SKCJFC CONCUSSION MANAGEMENT POLICY

At the forefront of everything we do at St Kilda City JFC is the health and safety of each player that joins our club and takes the field wearing our jumper. In terms of on-field health and safety, nothing is more important than protecting the head, and we have worked hard to implement concussion protocols and safety measures to make sure that when unfortunate but inevitable head injuries occur, our concussion protocols are not only best practice, but are understood and followed by trainers, players, parents and coaches, with the aim of providing the best possible care.

A great deal of information has been released by various sporting bodies on concussion in 2024, most notably:

1.    Australian Sports Commission (ASC/AIS) – Australian Concussion Guidelines for Youth & Community Sport;
2.    AFL – The Management of Sport Related Concussion in Australian Football;
3.    SMJFL – Adopted Scat6 Sport Concussion Assessment Tool.

Each of the documents above (and further information on Concussion and Concussion Management) can be found on the websites for the ASC (ausport.com.au), AFL (afl.com.au) and SMJFL (smjfl.com.au), and we encourage parents and players who are interested in learning more about concussion in sport and how it is being managed by Australian sporting bodies and clubs, to visit these sites/resources.

Importantly, the ASC, AFL and SMJFL are broadly aligned in their recommendations for the assessment and management of concussion in community sport, and Australian Rules Football in particular. Furthermore, St Kilda City JFC has adopted the protocols recommended by these bodies for the assessment and management of concussion or suspected concussion occurring during games or training. The key points of those protocols, as adopted by our club, are:

• “If in doubt, sit them out” – players do not need to have been knocked out or dizzy to have suffered a suspected concussion event. There are some 20 different symptoms that may be linked to concussion. They may just not be “quite themselves” or a bit “foggy”. Please support our volunteer trainers by trusting their judgment to sit a player out if there is any doubt.

• Any player who is suspected of having sustained a concussion must see a doctor. Players with ongoing symptoms should see a doctor on the same day if at all possible and if not possible, then as soon as practicably possible. Others should see a doctor within 3-4 days or when their son/daughter becomes symptomatic, as this can be delayed. A player suspected of concussion does not enter the return to play protocol until diagnosed by a doctor.

• If a player is diagnosed with concussion, they must follow the graded return to sport framework and timeline (please see attached extract from the ASC’s Australian Concussion Guidelines for Youth & Community Sport + AFL Victoria, which outline relevant framework and example timeframes).

• For players under 18, medical clearance must be obtained (not before 14 days post day of injury) to return to full contact training, with return to play not before 21 days. Return to play may take longer than 21 days if symptoms persist.

• Medical clearance must be submitted to the club via your Team Manager and approved prior to returning to play.

• Committee member Sharon Howell is our club First Aid & Concussion Officer. Sharon supports team Trainers and is happy to assist and support players and their families to navigate the concussion management and return to play framework to ensure a safe return to training and games for all players.

• Players who sustain a diagnosed concussion outside of SKCJFC should follow the concussion guidelines of the applicable sporting body, as these guidelines can differ between sports. Please also inform your Team Manager and ensure you obtain a medical clearance for your son/daughter prior to return to play. 

We appreciate that this is a complex area and want to ensure all parents and players that we will continue to work with the SMJFL (and by extension the AFL and ASC) to ensure that we implement best practise processes and protocols to ensure that every suspected concussion is managed with the player’s long term health and wellbeing as the absolute priority.

Please direct any questions or queries you have in relation to the above to Sharon Howell – St Kilda City JFC First Aid & Concussion Officer

St Kilda City Junior Football Club Committee