This week, our students and staff became more concussion aware. Our Seniors in Charge (SICs) of Health and Wellness, Fatima ’21 and Halle ’21, presented on the topic during Chapel to highlight Rowan's Law Day which took place on Wednesday, September 30. They shared the Ontario government’s
#HitStopSit video and highlighted the importance of being concussion aware with the story of Rowan Stringer, and the origins of Rowan’s Law Day.
Rowan’s Law was named for Rowan Stringer, a 17 year-old-high-school rugby player from Ottawa, who died in the spring of 2013 from a condition known as second impact syndrome (swelling of the brain caused by a subsequent injury that occurred 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.
Thanks to the tremendous efforts of her parents, Gord and Kathleen Stringer, Rowan’s Law and Rowan’s Law Day (which occurs the last Wednesday of every September) were established to honour her memory and bring awareness to concussions and concussion safety. Our students and staff wore purple ribbons on Wednesday in memory of Rowan Stringer.
Rowan’s Law (Concussion Safety), 2018 makes it mandatory for sports organizations to:
- ensure that athletes under 26 years of age, parents of athletes under 18, coaches, team trainers and officials confirm every year that they have reviewed Ontario’s Concussion Awareness Resources
- establish a Concussion Code of Conduct that sets out rules of behaviour to support concussion prevention
- establish a Removal-from-Sport and Return-to-Sport protocol
Ensuring the Health and Safety of Our Student AthletesAll LCS students and staff received information regarding the signs and symptoms of a concussion, the importance of knowing the Red Flags (indicators of more serious and emergent situations), as well as the actions that need to be taken if a concussion is suspected.
The Concussion Code of Conduct was reviewed, as well as the school’s Return to Learn/Return to Play protocol.
Rowan’s death was preventable. Her parents worked to ensure that, through Rowan’s Day, this will not happen to another young person.
#HitStopSitAt LCS we are reinforcing the #HitStopSit message on campus. If a head injury is suspected, athletes will be removed from play. We have distributed posters throughout our residential houses and around campus to remind our community of this important protocol.