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Ontario Soccer observes Rowan's Law Day

By Staff, 09/29/21, 9:00AM EDT

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Show your support for #RowansLawDay by sharing your stories and learning the signs and symptoms of a concussion.

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Rowan’s Law was named for Rowan Stringer, a high school rugby player from Ottawa, who tragically passed away in the spring of 2013 from a condition known as “second impact syndrome”. Rowan is believed to have experienced three concussions over six days while playing rugby. She had a concussion but did not know her brain needed time to heal. Neither did her parents, teachers or coaches.

Rowan’s Law and Rowan’s Law Day were established to honour her memory and bring awareness to concussions and concussion safety.

The last Wednesday of each September has been designated as Rowan’s Law Day to help raise awareness about concussion safety.

Please join us in remembering Rowan Stringer by promoting concussion safety through any social media platform post as well as on your organization’s website.

Show your support for #RowansLawDay by sharing your stories and learning the signs and symptoms of a concussion.

The Government of Ontario recently released their Year 2 report on the status of Rowan’s Law in Ontario. Ontario Soccer members are encouraged to review it.

Ontario Soccer has previously communicated updates through membership Information Bulletins on Rowan’s Law Requirements, Concussion Policy and Rowan’s Law Implementation.

As a reminder, on July 1, 2019, Phase 1 implementation of Rowan’s Law (Concussion Safety) came into effect.

Recognizing that Ontario’s sport and recreation sectors continue to be heavily impacted, the Government of Ontario has postponed the effective date of Phase 2 of Rowan’s Law to Jan. 1, 2022.

This deferral will give sport organizations, as well as municipalities, post-secondary institutions, community centres, and private sport clubs or sport entities, additional time to establish and implement Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocols for their athletes.

Only the effective date of Phase 2 implementation is being changed.

All requirements related to the protocols in the legislation and regulation will remain the same. Any work already completed by your organization in preparation for the Phase 2 implementation will assist you in meeting your organization’s obligations under Rowan’s Law by Jan. 1, 2022. Organizations are welcome to implement the Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocols in advance of the new proclamation date on a voluntary basis. 

To assist your organization in developing its Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocols, organizations are encouraged to visit the government’s concussion webpages at www.ontario.ca/concussions for a sample protocol template.

According to the Government of Ontario, the purpose of Rowan’s Law legislation is to promote a culture change in the area of concussion management in sport and make participation safer. There are no enforcement or monitoring provisions in Rowan’s Law.

It is up to entities and individuals to ensure that they comply with the laws of Ontario.

If an organization does not comply with the laws of Ontario, then the organization assumes any liability risk associated with non-compliance.

Visit OntarioSoccer.net for more information on Rowan’s Law Requirements and more information on Concussions and Concussion Management.

Visit the Government of Ontario website for more information on Rowan’s Law.

If you have any further questions, please contact Ontario Soccer.

How do I stay connected to Ontario Soccer?

For further information please refer to the latest bulletins on the COVID-19 Updates page, which has all the latest information from Ontario Soccer, as well as resources for your members. Please consider placing a dedicated link to the COVID-19 Updates on the homepage on your website.

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