Five months ago, The Board of Directors of GYC became aware of a provincial law enacted in 2018 called Rowan’s Law (Concussion Safety). The Act imposes various requirements on all sport organizations. At the February meeting, the Board of Directors adopted a policy to address these requirements. This policy is geared to protect the corporation and those involved in all aspects of sail racing at GYC. It does this mainly by making sailors aware of the dangers of concussions, how to recognize when a concussion has happened, and how to help someone who has suffered one.
A link for the adopted policy is located directly below and may be accessed at any time on the GYC website in SailBoat Racing, and the clubhouse bulletin Board.
GYC-Concussion-Policy-Feb-6-2023.pdf
If interested in further background, please see below:
Seventeen-year-old Rowan Stringer loved rugby. She died tragically in May 2013. Rowan suffered what is known as Second Impact Syndrome—catastrophic swelling caused by a second injury to a brain still healing from previous trauma. Rowan collapsed on the field on May 8, 2013, and died four days later. 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.
The result of a coroner’s inquest was that Rowan’s death was preventable and so Ontario legislation Bill # 193, Rowan’s Law, was enacted. The last Wednesday of every September is designated as Rowan’s Law Day to honour Rowan Stringer’s memory and raise awareness about concussion safety. Coincidently, Wednesday is a regular sailboat race night at GYC.
Recommendation from the GYC Ad-hoc Racing Committee:
| A recommendation was recently sought, by the Board of Directors, from the GYC ad-hoc Racing Committee on the policy related to Rowans’ Law and its applicability to the club. The findings were reported back at the February Board meeting which indicated that although our racing activities are currently less formal than other clubs in Ontario, they felt it was prudent to ensure that all provincial requirements were followed by GYC. Adoption of Policy The GYC recently became a member of the Ontario Sailing Association to assist the Board to access a variety of policies that have been developed and legally vetted by the OSA in conjunction with the national body, Sail Canada. The Ontario Sailing Association policy for Concussion Management was adopted by motion at the Board of Directors meeting on February 6, 2023. These policies are adopted in clubs all across Ontario, creating a universally familiar body of knowledge for protection of sailors across the province. Accessing Documents: The procedures and videos can be readily accessed by the GYC and the public in the Ontario Sailing Website below. https://ontariosailing.ca/member-services/concussion-information/ If someone suffers an injury, the information is available to guide anyone in the steps to be taken. These current links below, will be accessed on the OSA website by the GYC racing committee, as our 2023 season opens. Ontario Sailing Concussion Management and Return to Sport Policy and Procedures Ontario Sailing Concussion Code of Conduct – Athletes and Participants Ontario Sailing Concussion Code of Conduct – Coaches Ontario Sailing Concussion Code of Conduct – Designated Person Procedures for Removal & Return to Sailing Handout Concussion Recognition Tool (CRT5) Moving Forward: The Board is continuing in 2023 with the hard work involved in researching and discussing current provincial laws. In the last ten years the number of legislative requirements for clubs and organizations has grown substantially. Change is difficult for all of us at GYC, as we try to understand and comply with current laws. The Ontario Sailing Association has been providing support as we review challenging topics which are now required by all non-profit corporations, including the GYC. Two of the upcoming challenging topics for which we are awaiting recommendations include a Code of Conduct and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, required by non-profit corporations of Ontario (with employees). |
