Safety Officers

Sport Club Safety Officers are responsible for the safety of their team members during all scheduled activities. They also have various responsibilities that must be completed for their team.

Injury reporting

If a Sport Club athlete sustains an injury during practice or competition, it is the safety officer’s responsibility to fill out an injury report form within 24 hours of the incident. If the injury is severe enough that the athlete must be taken to the hospital, they should contact Sport Club Director Aaron Chaput.

First aid kits

Safety Officers are responsible for keeping a fully stocked first-aid kit for their team and bringing it to every practice and competition. The med kits are distributed at the beginning of the year and extra first-aid materials can always be found in Aaron Chaput’s office. Safety Officers may also request additional materials for their first-aid kits by contacting a First-Aid Assistant.

P.E.A.R First-Aid Assistants

P.E.A.R. First-Aid Assistants manage safety protocol and procedures for the Sport Club department at Carleton. We teach American Heart Association CPR and First-Aid classes to students and staff at Carleton, stock medical kits for each sport club team, provide concussion baseline testing services to athletes, and volunteer as sideline safety support at sport club home events. We also work with the safety officers from each team, holding regular training sessions and communicating about safety practices to meet the specific needs of each sport.

Our over-arching role with P.E.A.R. is to support the health and safety of Carleton sport club athletes. We are here to provide resources, information, supplies, and help. Please contact any or all of us if there is absolutely anything we can do to help your team. 

Aya Klos, 2023, klosa@carleton.edu

Isabella Pozzi, 2023, possii@carleton.edu

Tali Emlen, 2022, emlent@carleton.edu

Concussions

A concussion is a type of traumatic head injury caused by a blow to the head or body. They can range from mild to severe, but all concussions must be taken seriously and the club sports department has procedures in place for how they should be dealt with. Safety Officers have the responsibility of making sure that all necessary steps are taken in the event of a concussion.

If a concussion occurs…

Safety Officers must make sure that any athlete who may have a concussion are immediately removed from play. It is crucial that the athlete is taken out of competition, even if it is unclear whether or not they are concussed. Safety Officers must then fill out an Injury Report form and instruct the concussed athlete to see one of the athletic trainers at the Rec Center.

Return to play policy

Before a sport club athlete is able to return to play, they must first be cleared by a doctor or certified athletic trainer. Preference for all athletes is to work your clearance process through the Carleton Athletic Training staff. If an outside provider is preferred, a clearance note must be delivered to the athletic trainers at the Rec Center in order for the athlete to be taken off the injury list kept by Aaron Chaput.

  • When a student-athlete shows any signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with a concussion, the athlete shall be removed from practice or competition and evaluated by any athletic health-care provider with experience in the evaluation and management of a concussion (i.e.: P.E.A.R. Certified Athletic Training Staff)
  • A student-athlete suspected of, or diagnosed with a concussion, will be withheld from the competition or practice and not return to activity for the remainder of that day. 
  • Return to play decisions will be made on clinical judgment based on an individual case-by-case situation.
  • Generally, any concussed student-athlete will have physical and cognitive rest until symptoms resolve, and then a graded program of exertion prior to medical clearance and return to play. Each level of exertion will be advanced approximately every 24 hours, as long as athlete is symptom free.
    • Asymptomatic at rest
    • Asymptomatic with light aerobic exercise (i.e.: exercise bike)
    • Asymptomatic with sport-specific exercise (i.e.: agility drills, lifting weights)
    • Asymptomatic with non-contact training drills
    • Asymptomatic with full-contact practice
    • Asymptomatic with normal game play
  • Ultimate and final authority for return-to-play will reside with the team physician or the physician’s designee.
  • According to the Institute of Medicine report, athletes with a history of concussion may have severe subsequent concussions and take longer to record. As a result, the College has the right to permanently retire any student athlete with persistent signs or symptoms of a concussion, multiple concussions, low concussion threshold and/or progressively severe episodes of concussion.
  • Please consider safer activities if you’ve experienced multiple head injuries.

Concussion baseline testing

Concussion baseline tests are mandatory for rugby, ultimate frisbee, lacrosse, hockey, and equestrian teams, but all sport club athletes are encouraged to take the test as well. The idea is that athletes can take the baseline test when they are healthy so that, in the event of a concussion, they can retake the test as a benchmark during the return to play process. Multiple baseline sessions are held every term, but if you would like to schedule one for your team please reach out to a First-Aid Assistant.