Security isn’t just for businesses, community sporting clubs need them too. It’s still important to secure facilities, buildings and equipment. Especially when it could cost thousands of dollars to replace. Good security doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive either. Different sporting clubs have a different view of how their security needs to look like. For some, it may be to have surveillance on their premises 24/7. For others, it may be to allow simple but secure access to its members outside of operating hours. It could even be to have keyless access because there have been many lost keys in the past. Or it’s all the above. So how do you know what it is that you need? Here we will look at what you should be thinking of when putting together a security plan for your local community sporting club.
1. What is the main security concern?
As we briefly touched on in our introduction, each sporting club will have different concerns as to why they wish to implement a solid security plan. There may be one concern that your club has, or there may be multiple concerns. Every club is different. Some common concerns include:
There has been a spate of thefts involving sporting equipment;
There has been an increase in unauthorised entry into your premises;
There has been vandalism/damage to the club premises;
There will be long periods of time when the club will be sitting empty, such as at the end of seasons or tournaments;
The club may want to have transparency, so an audit trail on who is accessing the premises and when.
Once you have realised your security concern/s, the next step is to know how the security will be managed.
2. How will the security be managed?
Once you have uncovered your main reason to put in place a security plan, the next step is to find out how it will be managed by the sporting club. If your club is run by volunteers, then it’s likely the headquarters will not always be staffed Monday to Friday. Then you may want to manage the security remotely by several volunteers on rotation. Consider providing admin or next level down authority and access via their smartphones. If the club is staffed every day, then opting for a desktop may be the better choice. It can then be easily accessed by those staff with the right level of authority. Do you need to create a log so the information is easily collected of activities and tasks?
3. Creating the security plan.
Now that you have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and who will manage it, let’s take a look at creating that security plan.
- Let’s begin with contact information. Who will be the primary contact points in case of a security emergency or alert? The best practice here is to have at least two names on file. Record full names, contact numbers, emails and residential addresses.
- What are the levels of authority in your club and who are they? For example, if one of your goals is to grant the member access to the facility, who can create this? Will they be able to revoke access? What about access to view the history?
- What are the current security devices and what do you want to add on? Here you will need to record the number of keys currently available, which ones are in use and to whom. How many padlocks do you have? Where are they stored? Other items to record are the location and number of security cameras. It’s a good idea to have a detailed list, so include how the feed viewed, stored and by who.
Once we have all the current information, we can then look to the necessary security solution. We know that it won’t be possible to implement every one of these key areas. Hence focus on your main security concern, to begin with, and then add to the security plan as time allow.
A. Access management
Wanting to have better control over access management? If you’re looking to increase efficiency in handling access and having a better overview of users’ access, then look to smart keyless entry. It provides you with electronic management too.
- Having the right keyless access management software will allow you to track changes, view the activity and allocate users to assigned keyless locks;
- You can grant access and create various levels of user access. All without the messy paperwork and filing. This includes granting access to certain areas of your club;
- With secure encryption technology, means only those with authorised access can view the software’s dashboard and amend details.
- Most access management systems can create time-sensitive access. For example, your cleaning crew needs access to your building only on Monday mornings. So, creating access for only the time they’re there is essential. One example of such a system is iglooworks. The online dashboard gives you the option to create this for any designated lock and user.
But if going keyless isn’t the solution you're after to manage access. Then opt for the Igloohome Smart Keybox instead. Simply store your keys inside and install the Keybox against a wall. Then grant unique and time-sensitive access as you go. This is a great option if your sporting club has only a few locks in use.
TIP: Have keys that you don’t know where they belong? If you have tested this on every door and lock, then it’s safe to say that they can go. You’ve held onto them long enough.
B. Surveillance
Wanting to check on the sporting club's courts, fields and buildings outside of (or within) operating hours? Then you need to look at a camera solution. Wired or wireless cameras are your eyes when there is no one there to oversee the club.
Consider what you want to achieve with the camera.
Are you wanting to record all hours of the day and night? Or are you interested in getting alerts when something happens during certain hours? This plays a major factor in whether you should opt for wireless or wired cameras. Wireless cameras are great for alerting you of activity. The majority of these types of cameras can only record action or activity events. Whereas wired cameras constantly record but may not alert you of any activity events.
How will the cameras be managed? Can they be remotely monitored by one or several staff/volunteers? Or do you need to have your cameras monitored by an external security company?
What do you want the cameras to track? Is it the entries to the facilities or perhaps the equipment storage room? Depending on where you want them to be, will determine whether you use 4G data, WiFi or ethernet. If you’re unsure of what type of camera you’re after, contact us and we can help you find the solution that is right for you.
Community sporting clubs need security as much as businesses do. It’s important to secure facilities, buildings and equipment well. Remember good security doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. To begin with, sort out what your priorities are and note what security currently exists. Does what you have work for your sporting club? If not, find what you need with Secure Your World.
For further help on club development, check this site from Australian Sports Commission.
