Prevention
Player
Welfare

Putting Players First

Player Welfare Programme | Prevention

Putting Players First

The Player Welfare programme consists of a series of resources and measures made available to clubs, players, coaches, educators, parents, and the entire Suisserugby Community. The different measures and services constitute a set of recommendations, not rules or obligations.

When it comes to PREVENTION, we focus on a set of measures designed to decrease the likelihood and risk of sustaining an injury or endangering the welfare of a player.

Measures

Priorities

The following priorities have been identified by the Medical Commission to be implemented next:

Fit to play

It is the opinion of the Medical Commission that it is not the responsibility of the clubs or the Federation to certify a player who is medically fit. Each Player (or their parents) have to ensure he/she is healthy and fit to play.

It is a recommendation to the player (prospective or current) that: If you have any prior or current medical condition we recommend a discussion with your medical doctor to see if you require any further medical evaluation
The player also has the right to abstain from playing games if they are unfit to play and the clubs have to respect this decision

That said, the FSR and World Rugby provide the clubs and the players a number of tools & resources to help the players ensure that they are Fit to Play, both from a health standpoint and from a training / fitness / skills standpoint. The Warm-up, Training, Conditioning, Activate, Tackle Ready & IMPACT programmes as well as medical recommendations and resources are all part of this.

IMPACT program

The IMPACT program is a tool developed in conjunction with the Suisse Rugby Medical commission and under the initiative of Gaetan Hirsch (Men's national team player, physiotherapist and memeber of the Swiss Rugby Federations Medical commitee) to be used by educators and coaches.

IMPACT - Injury prevention program for amateur rugby.

The IMPACT program is a tool developed in conjunction with the Suisse Rugby Medical commission and under the initiative of Gaetan Hirsch to be used by educators and coaches. The excercices of the program are in alignment with a healthy life style and can decrease the injury rate by 30 to 50%. In order to achieve this reduction in injuries, the program is designed for two training sessions per week, as a warm-up on the pitch. After the setting period (2-3 weeks), the program should take about 10 minutes. This IMPACT program also develops individual physical capacities such as strength, agility, coordination, and speed.

World Rugby Cardiac screening questionnaire

The questionnaire has been devised to aid in identification of young players who engage in competitive rugby but could be at risk of suffering from a serious cardiac arrest. It is acknowledged that this is not a common occurrence and it is recognized that cardiac screening programmes remain controversial. However, the World Rugby Cardiac Screening Questionnaire is a method of trying to address undetected cardiac abnormalities

The Lausanne Cardiac Screening Recommendations state that 40% of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) occur in athletes under 18. Therefore, it is proposed that cardiac screening would be recommended for U18 players for the 2020/2021 Season
It would be the responsibility of the parent/guardian to complete the questionnaire and sign a Cardiac Questionnaire Disclaimer since they are legally responsible for the U18 player.
This questionnaire would be recommended to be completed every two years until the player becomes eighteen years old
World Rugby recommends cardiac screening for young players and it is the opinion that this initiative would be an active step in a preventative strategy regarding the player welfare of our younger players

Timeline

The different measures are introduced step by step over the course of several seasons, and provide a set of recommendations and resources designed to help any players, coaches, parents, or clubs who might be interested in enhancing and ensuring player safety and welfare.

First Row Passports

Scrum Safety

Decision

It is recommended that each player on the game sheet playing in the front row (starter or substitute) must have a technical passport. This passport is issued by the DTN (National Technical Director) after the player has passed some tests with his coach.

Passport Validation

The DTN approves players, authorizing them to play in the front row after having received the coaches’ assessments.
The coaches with a diploma of «J&S Trainer I /cEntraineur 1 J+S» or higher can conduct the tests and send the assessments to the DTN

Procedure

The following procedure applies:

The qualified coach assesses the players
The qualified coach sends the file with the results to the DTN
The DTN approves the front row passport for the players and authorizes the licences

Contact National Technical Director (E-Mail)

Documentation

How to document?

It will be marked on the licence that a player can play front row.
It is recommended that only players with this accreditation should play in a scrum with pushing / driving ( Word Rugby laws, U19 laws, limited push)

Medical Check-ups & Certificates

To assure the general health of a young or adult player, it can be useful to get a check-up by a doctor. To support this, the FSR has adopted the Medical Certificate developed by Swiss Olympic, which players or parents of player can use to get this type of check-up.