According to the basketball association, the case may increase the debate on whether the safety requirements of basketball courts should be updated. The conditions in the match were in accordance with the rules.
An unfortunate situation happened at the Karhuvuori sports hall in Kotka yesterday, Tuesday evening, when a KTP Basket player Brandon Tabb hit his head on the stands in the men’s Korisliiga match.
The accident happened when Tabb fell and slid on the floor towards the grandstand structures. In the situation, he received a blow to the back of his head.
The match between KTP Basket and Uusikaupunki Korihai was stopped for half an hour, and Tabb was taken to the hospital for examination.
The head coach of the team Roope Mäkelä does not comment on the player’s condition publicly, but KTP Basket’s Instagram account (you will switch to another service) according to the player has been discharged from the hospital.
Tabb says in the stories section of Instagram that she is already home and doing well.
Competition director of the Basketball Association by Tom Westerholm according to this, both the playing conditions and the first aid measures were in order at Kotka’s match event. After the match, the matter was discussed between the Basketball Association and KTP Basket.
– Based on the video recording, it’s bad luck. A player in a game-like situation falls and slides into the stand structure. It is admittedly quite close to the field, but still, according to the rules of the game, more than two meters away, describes Westerholm.
Is the safety zone enough?
According to Westerholm, the situation seen in the KTP match does not lead to special measures from the Basketball Association’s point of view.
However, it may speed up the debate on whether the requirements for basketball courts should be updated. According to Westerholm, the sport has developed over the years, but the safety areas of the fields have remained unchanged.
– The issue has been discussed and thought about for some time. Maybe this can speed up or give an understanding that this kind of thing can be dangerous, Westerholm reflects.
According to Westerholm, in addition to Kotka, there are safety areas that comply with the rules but are scarce at the ends of the pitches of Kouvola and Helsinki’s Töölö Arena. In Kouvola, outside the security area, there is a stand like Kotka, in Kisahalli, a wall.
For the long side of the field, the safety area requirement is also two meters. The Basketball Federation has, however, granted exemptions for that, with which you can play in Kotka and Töölö Kisahalli, even though the areas remain less than two meters.
– At the final borders, where the speed is very high, the requirement of two meters is absolute. We have not granted or will grant exemptions for that.
According to Westerholm, how the ends of the fields could be made safer depends on the location and what is outside the safety area.
He is not aware of any other cases in Korisliiga where a player hit his head on structures outside the field. Smaller wounds, such as wounds from advertising boards, have happened a few times.
The owner of the sports hall is going through the situation
Chairman of KTP Basket Jyrki Lindström says that KTP is not proposing, for example, the removal of the main stand, because the match venue is in accordance with the rules of the Basketball Association.
According to him, the city of Kotka, as the owner of the hall, can consider whether it wants, for example, additional padding in the hall.
Sports director of the city of Kotka Tommi Lanki said in an interview with Kotka on Wednesday morning that the event and the reasons that led to it will be investigated.
– Of course, we have to investigate what has happened and what the background is. The most important thing at the moment is of course that the player recovers, says Lanki.
A new event arena is currently being built in Kotka, which can also be used for organizing sports events in the future. According to Lang, there have been no discussions about, for example, moving basketball matches to the new arena.
– Playing in Karhuvuori is definitely in the near future.
Read also: The KTP basketball star was taken to the hospital by ambulance