Between the 19-28th August 2023, more than 750 budding world champions from 54 nations across six continents competed in the UIPM 2023 Pentathlon and Laser Run World Championships at the University of Bath.
In this blog, CPSU Senior Consultant, Denise tells us about her experience working at this event and what she has learnt from her experience.
Leading up to the competition, the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) supported Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) event organisers with ensuring there were robust safeguarding arrangements in place at the event. This involved delivering safeguarding training for event staff and writing a comprehensive event safeguarding plan.
A team of CPSU safeguarding leads also attended parts of the event, including the Laser Run element and the family day, where spectators had the opportunity to try various activities such as the Laser shoot, as well as watch the exciting competition on a world stage.
At the event
Throughout the event, the CPSU team were a visible safeguarding presence to provide an extra set of eyes and ears to support the safeguarding operations led by Pentathlon GB. The CPSU team visited various practice areas, competitions sites, and activities across each of the days, and also stayed overnight on site so were available 24 hours if required. Being visible and proactive at the event allowed us to make a valuable contribution - lots of people asked us questions and the Safeguarding and Welfare Lead also said she felt supported throughout the event.
The event was a great opportunity for us to learn more about sport and the pressures for children and young people involved in a multi-discipline event. It was also surprising and interesting to see people having multiple roles in the competition, for instance, a coach, official, and competitor. Overall, there was a very positive feel to the event, competition, and family day. Children and young people were celebrating both taking part and their successes, and it was good to see so many different countries come together.
Future opportunities
Based on our time at Modern Pentathlon, we are going to develop some potential scenarios that can be integrated into future training for events. We are continually looking to develop our training and procedures based off what we learn, helping us improve events we work on in the future.
If your organisation is interested in our support, the CPSU commercial team is here to help. Our highly knowledgeable consultants and development officers provide expert safeguarding training and consultancy services, helping to keep your organisation and events as safe as possible for young people.