Concussion Safety Legislation
Ontario passed concussion safety legislation to protect amateur athletes and make sport safer on the field and at school.
Rowan’s Law (Concussion Safety), 2018, makes Ontario a national leader in concussion management and prevention by establishing mandatory requirements that call for:
· Annual review of concussion awareness resources that help prevent, identify and manage concussions, which athletes, coaches, educators and parents would be required to review before registering in a sport
· Removal-from-sport and return-to-sport protocols, to ensure that an athlete is immediately removed from sport if they are suspected of having sustained a concussion and giving them the time required to heal properly
· A concussion code of conduct that would set out rules of behaviour to minimize concussions while playing sport.
In honour of Rowan Stringer, the 17-year-old rugby player whose death resulted from sustaining multiple concussions, the legislation establishes the last Wednesday in September as “Rowan’s Law Day”. The first Rowan’s Law Day was celebrated on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018.
The Ontario government will work closely with parents and sports organizations to ensure that the regulations for Rowan’s Law help athletes, coaches, educators, teachers and sport organizations improve concussion safety on the field and at schools.
Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to pass concussion safety legislation, setting a precedent for sport legislation across the country. Our government worked closely with key medical experts, researchers and sport leaders – most notably the members of the Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee – in establishing this first-of-its-kind legislation.
OWHA
The OWHA is the Provincial Sports Organization (PSO) for Female Hockey in the Province of Ontario. The OWHA, its members, participants and others, as referenced in the Act, and as a condition of membership/participation within the OWHA, are bound by the requirements of the Act and of the OWHA.
Legislative requirements under the implementation of Rowan’s Law by the Government of Ontario.
In accordance with Rowan’s Law HEO Participants/Coaches/Bench Staff/Volunteers are required to submit a signed Acknowledgement Form confirming that they have reviewed the HEO Code of Conduct and the Concussion Awareness Resources BEFORE that participant can register/participate in the particular hockey season.
The BGHA has incorporated the Review Acknowledgement within the registration form with the links to the Concussion Review Resources in each Team's Home Page On-line Library.