Goal Post Safety

PILA group is Australia’s leading goal post manufacturer and we are serious about goal post safety at Australian playing fields. Book a PILA GoalSafe Goal Post Audit FREE

Dangerous goal posts have been a point of contention for some time now, with Local Government and sports clubs battling over who is responsible for ensuring player safety and paying for replacement goal posts where required. Children have been injured and tragically killed when goal posts have failed or tipped over. The problem is funding to replace goal posts is scarce and until an accident happens, unsafe goal posts are often overlooked.

Australian Standards (football goals) have been introduced as part of recent action to rid sports fields of dangerous goal posts but who is enforcing the owner of these fields to upgrade their goal posts and who is enforcing manufacturers to construct and test new goal posts against the Standard? It seems no one is fully responsible at present and it is up to Local Government employees, club officials and manufacturers to try to protect player’s safety. But with three parties involved, ultimately no one is managing goal post safety completely and the liability is up in the air.

Compliant goal post design needs to be focused on by the safety regulators and manufacturers need to be held accountable for the products they sell, before another child is hurt or killed. There is no regulatory body currently enforcing goal posts are firstly manufactured by a qualified company or secondly are manufactured to a Standard. It is too easy for manufacturers to label their goal posts as ‘compliant’ or ‘engineered’ with no checks by a regulator, leading the unsuspecting buyer to think they are choosing a safe product.

As a goal post manufacturer at the forefront of the industry, PILA group has spent much time and money ensuring goal post safety is the most important aspect of the design process. But while we tick the safety boxes and manufacture goal posts to the exact specifications of the Australian Standard in the PILA factory, this does not stop industry cowboys from claiming their unchecked and often non-compliant goal posts are safe and engineered. Unless a goal post meets the Australian Standard and this can be proven, then it can not be claimed as safe.

When will real action be taken with regard to goal post safety? And by that I mean, when will ALL unsafe non-compliant goal posts be replaced? Hopefully not after it is too late for another child who has fallen victim to playing on dangerous sports equipment. Funding needs to be injected into upgrading goal posts Australia wide; urgently. We live in a sports mad nation where weekends are spent having fun kicking the footy with your mates. Let’s try to keep it fun by making it safe for all to enjoy.

Sian Wooldridge, Business Manager – PILA Sports Goal Posts

PILA group goal posts are manufactured in accordance with Australian and European Standards and have been designed for everyday use and comply with the appropriate safety and sports competition standards. They are backed by 5-year and 2-year warranties for peace of mind and value for money, making PILA goal posts the #1 choice for Australian councils and sports clubs. We offer FREE goal post audits and safety advice to all Local Government and Clubs. We can help you quickly and easily organise new SAFE, compliant goal posts to suit any budget.

For more information or to have a quick chat to one of our friendly team, call us now on 1300 GOALPOSTS (1300 462 576) or email goalposts@pilagroup.com.au.

Goal Post Accident Article August 2007 - click to read

Goal Post Accident Article February 2005 - click to read

Goal Post Accident Article August 2004 - click to read

Goal Post Accident Article April 2004 - click to read

Goal Post Accident Article July 2003 - click to read