National Marathon Safety and Security Summit set for Dec. 8-10
Tue, 11/17/2015 - 11:58am | By: Alison Crumpton
Marathon officials from across the country will converge on The University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, Miss. on Dec. 8-10 for the National Marathon Safety and Security Summit, hosted by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4).
“The recent tragedies in Paris reiterate the need for further developing a safety and security baseline for stadiums and outdoor events such as marathons,” said Dr. Lou Marciani, director of NCS4. “The goal of the Marathon Summit is to develop strategies to implement best practices by addressing major safety and security issues through input from the country's best professionals in the field of marathon operations.”
Attendees will include event administrators, government officials, city/state/federal law enforcement, city planners, emergency managers, first responders, health services, and fire/HazMat services.
The Summit, to be held at USM's campus in Long Beach, resulted from NCS4 Advisory Board feedback on current safety and security issues facing marathon events in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in moderated discussions (round robin) for designated issues (manpower/resources, risk analysis, legal challenges, community politics, buy-in from local agencies and upper management, and financial concerns) within the following topic areas:
- Event Day Planning
- Crowd Dynamics/Management
- Emergency Action Planning
- Risk and Threat Assessment
- Staff Development and Performance
- Technology Use/Information Management
“The Summit enables us to talk about how we put on our events and how we can better connect and understand how to build those relationships with city agencies, which are critical to providing a safe and secure event,” said Mike Nishi, SVP/General Manager of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Marathon Advisory Committee members providing assistance and guidance for the Summit include: Virginia Brophy Achman, Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon; George Banker, Army ten-Miler; John Bertsch, Ironman World Championships; George Chiampas, Bank of America Chicago Marathon; Stacy Embretson, Los Angeles Marathon; Jim Estes, USA Track & Field; Doug Flannery, Boston Athletic Association; Steve Georgas; Bank of America Chicago Marathon; Rich Harshbarger, Running USA; Jim Heim, TCS New York City Marathon; Dr. Lou Marciani, NCS4; Patrice Matamoros, Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon; Kyle McLaughlin, TCS New York City Marathon; Ted Metellus, Competitor Group; Wade Morehead, Chevron Houston Marathon; Josh Nemzer, Nemzer Event Management, LLC; Mike Nishi; Bank of America Chicago Marathon; and Dr. Stu Weiss, TCS New York City Marathon
Pricing to attend the Summit is $260 per person. Limited seats are available. To reserve a spot, visit: at https://www.ncs4.com/marathon