Ontario Strengthening Commitment to Athlete Safety on Rowan’s Law Day
Province investing in mental health support, healthy sport culture
TORONTO — The Ontario government is investing up to $125,000 in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division to continue building on the international success of Rowan’s Law, which has created a safer environment for athletes to play sports. The funding will help raise awareness of the impact of sports-related injuries on mental health and provide educational resources to coaches and parents to help them recognize the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression to ensure young athletes receive the essential supports they need to thrive.
“This year, we mark the fourth-annual Rowan’s Law Day as sports safely return in our communities and schools,” said Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. “As a world leader in concussion safety, it is imperative that Ontario continues to raise awareness around concussions and its lingering impacts on an athlete’s physical, emotional and mental health. Rowan’s Law remains the cornerstone of our commitment to building a safe sport culture for all athletes. No athlete should be subject to physical or mental harm when participating in sport.”
The Canadian Mental Health Association will use the funding to expand its educational programs promoting the mental health of young athletes and will include:
- Interactive e-learning modules for coaches
- Educational videos for young athletes tailored to specific age groups and specific content such as mental health vs mental wellness and dealing with stress, anxiety and depression
- A Mental Health and Amateur Sport microsite to serve as entry point to modules, videos and downloadable resources/social media assets.
The government today also released the third Rowan’s Law progress report, profiling the province’s leadership in the field of concussion safety. The report outlines the successful implementation of the majority of recommendations from the Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee.
To date, Ontario has completed 13 of the 21 recommendations put forward by the Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee, with an additional four recommendations set to be implemented by March 2022.