Ambulances are being stretched to breaking point at the weekend dealing with sporting injuries

It comes as the increase of sporting matches - including many more women's and junior sport games being played at the weekends - sees paramedics being stretched to the limit.

In the Ballarat region last weekend, ambulances were called to sporting venues four times, including twice to Gordon.

The second call out to Gordon resulted in a 45 minute wait for an injured player who was laying on the ground with a suspected back injury. The reserves match was eventually called off while treatment was administered by trainers before paramedics arrived.

The delay was caused by the fact the case had been "triaged" after the initial call was for a report of "back and leg soreness".

While no blame is being placed at the work of the paramedics and 26-year-old Ben Alexander was later released from hospital without serious injury, the delay highlights the issues being faced by paramedics every weekend.

Ambulance Employees Australia general secretary Danny Hill said there was no doubt that paramedics experienced a higher workload on the weekend.

"On a Saturday in May, June and July with so many matches up and running, it has been known for Ambulance Victoria to have to put on extra staff," he said.

"Football players do get concussions, they can get spinal injuries and it's fair to say there is probably not enough regulation around good quality first aid training."

Mr Hill said while he wasn't aware of the specific circumstances relating to the injury, he would look into why it took as long as it did to get an ambulance to the ground.

"It is alarming to know that a patient unable to move had to wait that long, but it's good on those at the venue to have been so careful," he said.

"Particularly in something like a cardiac arrest, that initial support can be a difference between a life and death."

St John's Ambulance says its goal is by 2023, 33 per cent of the population is engaged in first aid training annually, "whether by formal training or through our free programs, such as first aid in schools."

"This is because we know that the more people in our community who are first aid prepared, the more lives we can save," a St John's spokesperson said.

AFL Goldfields Regional General Manager Rod Ward said clubs were required to have at least one accredited trainer from each club at any match. He said he was aware at how difficult it was for clubs to attract accredited trainers.

"It is something we invest a lot of time into providing training programs," Mr Ward said.

"Simple mathematics dictates the more games you play, the more trainers you will need and we know that clubs are finding it increasingly difficult to attract trainers."

Mr Ward said some clubs had a dedicated St John's Ambulance representative at every match, but it depended on the size and the individual club as to whether that was achievable for other clubs.

"A club such as Darley have invested in having St Johns at every game," he said. "But it really depends on the size of the club, if you have one junior team, obviously you don't need the amount as a club that might have up to 16 junior teams."

Central Highlands Football League administrative officer Diane Ryan said the league offered trainers courses before the start of each season.

She said the league had invested in defibrillators in recent years and had made submission to get training in their usage included in the St John's training, which had been received positively.

St John's said the amount of accredited trainers on hand was a matter for each individual league.

"When recommending the level of first aid coverage at an event, we take a risk based approach," she said.

"This would involve looking at the likelihood of injury and the potential consequences, as well as the number of spectators/attendees. This would of course vary based on each event. This is a service St John provides or the club can staff through their network."

"We would recommend more of the public are first aid trained to ensure there are enough people to assist at sporting events in case of an emergency."

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