A new aspect of Rowan’s Law has increased the requirements for community sport organizations regarding concussions effective July 1, 2019.
Rowan’s Law, which came into effect in Ontario on June 6, 2016 is named after Rowan Stringer who passed away from Second Impact Syndrome due to multiple concussions suffered within a short period of time. The private members bill was passed unanimously at the Ontario legislature.
The coroner’s inquest into Rowans death resulted in 49 recommendations including:
- Increased education for parents, coaches, athletes and teachers surrounding concussion injuries.
- Better tools for coaches and trainers to identify concussions.
- Concussion policies in place at all school boards and sports associations across Ontario.
- Increased education and training for healthcare professionals to better treat and manage concussions.
The bill put in place an expert advisory committee to the premier to put these recommendations into place. Rowan’s Law (Concussion Safety) 2018 made it mandatory for sports organizations to eventually:
- Ensure that athletes under the age of 26, parents of athletes under 18, coaches, team trainers, and officials confirm every year that they have reviewed Ontario’s Concussion Awareness Resources
- Establish a Concussion Code of Conduct that sets out rules of behaviour to support concussion prevention
- Establish a Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocol
The new rules requiring the review of Concussion Awareness Resources and Concussion Codes of Conduct officially came into effect on July 1, 2019. The rules for Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocol are expected to be in place by July 1, 2020.
Under the new requirements sports organizations cannot register athletes under 26 into a sports activity unless they and their parent (if they are under 18), provide confirmation that they have reviewed one of the Concussion Awareness Resources prepared by Rowan’s Law in the last 12 months.
Sport organizations also have to ensure that coaches, team trainers and officials review the Concussion Awareness Resources every year.
Sport organizations must also have an official Code of Conduct regarding concussions. A sample code of conduct is supplied on the Government of Ontario’s website to assist sports organizations in preparing their own. Athletes under 26 and parents of athletes under 18 as well as coaches and team trainers must confirm that they have reviewed the organization’s Concussion Code of Conduct every year before registering in a sport activity or serving with the sports organization.
Further information about the Removal-from-Sport/Return-to-Sport protocols, which must be complete by July 2020 will also be provided on the Government of Ontario’s website.