The last Wednesday of every September is designated as Rowan’s Law Day to honour Rowan Stringer’s memory and raise awareness about concussion safety.
Rowan Stringer loved rugby; she was a competitive and keen athlete and captain of John McCrae Secondary School’s team. Tragically in May 2013, 17-year old Rowan died as the result of head injuries she sustained while playing rugby. In the week before her last game, Rowan was previously hit twice while playing, likely sustaining a concussion after each hit. Rowan’s concussions went unreported, and she continued to play. Rowan suspected something wasn’t right—she texted a friend about her condition and used Google to search for information about concussions. When she was hit again, in her final game, Rowan suffered what is known as Second Impact Syndrome—catastrophic swelling caused by a second injury to a brain still healing from previous trauma. Rowan collapsed on the field on May 8, 2013 and died four days later.
In 2018, the Ontario Legislature passed legislation creating Rowan’s Law and one key component of this legislation is the declaration of Rowan’s Law Day. The day is dedicated to promoting awareness of concussions and the importance of having strategies to prevent, identify, and manage them.
We have created and compiled comprehensive resources to help parents, guardians and students know more about concussion and how to prevent it. We have listed a few resources below.
OCDSB’s Rowan’s Law Day poster
Government of Ontario
Rowan’s Law Day webpage
Concussion Awareness Resource e-booklets (English/French):
Ages 10 and under / 10 ans et moins
Ages 11-14 / 11 à 14 ans
Ages 15 + / 15 ans et plu
Concussion Awareness Videos (English/French):
Ages 10 and under / 10 ans et moins
Ages 11-14 / 11 à 14 ans
Ages 15 + / 15 ans et plus
Parachute (A national charity organization dedicated to injury prevention)
Concussion overview
Concussion Guide for Parents and Caregivers
Return to School Strategy
Return to Sport Strategy
OPHEA (Ontario Physical and Health Education Association is a registered provincial charity)
Rowan’s Law Day Toolkit for Schools
For more resources and detailed information, visit: ocdsb.ca/ConcussionManagement