The mission of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) is to commission research on and, where feasible, establish standards for athletic equipment.

In its efforts in this field, the Committee fosters and encourages the dissemination of information on research findings on athletic equipment, injury data, and other closely related areas of inquiry through the organizations represented on the NOCSAE Board of Directors, and other entities in the fields of athletic and sports medicine.

NEWS

• Latest News



• January 2012 NOCSAE meets to consider sports medicine research grants and review concussion committee progress. Read more.



• January 2012 NOCSAE approves more than $845,000 to fund concussion and head injury research. Read more.



• NOCSAE issues statement expressing concern about a recent study that claims leather helmets are as protective as current helmets and the potential to mislead the public as to what they can reasonably expect from helmet use. Read the full statement here. NOCSAE also agrees with the sentiments expressed in a letter from some of the nation’s leading medical experts and researcher to the editor of the Journal of Neurosurgery which published the article about leather football helmets. Read the complete letter here.



• NOCSAE, CDC team up to give “Heads Up to Parents” about concussions in youth sports. Read more.



• NOCSAE urges caution against an over-reliance on any individual data point, rating, or measurement when considering football helmet protection against concussion. Read NOCSAE’s full statement regarding researcher’s helmet rating system.



• NOCSAE urges athletes and parents to get the facts about football helmets and concussion protection. Read more.



• NOCSAE media kit can be found here.
  
  
• Upcoming Board Meetings Contact Mike Oliver for questions/details



• June 14-15, 2012 Kansas City, MO


• January 25-26, 2013 Phoenix, AZ

• Standards Update

• After deliberation and consideration of input from multiple interested parties, the board voted in January 2012 to change the Youth Football Helmet Standard from “Proposed” to “Draft” so that more input can be received, and to permit development of that standard to follow a separate track. There was also concern that some may misinterpret the “proposed” status to indicate that NOCSAE has reached a tentative final decision with regard to the content and parameters of that standard, which is not the case. Significant hurdles remain to the development of a youth football helmet standard that will address the specific injury risks and biomechanical forces involved in youth football, and that data has not yet been well developed. Recently published studies such as Daniel RW, Rowson S, Duma SM. Head Impact Exposure in Youth Football. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2012:1-6 is an example of the data being developed. And other programs focused specifically on injury epidemiology in youth football, some directly funded by NOCSAE research grants, are still in the data collection and analysis stage, and will provide additional science necessary to support an effective and reliable performance standard for youth football helmets.



• The Board also voted in January 2012 to move to Final Status Standard Performance Specification For Newly Manufactured Baseball/Softball Fielder's Headgear. ND029-11m11 (Effective no earlier than January 2013)
  
  
• In June 2011, the Board approved changes to ND 001-11m11a that clarify the mandates required by all NOCSAE standards regarding the acceptable level of Quality Assurance, Quality Control and sample certification testing procedures necessary for certification of equipment to NOCSAE standards. (Effective August 2012)



• At the January 2011 meeting, the Board approved the addition of a low level impact requirement for newly manufactured football helmets. Also the current drop height test requirement for all NOCSAE specifications was changed to measure the drop velocity. This caused a revision of the following numerous standards found here which are effective February 2012.



• The Board continues to review and research the proposed changes to the helmet linear impactor test standard, which is currently identified as ND081-04m04 and it remains in proposed status.