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Jordan Beck

Mr. Heuett

Yorktown Junior Athletic Association Emergency Plan

Since we live in Indiana there is no surprise that we have really bad weather. It feels like

it’s sunny one day and then ten seconds later it’s pouring rain. With all the bad whether means

that there has to be a good plan in place to communicate the information. Without a structured

plan that everyone is aware of will lead to traffic jams and parents looking confused on what to

do next. Getting everyone home safe should be the number concern of the JAA and my plan

will help make sure that happens.

I feel as if the most important issue that needs to be solved for the JAA is handling

severe lightning. I know that parents don’t want their child to get struck by lightning because

they are holding a metal bat or because of a wet field. I personally witnessed a lighting incident

happen when it struck the scoreboard during a high school baseball game and it shocked

everyone in the crowd. The last thing I want to see if for another incident to happen especially

if it involves a child playing at JAA. Without a structured plan on how to handle lightning storms

just opens the door for problems to occur. These problems include lawsuits, higher insurance

policies, loss of membership within the organization or termination for the league. Lawsuits

specifically are the worst thing that can happen to a league because the JAA won’t be able to

afford the cost of the fees without increasing membership dues which could push a lot of

families away. Severe lightning is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly and that’s why I

have come up with a plan to help keep JAA and its members safe.
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In the event of a severe lightning storm all games must be paused immediately. From

past experience, I know that most little leagues keep the players in the dugout in hope that the

storm passes. I feel as if this is a terrible idea because must dugouts have metal all around it

therefore there is no need to have players in them to wait. All players and families should either

enter the YMCA or go back to the vehicles in the parking lot to wait for further instructions. The

next step is if the storm isn’t going to pass the vehicles in the south parking lot need to exit

away from the baseball diamonds and go south down 600 West Road. Everyone located in the

north parking lot should proceed right and go north down 600 West Road. There should not be

any traffic going through the lot by the baseball diamond as it will just stop the flow of traffic.

By having the two main lots exits and then proceed separate ways will make traffic smoother as

nobody will have to stop and wait for other vehicles coming from the other side. The main point

of this emergency plan is to get everyone out in the fastest possible way without someone

backing up the line.

For the communication process, I feel as if there are two choices that would relay the

information the fastest. The first is by having a mass text message sent out to all of the parents.

At the day of registration all parents should have to sign up to be on the text message list so

whoever is in charge of the league can use it to communicate all the information. A mass email

could also be a good idea however not everyone has smart phones or checks their emails every

day. The other option to communicate information is by having a siren go off at the YMCA

building to let everyone know the games are cancelled. By being physically present at the game

everyone will be able to hear it and will know what to do if its introduced at the start of the

year at registration.
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