under 18 years old, who lost their lives while practicing soccer and basketball due to falling of the soccer goalpost and/or the basketball basket. This country lacks research studies and regulations on safety in sports equipment and facilities. Therefore, in an innovative way, the European standard UNE-EN 748:2013+A1:2018 y 1270:2006 were used, respectively. 122 soccer goalposts and 260 basketball baskets were inspected in public sports facilities, which are administered by the municipality in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, Mexico. The results indicate that the general percentage of compliance with the regulations would be 43.17 ± 12.08 for basketball basket and 42.25 ± 10.14 for soccer goalposts. General aspect is the section with the lowest compliance for both equipment’s, meanwhile the board and the basketball net present better percentage of compliance. In this way, not only the lack of compliance is evidenced, but also the need to show data for improvement actions. Public Policies of legislation and safety of sports facilities are required to help managers, coaches, etc. to improve safety awareness in sports practice.