Injury

No timeout shall be charged to a player who is injured during the match. An injured player shall not be allowed more than a cumulative total of 15 minutes time out for injury or injuries per person during a match. If the injured player is unable to resume play after a period totaling 15 minutes, the match shall be awarded to the opponent. Preexisting conditions (including but not limited to injury and illness), fatigue or cramps do not warrant injury timeouts. For any injury, if the referee or tournament director determines the player cannot continue play, the match may be terminated at that time, regardless of cumulative injury timeout minutes still available. (See Rule 3.4.B.).

1). Blood Borne Pathogen. When a player is bleeding, or when blood is detected on the court or on a player, play must be stopped, the player must be removed from the court, and play cannot resume until:

a) the bleeding is stopped;

b) the open wound is covered with a dressing strong enough to withstand the demands of continued play;

c) any player whose uniform is soiled with blood changes the part of the uniform affected;

d) and any surface contaminated with blood is cleaned. Cleaning, including disposal, shall be performed by the host facility. The occurrence of bleeding, by itself, shall not constitute an injury for the purpose of application of the injury timeout provisions of this rule.

e.) and, if the player is required to leave the premises at any time for any part of this procedure, the match shall be forfeited.

2). Concussion. In the aftermath of any physical incident in which a player’s head may have been impacted or otherwise affected in an adverse way, the referee, player, or any bystander shall immediately inform the Tournament Director of said incident. Play shall cease until a determination by the Tournament Director that it may resume. Upon notice of said incident, the Tournament Director shall engage Medical Control to ascertain whether a concussion Risk Assessment is necessary for the player. The Risk Assessment shall be performed with generally accepted concussion protocols, including an evaluation of the common medical concussion symptoms, signs, and complaints.

Medical Control shall be staffed with a Trained Health Care Provider, defined as, but not limited to, a medical doctor, a physician assistant, licensed physical trainer, EMT, or any person formally trained in Risk Assessment of concussion symptoms and signs. Proof of medical licensing, certification, or training of the person performing the Risk Assessment may be required. Medical Control shall confer with the host facility to ascertain it has its own designated Trained Health Care Provider and its own state-approved concussion protocol, and shall abide by the host facility’s decisions.

The Tournament Director shall appoint Medical Control, and the Tournament Director shall serve as Medical Control in the absence of a formal Medical Control or a host facility protocol. In such an event, the Tournament Director’s determination for the need for Risk Assessment shall be based on the circumstances giving rise to the suspicion of potential injury. This includes, but is not limited to, the existence of symptoms and signs observed per those listed in the USHA Concussion Protocol posted on line at ushandball.org, concerns expressed by other players, the referee, and spectators, as well as the input of the affected player.

Upon referral to Medical Control, the player shall not be charged a time out nor assessed injury time out minutes for the duration. The player must cooperate with this procedure. The refusal to cooperate will result under penalty of forfeit of match. If Medical Control determines there is no need for a Risk Assessment, the player may return to the match. If Medical Control performs a Risk Assessment and determines concussion symptoms and signs are not present, the player may return to the match. If Medical Control concludes concussion symptoms and signs are present, the player must be referred to a medical facility for a formal concussion diagnosis. The player will not be allowed further participation and the match shall be forfeited. If the player is required to leave the premises at any time for any part of this procedure, the match shall be forfeited.

For any player not cleared to continue play by Medical Control, further participation in the tournament requires the player provide written authorization from a medical doctor or other authorized evaluator that the player is medically cleared for play prior to any match. Absent such written medical clearance, all succeeding matches shall be forfeited by the player. This includes a player who forfeited a match due to non-cooperation in this procedure.