Your Brain Health Launches Global Concussion Officer Campaign
By Sam Peters, founder Concussed Media
Your Brain Health today launches a global campaign calling on all sports clubs, schools and other sporting organisations to appoint a Concussion Officer responsible for overseeing head injury protocols.
The initiative, which already has the backing of sports stars, coaches, medics, charities, concussion campaigners and grassroots organisations, including Datchworth RFC, calls on governing bodies to embrace an open conversation about concussion and facilitate the push for increased safeguards.
Become a Concussion Officer Today
Similar in principle to a club Fire Warden or Safeguarding Officer, which have been widely adopted by sports clubs and associations in recent years, a concussion officer would be nominated by each organisation and take responsibility for ensuring protocols and best practice are followed.
Speaking about the initiative, Your Brain Health (YBH) Chief Operating Officer and current Welsh Fire Lead Physiotherapist David Bartlett, said:
‘Sport is an incredible force for good—it builds physical fitness, mental resilience, and lifelong friendships. But to keep sport safe and accessible for everyone, we need to take concussions seriously. Appointing a Concussion Officer ensures that when head injuries happen, they’re managed properly, and allows participants to recover fully and return to enjoying the sports they love.’
Originally promoted by the Australian Institute of Sport, the Concussion Officer campaign is also fully supported by influential medical figures in the UK, including Mike Loosemore, Professor of Sport and Exercise medicine at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH).
Professor Loosemore said: ‘I fully support this initiative being run by Your Brain Health. The concept of having a Concussion Officer in place is just simple common sense and I hope to see many clubs and schools embrace it over the coming months’
The campaign, which is being launched by Your Brain Health to coincide with the Six Nations Rugby tournament in Europe and the start of the Australian Football League (AFL) season in Australia, is aimed at all sports.
‘The Australian Institute of Sport has recommended in their 2024 Brain Health statement that every club and school should have a Concussion Officer. We already have safeguarding officers for child protection and fire wardens for emergencies. A concussion officer should be seen in the same way: a key role dedicated to ensuring safety and best practice in concussion management.
‘Early intervention is critical when managing concussions. Properly recognising and responding to a concussion can significantly reduce the risk of long-term complications, including persisting symptoms that in some instances can include mental health concerns. Having a Concussion Officer in place ensures that individuals get the right care from the start, improving recovery and protecting their future well-being.’
While the sports field would seem the most likely place for a child to sustain a concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury as it is also referred, school playgrounds see an estimated 27,000 diagnosed cases in Australia alone each year.
‘Schools have a duty of care to ensure these injuries are managed appropriately. Without clear protocols, concussions can be missed, leading to long-term health consequences. A Concussion Officer ensures that no child falls through the cracks and that brain health is treated with the seriousness it deserves.’
YBH, with the backing of Concussed Media and other concussion awareness groups, believe the campaign will help clubs and sports organisations achieve:
- Better protection for clubs / schools
- Better health outcomes
- Better performance
- Peace of mind of players / parents
- Increase participation
- Improve reputation of organisation
Datchworth Rugby Football Club, who play in Herts/Middlesex League One, this week became the first UK rugby club to embrace the campaign.
Sports Club Chairman Andrew ‘Woody’ Wood, believes the onset of professional rugby, which sees some aspiring amateurs players training five or six times a week while others can only manage one or two training sessions between work commitments, has created a serious disconnect at grassroots level.
He would also welcome the introduction of weight banded categories, similar to those used by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, to avoid potentially dangerous mismatches between youngsters at different developmental stages.
He said: ‘I’ve taken my eldest son and youngest son through all the age groups as a coach, and sometimes you get it where it’s effectively a man against somebody who hasn’t even been through puberty. And there’s a massive size difference there.’
The RFU was criticised for attempting to reduce the tackle height in the amateur game in 2023, but former Datchworth First XV captain Stu Young believes the reluctance of referees to penalise head high tackles, which have always been illegal under the game’s laws, is the biggest stumbling block to progress.
‘Massive hits to the head are either just given as a penalty or 10 minutes in the sin bin and then they come back on,’ Young said. ‘It’s not really achieving what I assume the RFU want to do which is to lower the height of tackles and therefore lower the amount of head knocks.
‘If the referees were a bit more on it (prepared to give red cards) that might have more of an impact than just saying ‘we’re going to lower the contact area from shoulder height to sternum’.’
Another Datchworth stalwart, Warren Sullivan, who coaches the junior section and is current Chairman, is concerned the mounting threat of legal action has caused some parents to become overcautious. He wants a renewed focus on coaching the tackle, where most concussions occur.
‘People have got scared,’ Sullivan said. ‘they’re more or less throwing the baby out of the bathwater. A lot of parents don’t want their kids to play rugby anymore but I think a lot of it’s unfounded.
‘We need to improve tackle technique across the game. It doesn’t help seeing the professionals tackling so upright.’