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Williamson RA, Kolstad AT, Krolikowski M, et al. Incidence of Head Contacts, Penalties, and Player Contact Behaviors in Youth Ice Hockey: Evaluating the "Zero Tolerance for Head Contact" Policy Change. Orthop J Sports Med. 2021;9(3):2325967121992375doi: 10.1177/2325967121992375.
Williamson, R. A., Kolstad, A. T., Krolikowski, M., Nadeau, L., Goulet, C., Hagel, B. E., & Emery, C. A. (2021). Incidence of Head Contacts, Penalties, and Player Contact Behaviors in Youth Ice Hockey: Evaluating the "Zero Tolerance for Head Contact" Policy Change. Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 9(3), 2325967121992375. https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967121992375
Williamson, Rylen A, et al. "Incidence of Head Contacts, Penalties, and Player Contact Behaviors in Youth Ice Hockey: Evaluating the "Zero Tolerance for Head Contact" Policy Change." Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine vol. 9,3 (2021): 2325967121992375. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967121992375
Williamson RA, Kolstad AT, Krolikowski M, Nadeau L, Goulet C, Hagel BE, Emery CA. Incidence of Head Contacts, Penalties, and Player Contact Behaviors in Youth Ice Hockey: Evaluating the "Zero Tolerance for Head Contact" Policy Change. Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Mar 05;9(3):2325967121992375. doi: 10.1177/2325967121992375. eCollection 2021 Mar. PMID: 33748310; PMCID: PMC7940749.
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Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Mar 05;9(3):2325967121992375. doi: 10.1177/2325967121992375. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Incidence of Head Contacts, Penalties, and Player Contact Behaviors in Youth Ice Hockey: Evaluating the "Zero Tolerance for Head Contact" Policy Change.

Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine

Rylen A Williamson, Ash T Kolstad, Maciej Krolikowski, Luc Nadeau, Claude Goulet, Brent E Hagel, Carolyn A Emery

Affiliations

  1. Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  2. Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada.
  3. Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  4. Department of Paediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  5. Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  6. O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
  7. Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.

PMID: 33748310 PMCID: PMC7940749 DOI: 10.1177/2325967121992375

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To reduce the risk of concussion in youth ice hockey, Hockey Canada implemented a national "zero tolerance for head contact" (HC) policy in 2011. A previous cohort study revealed higher concussion rates after this implementation in players aged 11 to 14 years. However, it is unknown whether the elevated risk was due to higher HC rates or factors such as increased concussion awareness and reporting.

PURPOSE: To compare the rates of primary and secondary HCs and HC policy enforcement in elite U15 ice hockey leagues (players <15 years) before (2008-2009) and after (2013-2014) the zero-tolerance policy change.

STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS: A total of 32 elite U15 games before (n

RESULTS: A total of 506 HCs were analyzed, 261 before HC policy implementation (IR, 16.6/100 team minutes) and 245 after implementation (IR, 15.5/100 team minutes). The HC1 rate (IRR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.86-1.28) and HC2 rate (IRR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.50-1.11) did not significantly differ before versus after implementation. Only 12.0% and 13.6% of HC1s were penalized pre- and postimplementation, respectively. Before implementation, HC1s were commonly penalized as roughing or elbowing penalties (59%), while after implementation, HC1s were penalized with the HC penalty (76%), and only 8% as roughing or elbowing.

CONCLUSION: Despite implementation of the "zero tolerance for HC" policy, there was no difference in the rate of HC1s and HC2s or the proportion of HC1 penalized from before to after implementation. This research is instrumental in informing Hockey Canada's future referee training and rule enforcement modifications.

© The Author(s) 2021.

Keywords: concussion; head contact; ice hockey; penalty; youth

Conflict of interest statement

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: The Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre is one of the International Research Centres for

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