Concussion Policy - Rowan’s Law
Silver Blades members are required to accept the Concussion Policy published by Skate Ontario, found HERE. This policy applies to all skaters and coaches.
Rowan’s Law was introduced to Skate Canada and Skate Ontario, by the Government of Ontario, in September 2019. Its purpose is to ensure athletes under 26 and parents of athletes under 18 years of age must confirm that they have reviewed the Government of Ontario Concussion Awareness Resources (found HERE) and Skate Ontario’s Concussion Code of Conduct for Athletes and Parents/Guardians prior to registration and/or on the first day of skating. The information for coaches and skaters can be found below:
Every skater or parent of an under-age skater must read and acknowledge their understanding/agreement with this law.
NOTE: Effective June 2020, Skate Ontario updated their policies on Rowan’s Law to state the following: “..skaters and their parents/guardians if applicable, who are participating in CanSkate and CanPowerSkate programs, or are skating at STAR 4 or lower, are no longer required to complete the acknowledgements. ALL other skaters, and parents if applicable, must complete this process on an annual basis.”
As dictated by Skate Ontario's Concussion Policy, in the event of a suspected concussion, the Skate Ontario Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocols must be followed. These protocols can be found by clicking the links below:
In the event of a concussion or any on-ice injury, an Incident Report is completed by a witness who is a Coach or Board member and follow-up occurs within a week. The incident (and form) is brought to the attention of the Executive Board and then submitted to Skate Canada online no later than thirty (30) days from the date of the incident. Decisions to return to skate are based on the information provided by the family. This process is directly in line with Skate Canada’s National Safe Sport Program’s Incident and Injury Reporting directives which can be found here along with Skate Canada's Concussion Management Policy:
- Incidents of Injury and Reporting Management Policy
- Incidents of Injury and Reporting Management Procedure
- Concussion Management Policy
Skate Canada’s guidelines are to be followed in conjunction with the Skate OntarioConcussion Policies.
All information from Skate Ontario in regard to Rowan’s Law can be found HERE.
Additional information on concussion management from SIRC (Sport Information Resource Centre) can be found HERE.
Latest Review Date: July 30, 2023 Scheduled Review Date: July 2024 Date Created: July 2020