Massachusetts State law now requires all game officials to take the on-line course on Concussion. Click here to obtain the full 10 page Department of Public Health regulations. Of particular, interest to EMSOA member are the following
- 201.005 (page 2-DEFINITIONS): “Game Official means a person who officiates at an extracurricular athletic activity, such as a referee or umpire including but not limited to persons enrolled as game officials in Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. “
- 201.007 (page 6-TRAINING): “Game officials shall complete one of the training programs approved by the Department as specified on the Department’s website annually and shall provide independent verification of completion of the training requirement to schools or school districts upon request.”
EMSOA and MIAA recommends you take your concussion training at one of the following web site:
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention: HEADS UP to Youth Sports: Online Training. Click on “Launch the HEADS Up Course” from your PC, Mac, iPhone or Android phone.
- National Federation of State High School Associations: Concussions in Sports: What You Need to Know. If you have not used the NFHS web site before, you will need to register for a username and password. The course is free of charge.
The course takes about 30 minutes to complete. Finding and printing the certificate takes another 5 min. There are lots of pop-ups to deal with. If you have a pop-up blocker on your web browser, turn it off before starting. After completing the course, print out a copy of the certificate. Schools are allowed to ask officials for a copy of the certificate. Bring a copy to your game site.
The NFHS Course listed above is the course most MIAA schools are using to certify their coaches, and all school personnel required to train. Over 200,000 have now completed the course. The MIAA and EMSOA do not have the jurisdiction to interpret the DPH regulations. If there are any questions about the Game Officials training requirement, they should be addressed to the MA DPH.
Additional Information:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Heads Up Concussion in Youth Sports contain a lot of useful information and fact sheets you can download and carry with you.
Concussion Awareness & Prevention Program – A program to provide all the available general recourses of concussion information into an useable, focused format all those involved in or interested in youth spots. This program was established for usage in Connecticut but is useful coaches, officials, parents and athletes in any state.