Concussion Recognition Tool

A concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function. It is the most common form of mild traumatic brain injury, often sustained from a blow to the head after a fall or an accident or during contact sports such as armoured combat or fencing.

You don't have to be knocked out or even be hit on the head directly to be concussed, and symptoms may take time to appear. Even a mild concussion can have long-lasting effects, so we want to keep all of our participants safe.

Marshals must stop the fighting if they suspect a person has a concussion, and pull a combatant from the field, but because most concussions are self-reported, they often go undiagnosed.

Combatants will often try to hide signs of a concussion so they can keep fighting, so having advocates on the sidelines to reduce the stigma of saying you're hurt or experiencing symptoms like dizziness or lightheadedness can make a big difference in getting people to report and get treatment for a concussion.

Concussion in Sport has released a Concussion Recognition Tool to help identify concussion in yourself and others.

Understanding this tool, and knowing how to recognise signs and symptoms of concussion are now required for authorising as a participant or marshal.

If you are printing a copy of these rules, print out the tool

We cannot include the PDF directly due to copyright reasons, so if you are printing a copy of the rules, please follow the link below and print a copy to include in this handbook.

The tool is hosted on FIFA's website - Concussion Recognition Tool 5

More information

New Zealand's Accident Compensation Commission website also has a number of resources. https://www.acc.co.nz/preventing-injury/sport-recreation/concussion-in-sport/