N.A.S.C. HOCKEY CONCUSSION SEMINAR
ONTARIO CONCUSSION LAW “ROWAN’S LAW”
Ontario has passed concussion safety legislation designed to protect amateur athletes and educate coaches about the dangers of head injuries, calling the law the first of its kind in the country.
The bill — named Rowan’s Law in memory of 17-year-old Rowan Stringer who died from a rugby injury. Rowan died from second impact syndrome after multiple concussions. During the coroner’s inquest her family learned that she had actually Googled “concussion” before she died.
The law establishes removal-from-sport and return-to-sport protocols for players to ensure they are taken out of a game if they are suspected of having a concussion. Coaches and teachers will also be required to review online resources that help them identify and manage concussions in players.
The bill also includes a concussion code of conduct that would set out rules of behaviour to minimize concussions while playing sports.
Ontario is the first province to introduce concussion legislation for amateur sports. We anticipate that other provinces will have similar laws soon. So, what does this mean for you?
This year, all sports in Ontario are required to have:
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Annual coach, trainer, teacher educational programs on concussion
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A removal from sport and return-to-play policy
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A “concussion code of conduct” which outlines banned/risky behaviour within a particular association
A concussion results in a temporary disruption in brain cell function. This starts with a player feeling any concussion symptom, such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, noise and light sensitivity, and many others.
Research shows that if a player suffers a second concussion before the brain has fully recovered from the first, then this could result in long-term or possibly fatal consequences.
Concussion symptoms typically go away in 1-2 weeks, but the vulnerability of the brain can linger for 3-6 weeks after the injury.
Therefore, the timing of clinical return to sport decisions are critical to protecting the health and safety of your players as well as the liability on your association.
Mandatory Concussion Protocol training and on-ice safety session
N.A.S.C. Hockey is providing all of our coaching staff from Flying Five through Midget divisions an educational session in order to ensure our compliance to the new Ontario law.
It is imperative that the team trainer and coaching staff be in attendance for this session.