Submitted By Nicole Schoonderbeek on Friday, August 16, 2019 (403 views)
Rowan Stringer was a high school rugby player in Ottawa. She died in the spring of 2013 from a condition known as second impact syndrome (swelling of the brain caused by a subsequent injury before a previous injury healed). Rowan is believed to have experienced three concussions over six days while playing rugby. She had a concussion, but didn't know her brain needed time to heal. Neither did her parents, teachers, or coaches.
Rowan's death is the basis behind Rowan's Law. The CZHA is in full support of the intent of Rowan's Law to create awareness of concussion, change the culture on concussion & provide safe sport participation. As mandated by the OHF, all CZHA players, parents & team officials will be required to take the following two steps:
- Review the Ontario government's concussion awareness resources on an annual basis.
- Sign the OHF Rowan's Law Acknowledgement form. By signing this form, players, parents & team officials confirm they have:
a) Reviewed the concussion awareness resources;
b) Commit to the OHF Concussion Code of Conduct, which includes helping to prevent concussions, taking concussions seriously, and respecting the OHF removal and return to play protocol.
The OHF has set the following deadlines:
- All registrants registering July 1, 2019, or after must complete the review of information & acknowledgement prior to registration.
- All team officials currently registered must complete the review of information & acknowledgement prior to August 30, 2019.
- All registrants registered prior to July 1, 2019, must complete the review of information & acknowledgement prior to participation in the first game.
More information is available on our
Rowan's Law Information Page.