The following information provided is designed to help parents or guardians navigate through all the details when their athlete participates in Geneva athletics or suffers from an injury or illness while participating in athletics throughout the year. This information is also meant to help provide both Geneva and TAPPS with proper documentation and injury reporting protocols.
- INJURY REPORTING
Any time your athlete is seen by a licensed medical professional other than the athletic trainer during the school year, please secure a physician written and signed release for the sport they are participating in, and physician written and signed clearance once they have been cleared by a medical professional to participate. If your student sees a doctor, it is important to let them know that they will have the opportunity to work with an on campus athletic trainer and ask what rehab exercises you can perform under their supervision to improve recovery time. Both the release and clearance forms need to be on file at the school so we can report injuries to TAPPS. - PHYSICALS
Student-athletes participating in school-sponsored athletics must have a current sports physical on file with the athletics office in order to participate. The sports physical must be renewed each year and is valid for 12 months. The sports physical form must be completed by a licensed physician. No student athlete will be allowed to step onto a field or court for practice or tryouts until they have a current physical (completed and signed by a doctor within one year) on file at the Geneva Athletic Department Office. In addition to a physical each athlete must have all TAPPS mandated paperwork on file before their first competition. TAPPS paperwork includes Medical History, Concussion, Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Steroid Notification and Student Acknowledgment of Rules. All of these forms are available on the Geneva website or in the Athletic Office. - CONCUSSION REPORTING AND PROTOCOL
If an athlete is determined by a physician to have sustained a concussion, he/she cannot receive clearance until symptom free for 24 hours. The athlete must have physician-documented clearance and have completed and turned in to the trainer the TAPPS Concussion Return to Play Form(on file at the school or with the trainer) before he/she is allowed to enter into the Return to Play Protocol. Once released, the athlete will then complete the five-step Return to Play Protocol before he or she can participate in a game or contest. Each of these steps will take 24-48 hours (about two days) to complete. The athlete will progress to the next step only if they have remained symptom free. If symptoms return, the athlete will be removed from activity and may return to progression after 24 hours of being symptom free. If symptoms do not resolve the athlete will be referred to her physician. Athletes must complete this program under the supervision of a certified/licensed athletic trainer and not at home.
An athlete cannot return to play unless:- The athlete remains symptom free for seven days
- The athlete is asymptomatic at rest and with exertion
- The athlete has successfully completed the Return to Play Protocol
- The athlete has obtained a written release and filed a TAPPS Concussion Return form with the Athletics Office.