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In May, a St Kilda City’s under-nines junior football team played rival
club St Paul’s McKinnon. It was just another weekend game of footy
in Melbourne, but it raised some interesting questions about the effect
that wearing helmets have on the game.
St Kilda doesn’t wear helmets, St Paul’s does, and St Kilda got crushed.
The loss led to questions being asked particularly about the impact that
helmets have on the way that a team plays.
St Kilda City and St Paul’s play in the south metro junior football league.
It has 29 teams. League general manager David Cannizzo says about
half choose to wear helmets in the younger grades despite AFL Victoria
having no helmet policy. ‘’It is purely a club decision,’’ he says.
The science that AFL Victoria cites for its policy is a nine-year-old study
done by medical, safety science and brain experts from three major
Australian universities. It says there is ‘’little evidence that protective
headgear is an effective injury prevention measure in Australian
football’’.
It suggests helmets may give a false sense of security: ‘’Players who
mistakenly wear headgear because they think they are protected may
place themselves at increased risk of injury.’’
The jury is still out on helmets for children. Some clubs where helmets
are not compulsory find that some parents want them anyway, despite
no tackling or bumping in the under nines and 10s which is only
allowed from the under-11s age group. St Kilda City president Don
Robertson says the ‘’non-contact’’ nature of the younger grades means
helmets are not necessary and he is happy to abide by the AFL’s lack
of policy.
Professor Vicki Anderson, a Melbourne University paediatric
neuropsychologist and head of Critical Care and Neurosciences
Research at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, told The
Saturday Age the science was untested on all the arguments. Children’s
heads and developing brains were vulnerable. However, there was an
‘’overprotectiveness’’ in some arguments for helmets.
As anticipated in the last edition of Touchline,
the five year ban on women soccer
players who wear headscarves competing
internationally has been overturned by
FIFA’s rule-making body in Switzerland.
‘’Safety and medical issues have been
removed for the use of the headscarf and
it is approved that players can have the
headscarf,’’ said Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s
secretary general.
The design, colour and material that will be
permitted will be finalised at a board meeting
in Glasgow in October.
The decision is good news for Muslim
female players around the world.
Moya Dodd, vice-president of the Asian
Football Confederation and former soccer
player for the Australian women’s team,
the Matildas, said: ‘’It’s just a matter of time
before there is a hijab-wearing Matilda.’’
Ms Dodd was part of a year-long campaign
to overturn the ban that was spearheaded
by FIFA’s vice-president and executive
committee member, Prince Ali bin al-
Hussein of Jordan.
Ms Dodd believes the ruling is a turning point
for ‘’the beautiful game’’ as more Muslim
women are playing soccer and reaching its
elite ranks.
A headscarf design that includes a quick-
release Velcro strap has been developed to
overcome safety concerns.
FIFA OVERTURNS HEADSCARF BAN
A 27-year-old skydiver has died after plunging into the ground
at high speed while attempting a specialist manoeuvre
known as swooping.
Tim Fitzsimmons, from Raby, NSW, Australia, died after
more than 12 hours of surgery at Liverpool Hospital.
He suffered serious internal bleeding along with chest,
abdominal and leg injuries following his failed jump.
Paramedics rushed to the Sydney Skydiving Centre at
Wilton, in the city’s southwest, transporting the experienced
BASE jumper and skydiver by helicopter to hospital.
It is believed Mr Fitzsimmons was swooping at the time, a
technique where the jumper dives at high speed before using
their parachute to pull out of the plunge a short distance
above the ground.
Friends flooded social media with messages of support for
the family of the well-respected skydiver.
SWOOPING SKYDIVER DIES
TO WEAR OR NOT TO WEAR, THAT IS THE QUESTION.
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