June 27, 2017

Dear District Administrators and Staff in California:

As you continue to conduct tournament play within your district, please be aware that California Assembly Bill 2007, titled "Youth Sports Concussion Protocols," went into effect on Jan. 1, 2017. Because of this law, local leagues have been required to comply with the provisions of this law since it went into effect on January 1.

This law is found in the California Health Safety Code under the section referencing "Adolescent Health" (Cal Health and Safety Code - 124235)

Under this law, all athletes participating on a team and their parents/guardians are required to have a Concussion Information Sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that is signed by both the athlete and their parent/guardian (Download the English Version | Download the Spanish Version). Also, managers, coaches, umpires and league/district personnel are required to go through concussion awareness training through the CDC's Heads Up program.

In addition to the local league requirements to be compliant with the law please be sure that you as a District Administrator along with any district staff that is involved with the tournaments are compliant by completing the concussion awareness training through the online CDC's Heads Up Program.

To assist local leagues with this process, Little League has created the California Concussion Awareness Verification form, which affirms that the manager and two coaches overseeing a Little League International Tournament team are compliant with the law. This signed document must be carried with each team's tournament eligibility packet, in addition to completed copies of the CDC's Concussion Information Sheet for every rostered player.

California's new law requires an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or other head injury in an athletic activity to be immediately removed from the athletic activity for the remainder of the day, and shall not be permitted to return to any athletic activity until he or she is evaluated by a licensed health care provider. The athlete shall not be permitted to return to athletic activity until he or she receives written clearance to return to athletic activity from a licensed health care provider. If the licensed health care provider determines that the athlete sustained a concussion or other head injury, the athlete shall also complete a graduated return-to-play protocol of no less than seven days in duration under the supervision of a licensed health care provider.

If an athlete who is 17 years of age or younger has been removed from athletic activity due to a suspected concussion, the youth sports organization shall notify a parent or guardian of that athlete of the time and date of the injury, the symptoms observed, and any treatment provided to that athlete for the injury.

Little League also provides information on Concussions in Youth Athletes as a tool to help protect the health and safety of players. You are encouraged to view this free content.

Other safety-related resources can be reviewed by local leagues and districts through the A Safety Awareness Plan (ASAP) at LittleLeague.org. For assistance, or answers on how to organize a local league safety plan, or to increase your district's participation in ASAP through hosting an ASAP meeting, or a "Little League University on the Road" presentation, contact Jim Ferguson, Little League International's Assistant Director of Risk Management, at: 570-326-1921, ext. 2212; or e-mail: [email protected].

Sincerely,

Little League International