Concussion Management

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Rowan’s Law

Rowan’s Law legislation was passed by the Ontario Government in 2018.  The legislation is designed to create a safer environment for competitive amateur athletes, children and youth to play sport.    The legislation is named in memory of Ontario rugby player Rowan Stringer who died tragically in 2013 at just 17 years of age of Second Impact Syndrome, the result of suffering multiple concussions playing rugby three times in six days. Rowan’s Law is applicable to 65 sports in Ontario, including artistic swimming, as well as educational institutions.  

Knowing how to recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion, and what to do if a concussion happens, whether you’re an athlete, a parent, a coach, or an official puts concussion safety information in the hands of people who need it most and saves lives.

Ontario Concussion Awareness Resources
The resources below have been developed for athletes, parents, and coaches in mind.  MSSA athletes must review and sign off on the Ontario Concussion Awareness Resources below as well as the Ontario Artistic Swimming Code of Conduct for Athletes before they are allowed to participate in artistic swimming-related activities.  Coaches must also sign off on these documents before they are allowed to coach.
There are three age variations of the Ontario Concussion Awareness Resources.  Parents and athletes are asked to review the one appropriate to their situation:
Please Click Here for more Ontario Artistic Swimming resources for coaches and parents on how to manage concussions.
Mandatory Baseline  Concussion Testing

All MSSA novice and competitive swimmers must complete mandatory baseline concussion testing.   Dates for the 2019-2020 season have yet to be set, but will be communicated with members as soon as they are available.  No swimmer will be allowed to train after September 30th without this testing completed.

What exactly is a baseline test?

“A baseline test is a series of objective measures taken on a healthy person, before the injury happens. These test results are then used as a comparison should you get a concussion. The purpose of the baseline test, therefore, is to provide a better clinical picture of brain recovery, and more accurately determine when a person is safe to return to sports & other high-risk activities. A recent study found that a comprehensive baseline re-test used to return athletes to play matched with the timeline of brain recovery in previous research studies (10). A comprehensive multimodal baseline assessment is currently the best available tool to manage concussion injuries safely and should be on every athlete’s ‘to do list’ before starting the sports season!”

https://completeconcussions.com/baseline-concussion-test-athletes-need-one/