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 Clarington Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) is in full support of the intent of Rowan's Law to create awareness of concussion, change the culture on concussion, and provide safe sport participation. As mandated by the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF), all CMHA players, parents, and 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 and team officials confirm that they have:
a) Reviewed the concussion awareness resources; and,
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 following deadlines have been set by the OHF:
- All registrants registering July 1, 2019, or after must have completed the review of information and acknowledgement prior to registration/participation.
- All team officials currently registered will be required to complete the review of information and acknowledgement prior to August 30, 2019.
- All registrants registered prior to July 1, 2019, must complete the review of information and acknowledgement prior to participation in the first game.
RELATED DOCUMENTS & RESOURCES
The following concussion awareness resources were created by the Ontario government. Select the correct resource based on player age:
The following OHF Rowan's Law Acknowledgement form must be signed and submitted by all players, parents, and team officials and returned to the team manager:
Additional information about Rowan's Law can be found online: