Tennessee is the first state to establish safety ratings for youth sports with its new system Safe Stars.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Safe Starts allow parents to check to see if youth sports leagues follow state recommended safety protocols.
2. Participation from sports leagues is voluntary and the program will award bronze, silver and gold safety ratings.
3. The bronze designation covers the most important safety protocol: emergency action plan, background checks on all coaches, constant presence of a CPR/AED certified coach, severe weather policy, anaphylaxis emergency plan and coaches being trained to recognize and manage concussion and sudden
cardiac arrest incidents.
4. To earn a silver rating, leagues will need to meet two additional safety protocols and an additional four to earn a gold rating.
5. A committee of youth league coaches, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., experts and Tennessee Department of Health officials determined the actions required for each star rating.