A 12-Point Safety Checklist for Kids' Sports Venues in Nepal

You're about to send your child to a sports venue, maybe for the first time. The marketing material says "safe environment" — which tells you nothing. This piece is the calm, observation-based checklist you can use in a 20-minute visit to actually decide.

By the end, you'll have 12 specific things to look at and ask about, what reasonable answers sound like, and the items that should make you walk away.

How to use this checklist

Visit the venue during a session — ideally one with children your child's age. Stay 20 minutes. Walk around. Watch. Ask. The goal isn't to interrogate; it's to see how the venue actually runs when no one is selling you anything.

The 12 points are grouped into four buckets: people, place, protocol, and parent access.

People (4 points)

1. Is there a named coach present, leading the session?

Walk in unannounced if possible. Is there a clearly identifiable coach running the session, or are children mostly playing with minimal adult input? Coaching is not the same as supervision. A reasonable session has a coach actively engaged for most of the time.

2. Is the coach-to-child ratio reasonable for the activity?

For skill sessions: 1 coach per 8-12 children is reasonable. For game-play or scrimmage: 1 coach per 15 children is acceptable. Anything above 20:1 is supervision, not coaching. Count heads. If you can see more children than fits on the court, that's a different problem.

3. Are children grouped by age and / or level?

A 7-year-old and a 13-year-old in the same drill is a problem — physically (different size and speed) and developmentally (different attention spans). Some mixing during warm-up is fine; sustained mixed-age drilling is not.

4. Is staff behavior toward children professional?

Watch how coaches talk to children — tone, body language, what they do when a child struggles. Yelling beyond reasonable instructional volume, physical roughness, public shaming, mocking — any of these is a hard stop. Move on. Trust your eyes on this one.

Place (4 points)

5. Is the playing surface in good condition?

Look at the surface where children will play:

• Turf — no large bald patches, no exposed metal pegs at edges, infill not heavily compacted
• Wooden floors — no large cracks, no nails sticking up, no slippery spots
• Concrete / outdoor — no major cracks, no broken glass, no standing water
• Synthetic / mat — no torn sections, no lifting edges

A few worn spots are normal. Hazards that could trip or cut a child are not.

6. Is the lighting adequate?

Indoor venues should be well-lit enough that you can clearly see across the court without strain. Dim lighting causes mis-hits, collisions, and eye fatigue. Outdoor sessions after 5pm in winter become unsafe without proper floodlights.

7. Is drinking water available?

Yes / no. Where is it? Is it being used during breaks? Children playing for 60+ minutes in Kathmandu's climate need water access. A venue that doesn't provide water — or charges Rs. 50 for a small bottle each break — is cutting corners.

8. Are washrooms accessible and reasonably clean?

Walk in and look. Are they clean enough that you'd let your child use them? Is there soap? Is there water? Children's hygiene during play matters more than the average venue thinks.

Protocol (2 points)

9. Is there a visible first aid kit, and does staff know its location?

Ask the coach or front-desk staff: "Where is your first aid kit?" A reasonable answer is a specific location and 5-second retrieval. If staff have to look around or seem unsure, that's a flag.

10. What's the medical-emergency protocol?

Ask: "What happens if my child gets injured?" Reasonable answers mention: immediate first aid by trained staff, parent notification within minutes, transport to hospital if needed, and contact with the registered emergency contact. Vague answers ("we'd call you") suggest no real protocol.

Parent access (2 points)

11. Is there a waiting area for parents?

For younger children (under 10), many parents stay nearby. Is there a place to sit that's clean and quiet? Not a luxury requirement — just a basic indicator of how the venue treats parents.

12. Can parents observe sessions?

Walking up to the court and watching for 5-10 minutes should be acceptable, with reasonable boundaries (don't distract the children). Venues that block parent observation entirely are signaling something. If they cite child-privacy concerns for other children, fair — but they should still be willing to let you observe your own child's session.

Bonus questions to ask staff directly

When you've finished walking around:

• "Who's the head coach for kids in my child's age group?"
• "How long has the venue been operating?"
• "Has there been any incident in the last year I should know about?" (Watch the response, not just the answer.)
• "Do you have parents I could speak with about their experience?"

A venue with good operations welcomes these. A poorly run one gets defensive.

Red flags — walk away if you see

• Coaches handling children physically beyond normal instructional contact
• Verbal abuse, mocking, or shaming as a coaching style
• No first aid kit, or no one knows where it is
• Children on the court who clearly don't want to be there with no adult engagement
• Venues that refuse to let you observe before enrolling
• Hidden fees or fee structures that "depend"
• Pressure to enroll same-day
• Smoking, drinking, or other inappropriate behavior by staff anywhere on premises
• Locked emergency exits or blocked fire escapes

These aren't paranoid concerns. They're the things that, when something goes wrong, will be in the post-mortem.

A reminder on quality variance

Sports venues in Kathmandu and Lalitpur vary enormously in how seriously they take safety. Two venues a kilometer apart, charging similar fees, can run completely different operations. Don't assume. Visit. Observe. Ask.

Most venues are reasonable. Some are excellent. A few are not, and those few will not appear different on a flyer.

How Maidaan helps

Maidaan lists venues across Kathmandu and Lalitpur with addresses and published prices. We don't certify safety standards — that judgment, formed by visits like the one this checklist guides, stays with you. We make it easier to find candidates for your shortlist.

Browse venues at Maidaan, or read our parent's guide for sports for kids in Kathmandu for broader context.

What to do this week

Pick one or two venues from your shortlist. Visit during a kids' session. Bring this checklist on your phone. Walk through the 12 points and the bonus questions. Decide from observation.

For the broader context, see our parent's guide for sports for kids in Kathmandu and what to ask before enrolling your child in a sports academy.