Posted: May 09, 2018
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech is proud to be a partner with the Tennessee Department of Health and the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports at The Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. The two organizations joined forces with professional and collegiate teams across the state to kick off the Safe Stars initiative this week.
Safe Stars is a new effort to recognize Tennessee youth sports leagues with high standards of safety for athletes. It is the first youth sports safety rating in the United States. Its goal is to provide resources and opportunities for every Tennessee youth sports league to improve safety standards.
"This is important to ensure the future of athletics on all levels," said Mark Wilson, director of athletics at Tennessee Tech. "We want to make sure that these young athletes have their chance to work their way to the highest levels of sport in a safe and healthy manner."
The criteria for achieving recognition as a Safe Stars league have been developed by a committee of health professionals dedicated to reducing sports-related injuries among youth. The program has three levels of recognition – gold, silver and bronze – and involves implementation of policies around topics such as concussion education, weather safety and injury prevention.
Among the organizations partnering with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) are the National Football League Players Association Middle Tennessee Chapter, the Nashville Predators, the Nashville Sounds, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Nashville Soccer Club, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee Tech, Belmont, Lipscomb, the Tennessee Medical Association, the Tennessee Nurses Association and the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The first leagues to be recognized by the initiative included Kingston Parks and Recreation, PRIDE Lacrosse Lions League in Kingston, Gallatin Soccer Club and Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation.
The Safe Stars draft is now open and TDH team members are available to assist youth sports leagues in applying for Safe Stars recognition. TDH also has tools available to help leagues in meeting the qualifications for Safe Stars recognition.
To learn more about the program, visit www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/fhw/vipp/safe-stars-initiative.html. The website includes brochures for both parents and leagues interested in applying for recognition, and the application to become a Safe Stars league.