Bill Manning Named New Argos President

[jerrym]

I know no one will agree with me but the "snowflake" mentality is quickly reaching it's best before date. There are a lot of sociological things at play here and you're right about the infatuation with concussions. But we're mostly only seeing one side of that story, you never hear about the danger of gymnastics (the first time I saw stars) the heading of a soccer ball, all sorts of politics happening with this.

Societal attitudes will change regarding the "mollycoddling" of our youth, it's beginning already. Just a matter of time. Better stop here before I go on too much. : )

"Mollycoddling" or not, a significant number of parents are choosing other sports for their children as concern over concussions grows. On the other hand, flag football is growing rapidly.

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the number of boys ages 6-17 playing tackle football fell 18 percent in a six-year span (2009-14), from 3.96 million to 3.25 million. The following year, the number was down again to 3.21 million.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...123-story.html

While participation in youth tackle football has been steadily falling, flag football is growing. USA Football, the organization that oversees youth football in America, reported that in 2016 there was an 8.7-percent increase of kids 6 to 14 playing flag.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...123-story.html

[paulwoods13]

Actually we are hearing about concussions in sports like soccer and gymnastics. I don't believe for a second that this is just a fad that will pass. Parents are becoming acutely conscious of the risks faced by their kids in sports, and are going to either hold them out or place them in a safe (or at least safer) environment.

[rdavies]

or place them in a safe (or at least safer) environment.

You couldn't have worded that better. I suggest bubble wrap for one of the "safer" environments. : )

[jerrym]

Hockey is also facing a challenge when it comes to concussions and declining youth enrolment, although the losses are nowhere those of football.

While the high cost of outfitting a player and the time commitment involved are contributing factors in hockey's declining numbers, concern about head injury is eating away at hockey's core: One survey, conducted by Charlton Strategic Research, noted that 70 per cent of parents with kids playing at the midget age group (15 to 17) were worried about injuries. Three in 10 parents said they have a player who had suffered a concussion. In Ontario alone, researchers now believe as many as 36,000 players suffer concussions yearly.


Hockey Canada has just tallied its registration numbers and discovered it is lighter by more than 5,600 players in the 2013-14 season. Though girls' hockey has grown, the same can't be said for boy's hockey, which has been on the slide for three consecutive seasons.
Hockey executives are taking notice.

Don Fehr, executive director of the National Hockey League Players' Association, gave the keynote address at a University of Toronto symposium focused on better understanding the effects of concussion on athletes.
Society as a whole, he said, allows and often applauds people for partaking in hyper-dangerous activities. "The question becomes what do we permit and under what regulations, and that's what I think we're now beginning to really re-examine," he said. "What we are engaged in I think, is the beginning – at least in connection with a couple of sports – of a fairly thorough re-evaluation of how things are going to be done."

The ultimate question, Fehr said, is who decides.
"Who gets to decide what activities that kid engages in and under what conditions? Some group, some organization, the government, or mom and dad? I don't think there's any clear answer and I think it changes with time, it changes with perception and it changes with circumstances."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...ticle18930361/

[R.J]

Didn't think this needed it's own thread, but Glen Suitor brings up in this segment with Jim Tatti on 1150, that the CFL on TSN guys got a presentation on the Argos rebuild of the fanbase. Not much obviously, but thought it was interesting to hear. https://www.tsn.ca/radio/hamilton-11...tory-1.1099252
18:55 mark