|
AFL Executive General Manager of Game Development, Rob Auld said he was pleased to launch the new AFL PLAY Concussion Hub for community football.
“On behalf of the AFL I’m proud to launch our new AFL PLAY Concussion Hub, there has been an enormous amount of work carried out by our people across many departments to create this free, accessible resource for everyone involved in local footy,” Auld said.
“While player safety and wellbeing are paramount and we want to minimise concussions and head knocks in our game, it’s important – like with any contact sport – that we have the right tools and resources in place for participants, coaches, families, umpires and volunteers.
“I’d like to thank Matterworks for their collaboration on this project. The way in which we communicate information and educate members of the football community is vital, so to have this content created in a way that’s engaging and easy to understand is invaluable.
“We worked with Matterworks previously on our AFL GOALS initiative which teaches school students about mental health, and we believe this education model, which now extends to our concussion program, helps set the foundation for generational change in player safety.
“I’d encourage everyone involved in local footy to check out the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub and engage with all the new resources.”
AFL Chief Medical Officer, Michael Makdissi said:
“On behalf of the AFL we are delighted to be able to bring these redesigned concussion education and management resources to the local community through the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub,” Makdissi said.
“We look forward to further refinements to play.afl in which we will be able to share other important health related information related to playing AFL safely in your community.”
Matterworks CEO Sarah Wyse said:
"Matterworks is proud to support the AFL in this vital step towards enhanced player safety. We've leveraged our expertise in creating engaging and digestible digital content, including video explainers and microlearning, to transform concussion education into easy-to-understand resources that the community can trust,” Wyse said.
“Building on our successful collaboration with AFL GOALS, we believe the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub offers an invaluable resource for the entire football community, ensuring critical information is accessible and easy to understand in the modern digital age."
Clubs, coaches, players, umpires, parents, first aiders and volunteers will all receive email communications later today about the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub which details how they can easily access the resources. State and territory associations will also help promote the new AFL Concussion Education Program.
For more information or to access the AFL PLAY Concussion Hub, visit: play.afl/concussion
The AFL has made many changes spanning more than 10 years to improve player health and safety including:
- Releasing Community Concussion Management Guidelines (first released in 2011 and updated in 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2024) with support materials. The latest version of the AFL’s Community Concussion Guidelines and support materials can be accessed here.
- Enforcing a stricter stance both within the Laws of the Game and the Policy Handbook around head high bumps, bumping players with their head over the ball, dangerous tackles, and potential to cause serious injury.
- Mandatory concussion education for coaches as part of accreditation and development of Tackle Curriculum (here) to provide coaches with the knowledge and resources they need to teach tackling safely and effectively.
- Delivering live and on-demand webinars to the community to educate on concussion management.
- Establishing and refining AFL Junior Rules (here) that gradually introduce contact / tackling and help kids learn and develop in a safe environment.
- Establishing the Prep to Play to program (here). This program, developed in conjunction with Latrobe University, has been shown to reduce concussion by improving safe execution of ground balls, aerial contests, tackling and being tackled.
- Developing the Headcheck App (here). The app, developed in conjunction with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, assists and guides players and parents in concussion management.
|
