Ice hockey is one of the most popular recreational and competitive sports played by Canadians.

Hockey players have a greater incidence of head injury and concussion than any other sport. Concussions account for 12% of injuries amongst minor league hockey participants in Ontario.

There are known long term consequences to children who suffer from more than one concussion and presently there is no proven treatment to reverse the long term consequences of acute head injury.

It is essential that an injury prevention program be implemented within the hockey leagues to prevent concussions.

The Smart Hockey video includes information on the mechanism of concussion, in-game tactics to reduce high-risk maneuvers, and guidelines for leaving and returning to play.

The purposes of the Smart Hockey Video Evaluation project are:

1. To find out if a hockey concussion prevention video changes knowledge levels and behaviour among youth hockey players.
2. To describe coach, league official, parent and player perspectives and how these relate to injury prevention in hockey.

The first part of the project involves assessing whether the concussion video is effective. Teams participating in the project will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will view the video at the beginning of the season. Teams from both groups will be asked to complete questionnaires about hockey playing behaviour and concussions. Players, coaches, parents, and league officials from both groups will be asked to complete the questionnaire at the beginning (October – December) and the end (January – March) of the hockey season.

The second part of the project involves observation of selected league games that will assist the researchers in accurately describing events occurring at games. In addition, a small number of hockey players, parents, coaches, trainers, referees, and league officials will be invited at the first survey session to participate in interviews and discussion sessions conducted throughout the season.