MAST Update 6.1: Concussion Baseline Testing Dates: Please Read Carefully

Minneapolis Alpine Ski Team
Update #6.1: October 31, 2018
 
Dear MAST Athletes, Parents and Coaches:
I just added two dates to our calendar next week.  These dates are very important for the health and well-being of our athletes.   
 
Tuesday, November 6 and Thursday, November 8: Concussion Baseline Testing
Background: As you have heard me say, ski racing is a contact sport.  Skiers fall and there is always the risk that when this happens an athlete can suffer a concussion.    The big risk to long term health is not a single concussive event but multiple ones.  Scientists and physicians have learned a great deal in the last fifteen years about concussions.  Perhaps the two most important things they have learned are

1. We need to take them very seriously
2. Once concussed, it is very difficult to know when the brain has healed enough to resume activity without running the risk of doing long term damage to the brain should a second concussive event occur.  

One imperfect tool a physician has to determine when an athlete can return to play is a Concussion Baseline Test.  The test is done on a computer and is designed to measure a person’s cognitive functions when the brain is known to be healthy.   It takes about an hour to administer from start to finish.  Should an athlete suffer a concussion, a physician MAY ask the athlete to re-take the baseline test in order to measure whether ALL cognitive functions have returned to baseline.  The test is re-taken when ALL the symptoms of a concussion have resolved. It is one tool that a physician might use to determine whether an athlete’s brain is healed. Even then, athletes follow a five-day return-to-play protocol before they are allowed to fully participate in the sport.
 
Our high school athletic trainers are offering baseline concussion testing to MAST athletes. 
Here are the details.

​Who Should Take Test Baseline Test?
Attached is a roster of our team.  If you have taken the test before, the date that you took the test is listed.   Note that my records may be imperfect, so if you think you took the test last year and it isn’t listed, check with your high school’s athletic training to confirm. 

• If you are new to MAST this year and did not take the test this Fall, YOU need to take the test.  
• If you are a returning MAST Athletes who took the test in 2016 or prior (two or more years ago), YOU need to re-take the test on Nov 6 or 8.
• If you took the test last year, you will need to re-take the test in the Fall of 2019. 

 
Where: Southwest High School.  Room: E106 (Enter Through The Link).
When: Tuesday, November 6. 
            Session I— Arrive no later than 3:15PM.  
            Session II— Arrive no later than 4:15PM. 
 
Where: Washburn High School.  Room: Cafeteria (Enter Door 5).
When: Thursday, November 8.
            Session I—Arrive no later than 3:15PM.
            Session II—Arrive no later than 4:15PM.
 
Please arrive ON TIME.   The validity of the test is compromised when there are disruptions to accommodate late arrivals.
 
You do not need to be a student at Washburn or SW to take the test at either location.  Roosevelt and South athletes are WELCOME to take the test at either Southwest or Washburn.  You can also check with the Athletic Trainers at your schools to see when the test is offered there.   Middle school students should plan to take the test at 4:30 unless your school is an early release school like Barton.
 
Everyone needs to have a baseline test on record.  The test results are stored with TRIA and your school’s athletic trainer will be able to help your physician access those test results should you need to do so in the future. Let’s hope you don’t.
 
Please select a date and put it on your calendar.  
More to come…
Mark
612-275-8392