Briefing Participants, Staff and Others

Briefing Participants, Staff and Others

An event organiser will need to ensure briefings are adequate for their event. Each event will have different factors that need to be discussed. 

Brief Participants

It is important to provide any participants with relevant information in good time, this may include:

• Health and safety
• Local specific issues
• Environment and wildlife sensitivities
• Codes of conduct such as those found in the family of Countryside Codes

If your event in on the coast path or public right way brief participants on what to do when meeting head on, overtaking and passing others.

The key safety issue on the Coast Path is to keep to the path and ensure that neither participants nor other path users ever step onto the seaward side.

It is important to ensure that all staff, volunteers and contractors (where appropriate) are:

• aware of the content of the participant briefing so that they can answer any queriesfully briefed on all aspects of the event including crowd control and emergency arrangements
• fully briefed on all aspects of the event including crowd control and emergency arrangements
• given written instructions, site plans and checklists
• aware of potential hazards that can develop during an event
• aware of their marshalling areas.

It is important that stewards can:

• be easily identified by wearing high visibility jackets
• effectively communicate with each other, their supervisor, the person responsible for health and safety, and the overall event manager

Brief all other relevant parties  

It is good practice to communicate your event plan with all relevant parties shortly before the event to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of responsibilities, timings and possible effects of the event.

Communication is key and landowners really appreciate all concerns have been considered and addressed and that there is an organised plan for the day.