While the details of what exactly will be required once the new legislation, Rowan's Law, comes into effect are still unclear, Ontario Sailing wanted to ensure that our policies are supporting the new legislative direction. We have been working closely with current research and national sport and concussion related groups to ensure that our policies are up to date and address concerns specific to sailing. The policy and procedures that were passed by the board represent countless hours of staff work and consultation.
Our underlying philosophy is to err on the side of caution to protect the long term health of all sailors. Our policies and procedures are being implemented this spring for all ages and all participants recognizing the potential effects of head injuries. The health and safety of everyone involved with Ontario Sailing is of upmost importance.
The new policy addresses the four main components from Rowan's Law:
- Education and Awareness
- Concussion Codes of Conduct for participants as well as leaders
- Removal from Sport Protocols
- Return to Sport Protocols
Under Rowan's Law, every sport organization will need to ensure they have policies and procedures in place to address concussion management. Ontario Sailing is strongly encouraging all our member clubs and schools to adopt Ontario Sailing Concussion Management Policy and Procedures. By having everyone adopt one policy, we can ensure consistency across the province which will be key at regattas but also with instructor training and ensuring legislative compliance for each organization.
For clubs and schools, Lisa Roddie, COAST Manager is offering webinars on the Concussion Policy and Procedures as your next step to be able to adopt the policy for your own organization. Please RSVP to Lisa at lisa@ontariosailing.ca with your name and club/school name if you would like to attend one of the following webinars:
Tuesday March 5th 7:00pm
Friday March 8th 1:00pm
Saturday March 9th 9:30am
(Clearly indicate which webinar. Login details will be sent out at least 24 hours before the webinar. Due to space, please limit to 2 people per organization.)
More times will be added if there is more interest. If you are interested in learning more but no one from your Board is able to attend a webinar, please touch base with Lisa.
For other individuals who play different roles with Ontario Sailing, more information will be coming from staff about how this policy may affect you in your role.
Please watch for more information about how our Concussion initiatives will come into play. To learn more about concussions and our related documents, please take a look at the information on the new Concussion section of our website at https://ontariosailing.ca/concussion-information
