A study is proposed to test whether adding additional referees to youth soccer matches may reduce the risk of injury to the children playing soccer. Publicly-open youth soccer games will be randomly assigned to have either one or three referees and videotaped. The videotaped games will then be watched to record risk-taking behavior by players, referee decisions, and other factors relevant to potential injury.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
49
We compared player behavior with one versus three referees present on youth soccer fields during match play. The time between these two matches ranged from a few hours to several weeks.
We compared player behavior with one versus three referees present on youth soccer fields during match play. The time between these two matches ranged from a few hours to several weeks.
UAB Youth Safety Lab, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Average Number of Injuries During Soccer Matches
average number of injury events requiring player to leave the field or be attended by an adult, across all games in study
Time frame: baseline through one hour, which is beginning of the game until the end of the game, averaged across games
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