Conference on Concussions Convenes Tomorrow

According to the hockey blog at the New York Times, representatives from the NHL and youth hockey are convening at the Mayo Clinic for a medical conference on changing the sport.  The discussions will center on recent studies on the high rate of concussions and other serious injuries in hockey relative to other sports and recommendations aimed at reducing their occurrence:

Prompted by statistics indicating a high rate of serious injury among players ages 11 to 14, the measures are expected to include pushing back the age at which body checking is introduced in the United States and some Canadian provinces to 13 from 11.

Another measure would encourage the establishment of nonchecking recreational leagues for youth players. Such leagues are virtually nonexistent in areas of the United States where hockey is popular.

In a post last week, I advocated for the first recommendation - eliminating body checking at the PeeWee level.  More on this aspect from the blog:

Dr. Michael J. Stuart, an organizer of the two-day conference at the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, said that the meeting was the latest in a series of similar conferences in North America and Europe prompted by a steady rise in reported concussions in hockey in the last decade.

“The whole sportsmanship and mutual respect thing is in every facet of the game,” said Stuart, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Mayo and the chief medical officer for USA Hockey. Stuart supports a ban on body checking until 13, when players are more physically mature, have been taught better balance and body control and, presumably, are inculcated with the principles of fair play.

I agree with Dr. Stuart.  Take a look at the attendees of the conference:  USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, the N.H.L., the International Ice Hockey Federation and equipment manufacturers.  I am hopeful that a conference with these participants is a harbinger of a change that I believe needs to occur in youth hockey.  The Alberta study by Dr. Emery presents the most compelling case: 

It further found that if body checking in Alberta were pushed back to age 13, the annual number of serious injuries among 11- and 12-year-olds there would fall by an estimated 1,000, and concussions would fall by an estimated 400.

More statistics from the article:

• Concussions account for 18 percent of all hockey injuries.
• Women’s hockey has the highest rate of concussions among N.C.A.A. sports, despite not allowing body checking.
• The rate of reported concussions for youth players (23.15 per 1,000 player game hours) is only slightly lower than that for N.H.L. players (29.59).