REPORT OF THE
NCAA COMMITTEE ON
COMPETITIVE SAFEGUARDS AND
MEDICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS
1. ACTION
ITEMS.
Division I only.
·
Nutritional Supplement Policy Review.
a.
Recommendation. CSMAS is requesting comment from
the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet regarding NCAA policy
restrictions on institutional provision of food to student-athletes,
specifically as to the viability of allowing institutions to provide fruit and
bread products (bagels, etc.) to student-athletes at any time. In other words, does the cabinet believe
it should be permissible to provide fruit and bread at any time (e.g., not
during practice or competition)? If so, does the cabinet believe there should
be a limit on the amount provided (e.g., distributed in single serving sizes)?
b.
Rationale. Cabinet feedback will assist in
the discussions scheduled for the December 2007 CSMAS working group to review
NCAA policies addressing the provision of food and of nutritional supplements. When
Bylaw 16.5.2.g was enacted in August 2000, the intent was to identify the types
of supplement products that would be permissible for NCAA institutions to
provide to student-athletes to assist in replacing calories and fluids lost
through athletics participation. The allowance of nutritional supplement
provision was not intended to replace whole food with supplement products, but
rather to discourage the provision of supplement products that were unnecessary
to athletics participation and that were being promoted for performance
enhancement (e.g., creatine, protein powders). In the intervening years,
CSMAS has heard from the membership that this policy has led to reliance by
student-athletes on supplement products rather than on food for their
nutrition, in part because the membership is restricted in providing things
like fruit and bread products to student-athletes outside of what is allowed in
meals legislation. CSMAS will conduct a thorough review of current
supplementation practices from membership surveys and data from the
c.
Estimated Budget Impact.
None.
d.
Student-Athlete Impact. The
recommendations from this review are intended to support student-athlete
well-being by assuring student-athletes are able to adequately recoup calories
and fluids lost through athletics participation. There is no impact on
student-athlete time demands.
2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.
a. NCAA Drug
Education and Testing survey. The NCAA Drug Education and Testing
survey, administered on campus every two years, will be administered this fall
in electronic form for the first time.
b. Drug Testing Protocol. Student-athletes who are ineligible as a
result of an NCAA positive drug test are required to pass an exit drug test
before they can be considered for eligibility restoration. This exit drug test will be viewed as a
second positive test if the student-athlete tests positive for a different
substance or for non-declining values of the same substance for which he or she
originally tested positive.
c. Coaches Sport Safety Training. The committee confirmed its position that all coaches (including strength and conditioning staff) be certified in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The committee will be forwarding a recommendation in the near future. The committee also supported the concept of a common provision across divisions since the committee noted that there is a lack of evidence that would require variance between divisions. In an effort to assist the governance process and engage membership feedback, the committee did not elect an effective date so that it could collect further data on the current practice of the certification of coaches on member campuses. The committee conducted a survey examining emergency care policies on campuses in 1998. At that time, most sports required less than 50 percent of personnel to be CPR-certified and even less required first aid certification. The committee also will examine membership support for the inclusion of first aid certification or whether CPR certification is most paramount for rendering first response emergency care during athletics activity.
The committee
will examine issues of liability, volunteer coaches, time frames for
certification and cost. The
committee noted that this certification is intended to provide initial emergency
care until more skilled responders arrive and is not intended to replace
appropriate medical care or coverage.
Over 80 percent of student-athlete sudden deaths occur during practices
and conditioning sessions. Sixty
percent of those sudden deaths are attributed to heart conditions. Rapid response and immediate care is
paramount in these situations. The
requirement of an emergency action plan and mandatory cardiopulmonary
resuscitation certification of coaches for every practice, conditioning
session, and event is the key preliminary step toward activating medical care
response for student-athletes. The
committee emphasized that even in situations when other skilled personnel are available
(ATC, MD), multiple rescuers and the CPR-trained coach would be able to assist
the other rescuers. The growth of
practice opportunities that include year-round exposures and out-of-season
sessions has greatly increased the risk that coaches will be the first to
respond to a collapsed student-athlete.
3. LEGISLATIVE ITEMS.
·
None.
Committee Chair: Jerry
Koloskie,
Staff Liaisons: David Klossner,
Mary E. Wilfert,