Lacrosse Helmets Fail to Meet Standards: Safety Group

As parents and coaches fret over the mounting evidence that concussions suffered by student athletes can have lasting effects, a report that questions the safety of two types of lacrosse helmets is troubling news.

The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment says the Warrior Regulator and the Cascade Model R — helmets worn by lacrosse players nationwide – do not live up to the standards set by the committee. The organization says in a news release that helmets must meet its standards for use by high school and college players.

The committee’s mission is to research safety equipment for all sorts of sports, from lacrosse to softball, football and hockey.

The companies that make the two helmets told The New York Times they are working to retrofit the helmets to meet the committee’s safety standards.

“It’s a disappointment for the companies trying to make it right and for the players because there are probably thousands of those units being worn,” Steve Stenersen, the chief executive of U.S. Lacrosse, told the newspaper. “But when it’s safety with player equipment, you can’t take any chances. They’re illegal. Kids just can’t play with them.”

Lacrosse, which is wildly popular in Maryland, has doubled in the number of students playing the sports in the past decade, the Times reports. In the 2013-14 school year, 188,689 boys and girls played lacrosse at the high school level, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, about twice the number of a decade ago.

The risk of head injuries prompted Delegates Dana Stein and Jon Cardin, Democrats from Baltimore County, to introduce a bill last year that would have required youth girls’ lacrosse players to wear headgear. But the legislators withdrew the bill after getting strong resistance from leaders of Maryland’s lacrosse community, Patch reported.

Despite the failure to pass the bill, Stein and Cardin said in a press release that the legislation “accomplished an important goal of pushing the conversation to include vital safety concerns and is a win-win for parents and youth athletes.”

The delegates discussed the idea of headgear with US Lacrosse and its director, Stenersen, and said they would collaborate on safety issues. They also said they are open to working with US Lacrosse to address the need to certify coaches and referees, which many believe will make the game safer.

»Screenshot from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment website.