Safety

Nick Ghantous
National Safety Officer

As we move into our preparations for the 2010 season, we should all be thinking safety. I’d like to touch on a couple of points we’ve visited before and a couple of new items. As a review, I’d like to remind all leagues that background checks are required for those volunteers who deal directly with children, as well as league boards. This can be done through local police forces or the RCMP. Some forces charge a fee whereas others do it for free, and turnaround times vary by police force. As well, all volunteers are required to complete the Little League volunteer form.

For the 2010 season, the pitch count regulations have once again been modified. Please consult your rule books for the details. We were told when the concept of pitch counts was brought in a few years ago that it was a work in progress and would likely be “tweaked” over the coming seasons, and it has been. Of particular interest for 2010 is a move to align pitch count regulations for regular season and tournament play.

A hot topic in sports over the past year has been head injuries – in particular, concussions. The position we at Little League Canada are putting forward is:

If a player has been diagnosed with a concussion, he/she may not return to play until written consent by a doctor has been provided. If a player sustains an injury during a game or practice that results in a loss of consciousness, no matter how brief, he/she will be removed from the field of play and will not be allowed to return until written consent by a doctor has been provided. If, following contact of any nature, a player exhibits signs of a possible head injury such as blurred/double vision, dizziness, headaches, etc., he/she will be removed from the field and will not be allowed to return until written consent by a doctor has been provided.

As we know, all leagues should have a safety officer and a safety plan in place. To assist you with this, a booklet on the safety program known as ASAP will be included with each league’s documentation this year. You can also read more about ASAP by going to the Little League International website and typing “ASAP” into the search field.

Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at nghantous@shaw.ca.