NCS⁴ NEWS e-newsletter | February 10, 2022

Upcoming Sports Safety and Security Forums Next Week

Both forums focus on Crowd Management and Cyber Security Strategies

The Crowd Management session will introduce participants to effective crowd management strategies and provide the opportunity to apply lessons learned and professional experiences to an exercise scenario using a simulated sequence of events.

The Cyber Security session will familiarize participants with the concepts of planning and preparing for, responding to, and recovering from a targeted cyber attack, as well as an introduction to the attacker methods used during an attack.

The Cyber Security session is led by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), Business and Cyber Solutions Division, a premier provider of cybersecurity training and technical assistance services.

Thank you to our Intercollegiate Advisory Committee for your guidance and support!

A special thanks to our sponsor, Patriot One Technologies, a leader in advanced AI-powered Patron Screening and Threat Detection solutions.

Thank you to our Professional Sports and Entertainment Advisory Committees for your guidance and support!

The Interscholastic Athletics and After-School Activities Forum is Less Than Three Weeks Away!

The virtual forum will focus on crowd management and de-escalation strategies:

The Crowd Management session will introduce participants to effective crowd management strategies and provide the opportunity to apply lessons learned and professional experiences to an exercise scenario using a simulated sequence of events.

The De-Escalation session will familiarize participants with the common causes of escalation and provide tools and techniques that can be used to de-escalate emotionally-charged behavioral incidents.

Companies who provide products or services to the sports safety and security industry may only attend the Forum if sponsoring.

Find out more or register for the forum by clicking the button below.

Mark Your Calendar and Make Plans to Join Us in Orlando This Summer

The 13th annual National Sports Safety and Security Conference & Exhibition will take place June 28-30, 2022, at the Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate. The gathering of top safety and security professionals across multiple disciplines provides a versatile and intimate environment dedicated to innovative technologies, products, services, and educational programming. A special thanks goes to Title Sponsor, inOrbit.

Registration is now open. Save $50 when you register before April 15. Click the button below for more information or to register.

Now Accepting Golden Eagle Award applications

Only registered exhibitors and sponsors of the 2022 Conference are eligible to apply.

Applicants from leading systems integration, architecture, design, engineering, and consulting firms are invited to submit case studies from successful projects, which had safety and security at the forefront of planning and execution.

The Golden Eagle Award which recognizes excellence in system integration, architecture, engineering and/or construction (A/E/C) specifically related to the safety and security of spectators, property, and infrastructure of spectator event facilities. The Golden Eagle Award considers critical design and functionality elements that enable and promote the safety and security of all stakeholders in an efficient and effective manner.

A panel of judges reviews all applications to determine the most compelling projects. Selected entries have the opportunity to submit case studies during the annual National Sports Safety and Security Conference on June 28-30, 2022. The winning submission will be selected as the 2022 Golden Eagle Award recipient at the awards luncheon, which also takes place during the National Conference.

For more information or to apply for the Golden Eagle Award, visit ncs4.usm.edu/conference. If you have any questions about the award or application process, please contact Sara Priebe, at 601-266-6858 or sara.priebe@usm.edu.

NCS⁴ Leads Training Course at NCAA National Office

The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS⁴) at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) conducted a Sport Event Risk Management training course on February 1-2 at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) National Office in Indianapolis. Twenty people attended the two-day course, including those from the NCAA and representatives of various Indianapolis sport venues and organizations.

The Sport Event Risk Management course is designed to build sport and special event risk management capabilities for community-wide collaboration and mitigation. Safety and security teams increase their knowledge of planning, risk assessment, training, and continuous improvement practices through activity-based training modules. The expectation is for participants to return to their respective sport venues and coordinate the development or enhancement of a sport event security management system.

Randy L. Buhr, an NCAA Director of Championships and Alliances and member of the NCS⁴ Intercollegiate Advisory Committee, contacted NCS⁴ to schedule the course. When asked why this course was important, Buhr shared, “The course allowed our staff to learn more about the various risks inherent in administering NCAA championships and how those can be mitigated through various measures. It also allowed our staff the ability to both meet and collaborate with others involved in the greater Indianapolis area, who also work on organizing events and ensuring safety and security of those events.”

Buhr also commented on how the training would impact the safety and security of NCAA events, saying, “The training will allow those in attendance to apply what they learned during the course to their championship planning. We will also be able to use the educational materials provided to train other championships and alliances staff members who were unable to attend, so they can be better prepared to enhance the safety and security at their various championships.” He continued, “The ultimate goal would be that this training should enhance the safety and security of NCAA championships.”

Participation in this course is recommended for those charged with ensuring the safety of sporting events, including public safety agencies, risk management personnel, emergency management, event management and operations, athletic departments, host community response agencies, venue owners and operators, and government.

Topics include threat identification, multi-agency collaboration, risk assessment, sport security planning, protective measures, sport event staff training, and continuous improvement.

“This course provides answers to many questions and provides knowledge that we can bring back to our staff,” said Crystal Reimer, NCAA Director of Operations. Reimer also commented on the collaboration between participants at the training, saying, “The event staff across Indianapolis are very close. Having them in attendance has given us an opportunity to work with them on ideas that we can implement for our NCAA events.”

Sport Event Risk Management (AWR-167) is a DHS/FEMA-funded course, provided free of charge for the hosting partner and participants. The NCS⁴ offers a variety of other DHS/FEMA-funded courses dedicated to spectator sports and special events safety and security in addition to Sport Event Risk Management. Additional courses include:

• Risk Management for After-School Activities and Interscholastic Activities
• Sport and Special Events Incident Management
• Sport Venue Evacuation and Protective Actions
• Enhanced Sport and Special Events Incident Management
• Sport and Special Event Enhanced Risk Management & Assessment
• Sport and Special Event Public Information and Emergency Notification

The courses represent a cooperative effort between The University of Southern Mississippi’s National Center for Spectator Sports Security and Safety (USM/NCS⁴) and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center (TEEX/NERRTC), a member of The Texas A&M University System.

For more information on DHS/FEMA-funded courses offered through NCS⁴ or to schedule a course, visit ncs4.usm.edu/training or email NCS4train@usm.edu.

Pilot Three a Success - New Crowd Management Course Expected to Release Fall '22

The NCS⁴ has successfully completed the third and final pilot for the new DHS/FEMA-funded course, Crowd Management for Sports and Special Events. The pilot was held in Nashville at Belmont University, with 45 participants from public safety, venue management, and event operations. These sessions have allowed NCS⁴ to validate course content, gather participant feedback, and ensure the curriculum successfully addresses industry gaps prior to making it available to practitioners later this year.

This course represents a cooperative effort between The University of Southern Mississippi’s National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (USM/NCS⁴) and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center (TEEX/NERRTC), a member of the Texas A&M University System.

The course is planned to be released and available for scheduling Fall 2022.

Kudos to NCS⁴ Staffer, Will Adams

Please join us in congratulating NCS⁴ Training Manager, Will Adams, on receiving a federal appointment. Will has been an integral part of the NCS⁴ team for more than five years, and he will be greatly missed. Congratulations and best wishes for your continued success, Will!

NCS⁴ Research in the News: Addressing Spectator Concerns

The article begins on page 34 in the February issue of SportsField Management.

Now Scheduling Select DHS/FEMA-Funded Training Courses

The NCS⁴ is currently offering four safety and security courses in face-to-face format. Each course is designed to be interactive and allow individuals to become more confident in their ability to identify, prevent, and manage incidents. The key principles that individuals will learn range from risk management, evacuation messaging, threat prioritization, and communication. Each class is being presented in a face-to-face format that requires 8 hours each day for two consecutive days.

You can learn more about each of these courses by visiting the NCS⁴ website or by clicking on one of the following courses below:

• AWR-167: Sport Event Risk Management
• MGT-412: Sport Venue Evacuation and Protective Actions
• MGT-466: Sport and Special Event Enhanced Risk Management and Assessment
• MGT-467: Sport and Special Event Public Information and Emergency Notification

These courses represent a cooperative effort between The University of Southern Mississippi’s National Center for Spectator Sports Security and Safety (USM/NCS⁴) and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center (TEEX/NERRTC), a member of The Texas A&M University System.

If you are interested in attending or hosting a training course, please email us at NCS4train@usm.edu.

Fundamentals of Crowd Safety Course Offered Online

NCS⁴ and GKStill International have partnered to jointly offer the Fundamentals of Crowd Safety online E-Learning course to address capability gaps in crowd behavior and sciences. Professor Dr. G. K. Still, Professor of Crowd Science at Manchester University, developed this certified, accredited course. The course offers an 8-hour online interactive experience designed to teach the essential elements of crowd safety and crowd risk analysis. The course is especially valuable to event organizers, as it ensures that those who complete it are compliant with the NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code — specifically, the areas of section 12 of the code that require a venue to provide a crowd manager trained in crowd management techniques for occupancies exceeding 1000.