How Common Are Head Injuries in High School Sports?

According to the Center for Injury Research and Policy, in the 2007-8 school year, high school athletes reported an estimated 137,000 concussions. The researchers believe far more occurred and where either not recognized or not reported. The majority of reported conclusions occurred in these sports:

1. Football - 70,000
2. Girls soccer - 24,000
3. Boys soccer - 17,000
4. Girls basketball - 7,000

Research shows that even mild concussions and other head injuries can have serious long-term effects. One of the most serious results of a head injury is an epidural hematoma (bleeding between the skull and the brain). This type of injury most commonly occurs when an impact to the head results in a laceration of a blood vessel in the head that forms a blood clot between the skull and the brain’s protective covering, called the dura. This clot slowly grows and puts pressure on the brain that, if not treated promptly, can result in death.

All experts agree that wear safely equipment, such as a helmet and mouth guard, can reduce the risk of serious head injuries.

About.com

Accra, June 5, GNA - Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, Minister of Youth and Sports on Friday said government is keen on ensuring equal development and promotion of all sporting disciplines in the country. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the first ever North-West Africa Women’s Rugby Tournament at the El Wak Stadium, in Accra, the Minister said the era of neglect of lesser known sports is over, adding that every sporting discipline will be given the needed attention and opportunity to develop.

“All sporting disciplines are important and we cannot afford to neglect some at the expense of others”. The Minister stated. Alhaji Mubarak said the organization of the rugby tournament in Ghana was an indication that the sport was gaining popularity in the country with the youth keenly gradually embracing it. He called on the participants to ensure fair play in the course of the competition as sports is meant to unite people and not dive them. Mr Worlanyo Agrah, acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Sports Council (NSC) commended the Ghana Rugby Association (GRA) for organizing the tournament adding that its popularity in the country will keep the youth from deviant behaviour.

He expressed the hope that the competition will serve as the platform of popularizing the game in the country and was confident great players will emerge from the tournament.

Ghana is hosting seven other countries in the first ever North-West Africa Women’s Rugby Tournament, with Togo, Tunisia, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Morocco and Egypt participating in two day event.

The tournament is being funded by the International Rugby Board (IRB) with 12,000 US dollars with support from the National Sports Council (NSC).

Source:  GNA

He said Government would continue to regard the youth of Ghana as important partners in national development, and pointed out that a visit and dialogue with the Presidency by the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) was a right rather than a privilege.

The President was reacting to a statement by Mr Ishmael Chinebuah - Kodua, President of the NUGS, who led a delegation of the Executives of the Union, to pay a courtesy call on him at the Osu Castle.

Mr Chinebuah- Kodua, in his introductory remark registered the gratefulness of the Union to the Mills Administration for making the Castle accessible to the Union; something he said had not been so in former times.

President Mills, who is also a former don at the University of Ghana, said he had always loved to interact with the NUGS, and extolled the worth of Ghana’s youth, which had enormous exuberance, with profound intellectual capacity that could be explored for national development.

President Mills urged the youth to emulate the good qualities of the older generation, and imbibe the virtues of honesty, openness, humility, tolerance and love for one another as the nation strive to ensure a better life for all its citizens.

He said the youth should not allow themselves to be manipulated by political leaders, who had no genuine love for the nation.

They should rather take lessons that would make them effective leaders when they assumed the mantle of leadership.

President Mills urged politicians to teach the youth to do the right thing, adding that the changes in the nation’s higher educational system had become necessary to respond to the exigencies of the moment, to be abreast with the development needs of the time.

He reiterated Government’s determination to ensure that the youth were given quality education to the development of human resources.

“Thanks for the visit, we’ll welcome you and talk to you and together we’ll build a better Ghana,” President Mills said, and called for regular interactions between Government and the Union.

Communications Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu said Government was operating strictly under the rule of law, and invited the Union to criticize the Government when necessary, but in a manner that was civil and decent.

Mr Iddrisu announced that President Mills, out of deep concern for the number of qualified applicants who did not gain admission to both private and public tertiary institutions, would conduct a “needs test” with a view to improve on the Student Loan Scheme, under a formula of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND).

Also, an amount of GHc 12 million would be made available this year under the GETFUND to support the Students’ Loan Trust.

Mr Iddrisu condemned the get-rich quick attitude among a section of the youth through Internet scams.

He announced that as part of Government’s effort to cyber security, a Bill would soon be introduced in Parliament, while a Cyber Security Centre would also be established.

Mr Chinebuah- Koduah complained about the frequent changes of the duration of the nation’s post primary education calendar, stating that there have been 13 reforms since 1963, adding that Ghanaian education had often been bookish examination centred, and with the Examination Council holding students at ransom with frequent cancellation of examinations.

He however expressed gratitude to government for providing temporary offices for the NUGS, and appealed for the provision of a permanent office complex.

GNA

The MP impressed on the people to see members of the Police Service as friends and not enemies and urged them to cooperate with them to maintain law and order in their communities.

Alhaji Dey said he has plans of forming a women’s football team in the area and as well as promoting other sporting activities such as volleyball and table tennis.

The community team beat their Police team counterparts by a lone goal which was scored in the first half by Rauf Alhassan.

Alhaji Dey presented a set of jerseys to the winning team as their price.

In a related development the MP also supported the organization of football matches between eight wards in the Constituency after which he presented a set of jerseys and footballs valued at GH¢ 7000.00 to the participating teams.

Prior to the match, the MP inspected the roads in his constituency which he described as being in very deplorable state and expressed the fear that immediate remedial measures are not taken some areas may be completely cut off from the district capital when the rains set in.

GNA

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He, therefore, charged participants at a two-day national forum on the duration of SHS to pay particular attention to issues of quality basic education, quality teacher training, teacher motivation and text books at the basic level.

The forum was organised in fulfilment of a manifesto promise by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to seek consensus on the duration of SHS, which used to be three year until the previous government increased it to four years a few years back.

Mr. Mahama noted that merely increasing the duration of SHS to four years without addressing the flaws of the basic education level had not made the situation any better.

I thought the purpose of making the duration of SHS four years was to strengthen the foundation of our education system and not to cover it up,” he said.

The Vice President said so long us basic level, including kindergarten, primary and Junior High School (JHS), remained challenged it did not matter if the duration of SHS was extended to 10 years, the results would still be bad.

“We need to go back to the basics and deal with the problems of non-availability of text books, poor teacher-motivation, poor quality teachers and inadequate facilities among other things,” he said.

Mr. Mahama noted that the problem was even worse in the rural areas, particularly in the less privileged schools, saying that children from such schools seemed to have been condemned to illiteracy and they never got the opportunity to be well prepared for SHS.

He said children from the few privileged schools did not have the same challenges as those from less-privileged school, adding that the privileged children usually entered SHS well prepared and did not need four years to complete and grasp their syllabi.

Mr. Mahama urged the participants to pay attention to the predicament of the less privileged schools and make recommendations on how to effectively address the fundamental flaws at the basic level.

He said government was committed to ensuring equitable access to quality education and that government was particularly interested in quality teacher training in Mathematics and Science.

Mr. Mahama debunked criticism raised against the forum by some education experts, saying that consultation would always be necessary no matter how much consultation that had been on a critical national issue as education.

Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education, expressed the confidence that the forum would emerged with recommendations that would put Ghana’s education system on the path to greatness.

He noted that a number of forums had been held in the past on Ghana’s education system, but this one promised to deliver a lasting solution to challenges.

The Minister urged participants to focus on addressing issues dispassionately.

About 700 participants and experts, drawn from the public and private sectors, as well as from civil society, were participating in the forum.

GNA

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at the end of a quarterly capacity building meeting in Accra, Mr Emmanuel Otoo, West Africa Regional Coordinator of Free the Slaves, said immediate prosecution of master traffickers put the interests of the children in danger.

The meeting brought together 25 participants drawn from partner organizations of the GG and FTS to share experience and strategize on how to effectively combat the canker and prevent child labour in the fishing and mining areas.

Mr Otoo said despite efforts to eliminate worst forms of child labour, the practice continued to exist.

He drew attention of the partners to the issue of modern day slavery adding that apart from the hazardous mining activities, some of the trafficked children were also made to go into commercial exploitation which exposed them to risks.

Mr Otoo called on partners to conduct further investigation and research into the issues of child labour and slavery to enable the GG and FTS as well as civil society and Government to enhance intervention packages to deal with the problem.

He pledged the preparedness of FTS to collaborate with government and other stakeholders to find sustainable solution to the issue.

Madam Louise Makau-Barasa, GG Programme Director in-charge of Central, West Africa and the Caribbean Regions, said GG and FTS were committed to unlocking the potential of the trafficked children and to protect them from risks.

She called for a holistic approach and active participation of all stakeholders including government to effectively combat the practice.

Mr George Achiba, Executive Director of PACODEP, a local partner of GG at Kete-Krachi in the Volta Region, said his organization had rescued over 250 trafficked children and reintegrated them into their families.

Mr Achiba said the PACODEP had also been involved in supporting parents in “sending communities” to venture into income generating activities to be able to cater for their children.

He reminded parents to remain committed to their roles of taking care of their children and not to hide behind poverty and negative cultural practices to give out their children to traffickers who enticed them with some items.

The partners include Social Services Foundation, Challenging Heights, Prolink, Association of People for Practical Life Education, PACODEP, Rescue Foundation.

GNA

History unfortunately reminds us there is a great gap between promise and practice. Sometimes I ask myself whether all the soothing promises made by Professor Mills concerning the youth of Ghana would be achieved. Were all these promises made for conveniency of it for the purpose of wining the support of the teeming youth in the country? I turn back to the youth and ask this question: The questions are: Firstly, are these politicians going to deliver on their promises? Secondly, Are the youth going to hold these our politicians accountable for not carrying on their promises?

I am not that old to recount the experiences of the first, second and third republics but for the fourth republic(current dispensation), at least that I have been a partaker in establishing. In all the past four terms as well as the immediate one; I have recounted that , one thing so common was the fact that the youth were the tools in achieving their goals. If the youth is that important in achieving ones political dreams then the youth deserve better than what we have seen over the years.

The past sixteen years has seen the hope of the Ghanaian youth being wiped off. The vision of the youth has become like a mirage. Companies and industries have been shut down, Parents have been laid off, education is now the reserve of the rich and no more a right of the people as enshrined in the constitution. Total collapse of the railway and air travel industry and a good number of other services that made life a little bit easier for those at the helm of affairs now when they were growing up. Now that the world is closing up through the power of technology, Ghanaians are going back instead of moving forward as declared by our visionary first president (Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah).

As a child growing up I remember in Akrokerri, a town in Ashanti region near Obuasi, I remember that the town had well furnished health centre with 24-hour response ambulance services, telephone service, community water supply, post office, good town roads, community toilets, good community schools, two state farms, public bus service, railway transportation and a host of others that due to mismanagement all these have sadly collapsed. All these are no more in existence except the clinic which has been reduced to the state of nothingness and not even to talk about the ambulance which has been left to corrode under the action of the weather. I know these are the seenery across the country. I see this as the cause of self centered individuals who have led this nation in the past. I do not limit these people to presidents but ministers, district chief executives and some public officers. Thank God we had Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom in the presidential race who kept on wetting our appetite by telling us that ‘it can be done.’ This should give the Ghanaian youth hope that with the right leadership we can turn our fortunes around.

The dawn of another era has just about begun. I implore all Ghanaian youth not to give up the zest of life but keep the dream of better nation alive. Like what Jesus said: whatever your hand finds to do, do it well. The youth cannot match a disappointment to their maker but by being the eye of their respective communities. That is by channeling their youthful exuberance into worthwhile activities and also holding the government they have helped in establishing accountable. While doing this, we should remember that there is no short cut to life ‘Kwantia ye musuo.’ The act of patriotism must be alive. ‘Arise Ghana youth for your country….’

Godwin Benin

13-year old Kavya Shivashankar, sponsored by ‘The Olathe News’ and from the California Trail Junior High School emerged the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion, spelling the championship word ‘laodicean’ which means “lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics.”

The spelling competition began Tuesday with 293 competitors who qualified to compete in the Bee by winning locally sponsored bees in their home communities and countries. The 2009 competition marked the largest field of competitors in the history of the event.

After an initial round one of computer based spelling tests, the two hundred and ninety-three (293) spellers from across the world gathered for two rounds of spelling on stage. 13 year old 8th grader, Nana Adjoa from the Crown Prince Academy in Accra correctly spelt both words.

With the cut-off point for the semi-finals fixed at a minimum 28 points and only fifty (50) spellers targeted, Nana Adjoa and two hundred and forty-nine (249) others were eliminated.

“Well, I did very well… with my six maximum points from main preliminary round I could easily have made it if my score from the round one test was higher” Nana Adjoa said with a shy smile, adding very quickly “I don’t have any reason to be disappointed. I spelt both words correctly and not everybody did on the day… and oh they couldn’t even get the fifty (50) people for the semi-finals.”

While organisers were expecting fifty (50) semi-finalists, only forty-two (42) made the qualifying pass mark, and according to the Country Manager of Spelling Bee Ghana, Eugenia Appiah, Nana Adjoa’s performance was a good one and an improvement on their representative of last year.

Ghana is the only African country represented at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, making its second consecutive appearance at the finals. The country made history in 2008 when Maria Isabel Kubabom joined others spellers for a fun-filled one week.

Nana Adjoa who was coached by Evangeline Bortey, an English Teacher from the SOS Herman Gmeiner School, was the toast of many spellers and parents here, mainly because she was holding high the flag of Africa and also because of her dressing and bags which were all adorned with the colours of the Ghanaian flag.

Though disappointed she did not make it to the semis, Nana, who represented the dailyEXPRESS Newspaper in Accra, was excited about the opportunity the participation offered- the fun, the joy of meeting other children to share experiences, learning many more new words and the fact that she scored 19 points far ahead of over a hundred other spellers.

Finishing second in this year’s competition was Tim Ruiter, a 12-year-old seventh grader representing Times Community Newspapers of Reston, Va. 13-year old Aishwarya Pastapur, representing the State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois was third.

Cash prizes for competitors ranged from $100 to the National Champion’s $30,000 in addition to an engraved loving cup; a $5,000 scholarship from Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation; a $2,500 U.S. Savings Bond and complete reference library from Merriam-Webster; and reference materials valued at more than $2,800 and the Britannica Test Prep Precocious Package valued at $799 from Encyclopaedia Britannica.

All the finalists received the 51-volume “Britannica Discover America” and the 2008 “Encyclopaedia Britannica Student Edition” DVD-ROM.

All spellers receive a commemorative watch; the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, which consists of a $100 EE U.S. Savings bond; and Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, on CD-ROM from Merriam-Webster.

About the Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is America’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and 287 local spelling bee sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe; also, the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand, and South Korea. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives.

The local newspaper sponsor of the Spelling Bee in Ghana is the dailyEXPRESS, Ghana’s first and only FREE newspaper and the competition managed by Essence Communications.

The 2009 Spelling Bee Ghana Competition headline sponsored by Indomie Instant Noodles and supported by Cowbell. The media partners for the competition were JoyFM, Junior Graphic, Radio Universe and Tv3.

Joy Online

The two-week competition is expected to bring crack hockey nations from across the continent including South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria into the country. Others are Kenya, Zimbabwe and Namibia whom reports suggest were yet to confirm their participation.

Already, the national hockey team, the Black Sticks are in Holland preparing for the crunch competition. And according to Osei Boakye, coach of the team, they are putting finishing touches to their preparations before sojourning to Ghana for the big take-off.

A visit by DAILY GUIDE SPORTS to the national hockey pitch which is being elevated into an international stadium status, revealed that work was far advanced for the 1,200 capacity stadium to be completed by June.

In an interview with DAILY GUIDE SPORTS at the unveiling of the logo in Accra, Abuga Pele, Chairman of the local organizing committee said the country was committed to hosting the tournament, hence the construction of the world-class stadium.

“A number of activities have been designed to ensure the successful hosting of this tournament.”

He added that the set-target was to ensure that the country hosts a tournament that would leave a lasting legacy.

Meanwhile, the Vice President, John Mahama, on Tuesday launched the 9th hockey competition at the Accra International Conference in Accra.

He used the occasion to call on Ghanaians to embrace hockey and other sporting programmes just like football so as to improve upon the game in the country.

By Charles Nixon Yeboah.
Daily Guide