NCAA COMPETITIVE SAFEGUARDS AND

MEDICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS COMMITTEE

Summary of Recommendations

PRESIDENTS COUNCIL ACTION ITEM

ISSUE:		Eyewear in Women’s Lacrosse.
Committee Recommendation:
	Mandate, beginning with the 2004 NCAA championships, that women’s lacrosse student-athletes wear protective eyewear that meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) lacrosse standards and strongly encourage the use of this protective eyewear during the 2003-04 competitive and practice seasons.
Management Council Recommendation:
	1. Approve the recommendation to mandate such eyewear during the 2004 NCAA championships. 2. Mandate such eyewear during the 2003-04 regular season, contingent on NCAA authority with regard to playing rules. 3. Emphasize the thorough and direct communication of this action.
Presidents Council Action:

ACTION ITEMS – MANAGEMENT COUNCIL ONLY

1. ISSUE:		Financial Assistance to Member Institutions to Provide Protective Eyewear in Women’s Lacrosse.
Committee Recommendation:
Establish a limited one-time grant fund supported by divisional and Association resources to provide assistance for member institutions who demonstrate financial hardship in purchasing protective eyewear for student-athletes in the sport of women’s lacrosse to meet the mandated requirement for protective eyewear beginning with the 2004 NCAA championship.
Management Council Action:
	Denied the recommendation. The Council noted the following: l Concern regarding the precedent the Council would set. l Financial implications for future issues related to safety initiatives. l Distinction between student-athlete expense and institutional expense.
2. ISSUE:		Availability of Athletics Training at All Contests.
Management Council Action:
	The Council discussed the desire that adequate support by athletics trainers be available at all contests, consistent with the standards established in the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook. The Council: l Recommended addressing the issue with conference commissioners. l Recommended that member institutions consider inclusion of expectations for event support, including athletics trainers, as part of game/contest contracts established between institutions.