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Unlike the NHL, USA Hockey's player safety department is not responsible for reviewing plays and providing supplemental discipline. This type of process is handled in accordance with bylaw 10 of the USA Hockey Annual Guide, which does not include player safety coordinators or representatives as voting members during disciplinary hearings.
The player safety department for USA Hockey has the main goal of providing education for all USA Hockey participants, implementing player safety initiatives, and providing feedback to decision-makers within USA Hockey regarding rule changes, initiatives, or processes that can take place to make the game of hockey safer. It takes all of our members to buy in to make our game as safe as possible.
District Player Safety Coordinator
There shall be one player safety coordinator for each district. He/She shall be appointed by the Executive Director, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee. It is strongly recommended that he/she not be a member of a review board that has the authority to suspend a player, team or league official or spectator. His/Her opinion may be expressed, but he/she shall not have a vote on the action to be taken.
Duties & Responsibilities: The district player safety coordinator shall not hold any other position within his/her district without the knowledge and consent of the Executive Director. The district player safety coordinator should not be a member of any Affiliate or District Board.
His/Her duties shall be:
Implement the player safety initiatives of USA Hockey throughout the districts, affiliates and member organizations:
1. Concussion Management Program/Return to Play Forms
2. Create a process within the district to collect Return to Play forms monthly and report de-identified data for injury reporting to the national office.
3. Serve as a conduit that distributes educational player safety information from the national office and SPEC to the membership within their district (nutrition, hydration, sleep, CPR/AED training, facility emergency action plans, etc.).
4. Provide information on proper equipment selection and fitting.
5. Trial special programs (pilot programs) to test new safety technology, equipment, etc., at the request of the national office or SPEC.
Affiliate Player Safety Representative
There will be one player safety representative for each affiliate
He/She shall be appointed by the affiliate president and affiliate board and will work directly with the district player safety coordinator. This individual does not need a medical background, although it may be helpful in carrying out the duties outlined below.
His/Her duties shall include:
a) Implement the player safety initiatives of USA Hockey throughout their affiliate and member organizations in conjunction with the district player safety coordinator.
1. Oversee Concussion Management Program/Return to Play Forms within the affiliate
2. Help to establish a player safety officer responsible for the implementation of the concussion management program within each organization and assisting this individual with the reporting of de-identified injury information where necessary.
3. Assist in tracking compliance with the concussion management program and return to play forms in conjunction with the district player safety coordinator.
4. Establish a communication network inside their affiliate in order to distribute communication to the organizational level and receive feedback from local organizations.
5. Act as a resource regarding player safety for members of the district.
b) Serve as a conduit that distributes educational player safety information from the
national office and SPEC and district player safety coordinator to the membership within their affiliate. Examples of topics include but are not limited to (nutrition, hydration, sleep, CPR/AED training, facility emergency action plans, management and prevention of infections disease in sport, etc.).
c) Attend meetings virtually or in person with other affiliate player safety representatives and the district player safety coordinator throughout the course of the year.
d) Provide feedback and ideas for improvements to the concussion management process and management for player safety as a whole.
e) This individual is not expected to make any medical diagnoses or decisions. This position serves as a resource for player safety initiatives, education, and overseeing the administrative aspects and implementation of USA hockey player safety initiatives. They may provide input regarding enforcement of player safety policies, but they are not responsible for potential consequences of not following the procedures set forth by USA Hockey. At this time, this is the responsibility of the district or affiliate executive board. Additionally, this position is not designed to review plays, or infractions that may or may not result in possible suspension or further investigation.
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