The Office of Athletics, Wellness and Recreation alongside the Office of the Vice President for Internationalization and Engagement at the University of Balamand have collaborated with The Lebanese Red Cross to offer a safety workshop.

The workshop focused on safety and how to treat various injuries that can be sustained while engaging in sports activities. Trainees included the gymnasium staff, coaches, sports teams affiliated with the university, heads of student clubs, student housing officials and students. The aim of the workshop is to ensure that the respective attendees are well prepared and fully equipped to handle any accident or health crisis that might arise.

The workshop focused on FA Step. Protect, Examine, Alert, Airway Obstruction, Unconsciousness breathing (Recovery position), Unconsciousness not breathing (CPR with AED machine), External Bleeding, Soft tissues injuries (burns, stings & bites, simple wounds), Bones and Joint injuries (Trauma), Heart attacks and Practical scenarios.

In order to further ensure the safety of the athletes, the gymnasium was equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machine that can save lives by re-establishing normal heart rhythm after sudden cardiac arrest.

The AED was generously donated by Dr. Mona Osman El Hage, the founder of The Champs Fund (The Hicham El Hage Program for Young Hearts & Athletes Health) that was established in April 2014 in memory of Hicham El Hage, a 15year old athlete who collapsed on the football field due to an undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The main aim of the fund is to prevent death in young athletes that is due to sudden cardiac arrest. This is done by advocating mandatory cardiac screening, raising awareness on cardiac risks, and ensuring that sports centers and gyms are better equipped with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) & Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certified coaches. ​