Basketball Manitoba has announced that it has officially adopted the concussion education and protocols as developed by Parachute Canada. Concussions can occur while participating in any sport or recreational activity. Since the circumstances under which a concussion can be sustained are so varied, it’s important for all coaches, parents, and athletes to be aware of the signs, symptoms, and what to do if a concussion occurs. Basketball Manitoba is committed to increased education, awareness, and established protocols that will assist you in gaining the knowledge and skills required ensuring the safety of your athletes. We can all work together to ensure a safe sport environment. If we take the following approach, we can all make basketball a safer experience for all...
- REDUCE. Follow the prevention information shown in Part 1 as a player, coach, official or parent to help us all reduce the instances of concussions in our sport.
- RECOGNIZE and REMOVE. Use the below tools and resources in Part 2 below to help recognize the symptoms of a concussion and get help.
- REFER and RECOVER. While recovering from a concussion, use the return to play protocols shown in Part 3 to gradually get yourself back on the court.
- RETURN. With the proper clearance in Part 4 make a healthy return to the court and keep basketball a sport for life!
Part of the changes will ask that any coach in Manitoba involved at any level of youth basketball be asked to receive the official Medical Clearance Letter signed by the athlete's doctor with the permission to return to play. This will leave the decision to get an athlete back on the court to the professionals and not by the coach. The coach is the gatekeeper for a player to get back on the court and the information provided will aid these decisions to be the right one for the long term health of the athlete and their overall well being.
These protocols have been recently adopted by Sport Manitoba and the Winnipeg School Division with other associations soon following suit. This is an important step to unify the education, awareness and return to play protocols under one system as children are involved in multiple activities and in different organizations and should have access to consistent information to return to full health.Parachute Canada is a national Canadian charity founded in 2012, promotes researched, evidence-based and expert-advised resources and tools that can help to prevent serious harm or death from preventable injuries. Parachute, led by President and CEO Steve Podborski wants Canadians from coast to coast to coast in this great nation to safely work, play, and enjoy their families and friends to the fullest throughout a long and healthy life [More about Parachute...].
See the new centralized Basketball Manitoba Concussion Awareness and Education centre at...
A special concussion awareness session will be included at this fall's Basketball Manitoba Super Coaches Clinic (Oct 19-20, 2018).
All of this information can also be found on the Basketball Manitoba Scoreboard app in the 'Concussions' section. Get the free app to have this information with you courtside at all games and practices! 
