The Rugby League Ground Safety Officers' Association was first established in April 1997 to provide a suitable forum to debate matters of mutual concern, to facilitate the sharing of ideas and practices, to discuss the training requirements of safety officers and stewards, to establish common practice in the area of ground safety procedures and to formulate a consensus which might be applied to negotiations with all relevant authorities.

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The RLSGOA

The inaugural meeting of the Rugby League Ground Safety Officers Association (RLGSOA) took place at the Mc.Alpine Stadium Huddersfield in October 1996. The Association was subsequently constituted on a formal basis in April 1997 with Max Woosey (St. Helens), Ron Turner (Hull K.R.) and Robin Hayes (Independent Health and Safety Manager) being respectively appointed to the executive positions of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

The formation of the Association, under the project Management of Neil Tunnicliffe from the Rugby Football League was a successful culmination of work undertaken through the Rugby Football League’s Minimum Standards Committee. The aspiration of the founding members was to provide a suitable forum to debate matters of mutual concern, to facilitate the sharing of ideas and practices, to discuss the training requirements of safety officers and stewards, to establish common practice in the area of ground safety procedures and to formulate a consensus which might be applied to negotiations with all relevant authorities.

Both the current constitution and the objectives of the RLGSOA can be found within the following pages.

Meetings are held at various Club venues throughout the year in addition to an Annual Conference and Exhibition. The Conference and Exhibition event has proved to be an excellent forum over recent years for debating with guest speakers, current issues affecting both stadium management and safety. Several companies displaying a diverse range of safety products and services etc also generously support such events.

The Association remains a lively forum. It has participated with the RFL in responding to various legislatives proposals affecting sport and other significant documents such as the Green Guide. Coupled with this, the Association has actively contributed to the development of policy or operational rules as for example, contained within the RFL Matchday Operations Manual.

Membership of the Association is is divided into FOUR Categories namely FULL, ASSOCIATE, CORPORATE and LIFE. Only FULL members (Safety and Deputy Safety Officers from Super League and National League Clubs) are entitled to vote at meetings.

New Members are warmly welcome. Application forms or enquiries can be made via contacting the Secretary.