Concussion Education & Return to Play Protocols

RLS
ROWAN'S LAW - CONCUSSION AWARENESS AND EDUCATION


Aurora FC recognizes Rowan's Law - Concussion Awareness and Education. Rowan's Law is named after Rowan Stringer, a high school rugby player from Ottawa, who died in the spring of 2013 from a condition known as second impact syndrome (swelling of the brain caused by a subsequent injury that occurred before a previous injury healed).

Rowan is believed to have experienced three concussions over six days while playing rugby. She had a concussion but didn't know her brain needed time to heal. Neither did her parents, teachers or coaches. Rowan's Law and Rowan's Law Day were established to honour her memory and bring awareness to concussions and concussion safety.

In order to raise awareness of concussions and their long and short term implications, the Government of Ontario established Rowan's Law in 2018 which makes it mandatory for sports organizations to:

  1. Ensure that athletes under 26 years of age, parents of athletes under 18, coaches, team trainers, and officials confirm every year that they have reviewed Ontario's Rowan's Law - Concussion Awareness Resources
  2. Establish a Concussion Code of Conduct that sets out rules of behaviour to support concussion prevention
  3. Establish a Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocol

Aurora FC proudly supports Rowan's Law and the safety of our players, and as such has a Concussion Code of Conduct for Players, supports and follows Canada Soccer Concussion Policy and a Concussion Return to Play Protocol that is in place. Aurora FC will continue to share information regarding concussion identification and awareness throughout upcoming seasons.

We encourage you to read more about Rowan's Law and Ontario's Concussion Awareness Resources by clicking here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Club at any time.

RLCA

All Aurora FC participants under 26 years of age, including parents of athletes under 18, coaches, team trainers, and officials must reviewOntario�s Rowan's Law - Concussion Awareness Resourceson a yearly basis and acknowlidge the completion of the review during the registeration process. The Rowan's Law - Concussion Awareness Receipt Formcan be completed and kept as proof of completion.


CONCUSSION SAFETY AWARENESS AND EDUCATION LINKS
Rowan's Law: Concussion safety
Rowan's Law Concussion Awareness Resources
Rowan's Law Concussion Acknowledgement Receipt Form

Concussion Guide for Athletes
Concussiion Guide for Coaches and Trainers
Concussion Guide for Parents

Concussion Resources - for Ages 10 and Under
Concussion Resources - for Ages 11 to 14
Concussion Resources - for Ages 15 and Up

icon Aurora FC Concussion Code of Conduct - Players
icon Aurora FC Concussion Code of Conduct - Coaches


Aurora FC Concussion and Return to Play Protocol

Remove from Sport Protocol Summary
Return to Sport Strategy

Concussion Recognition Tool 5 (CRT5)
Sport Concussion Assesment Tool 5 (SCAT5)
Child Sport Concussion Assesment Tool (Child SCAT5)

Medical Assesment Letter
Medical Clearance Letter



AURORA FC CONCUSSION AND RETURN TO PLAY PROTOCOL


Concussions can be very serious, so Aurora FC Club asks all coaches, referees, parents and participants to be aware of the dangers and use the below tools to determine the best course of action in case of a potential concussion.

These tools have been provided by the Ontario Soccer. For more information, see their complete resources available at https://www.ontariosoccer.net/concussion-resources.


Concussion Protocol

Because it can be difficult to recognize the signs of concussion, we ask that the below protocol be followed in the event of any head injury. 

1. Use the appropriate Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) below to assess the level of injury, and
2. Apply the Return to Play (RTP) procedure as outlined below, with the SCAT assessment to determine when the player is asymptomatic and can move to the next step. 

FIFA SCAT 3

Coaches are strongly recommended to familiarize themselves with the FIFA SCAT 3. These assessment tools will be made available to coaches at the beginning of each season. Consider downloading a SCAT 3 app to your mobile device to always have it handy. 

icon Click for Head Injury Report Form Child SCAT 3
icon Click for Head Injury Report Form Adult SCAT 3

Quick reference Pocket Concussion Recognition Tool


Return to Play (RTP)

There must be a minimum of 24 hours before each step is assessed, although this could be considerably longer than 24 hours. Oversight should be provided by a medical professional.

The 6 steps are as follows: 

1. No activity, complete rest. Once the athlete is asymptomatic, they proceed to level two. The athlete spends, at the minimum, one day at each stage. 

2. Light aerobic exercise such as walking or stationary cycling, no resistance training. Performing step two without symptoms allows the athlete to proceed to level three. If symptoms return, the athlete moves back one stage then continues. 

3. Sport specific training (e.g. skating in hockey, running in football), progressive addition of resistance training at steps three or four. Performing step three without symptoms allows the athlete to proceed to level four. 

4. Non-contact training drills. Performing step four without symptoms allows the athlete to proceed to level five. 

5. Full contact training after medical clearance. Performing step five without symptoms allows the athlete to proceed to level six. 

6. Game play. 


icon Aurora FC Concussion and Return to Play Protocol


Last Updated on Thursday, 03 November 2022 17:52

 
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