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19
Dec

NATA Youth Sports Safety Summit

High school athletes suffer 2 million injuries every year, and comparatively few of those result in sudden death. But many catastrophic injuries can be prevented. President of the National Athletic Trainers' Association and SportsConcussions.org Advisory Board member, Marjorie Albohm, MS, ATC presided over the recent Youth Sports Safety Summit held on Capitol Hill earlier this month. The topic was sudden death in sports.

Catastrophic injuries in sports can be caused by heat stroke, cardiac arrest, asthma, sickling, and concussions and other contributing factors. The need for qualified medical personnel on the field has never been more evident than through the recent heightened awareness surrounding concussions. Athletic trainers and other medical professionals are vital to the health and safety of our athletes on the field or in the rink.

The Summit brought together leading experts from many fields who shared their research and practical clinical guidelines for dealing with sports-related injuries. Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, Ph.D., ATC, director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Research Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, presented findings on concussion screening and return-to-play decisions. Jon Almquist, head ATC for Fairfax County Schools in Fairfax, Virginia, highlighted the importance of having an emergency action plan in place.

The NATA position statement entitled, "Preventing Sudden Death in Sports" will be published in the February edition of the Journal of Athletic Training.

For more information, see NATA Youth Sport Safety Alliance - proud member by Scott Rainey, SportsConcussions.org/Metro DC staff, who attended the Summit on Capitol Hill. SportsConcussions.org has been a member of the NATA Youth Sports Safety Alliance since 2010.


Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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