Rugby players are monsters. They have become so big, can they be called human? In this modern day, rugby union is more about how hard you can tackle and how fast you can run, than the rugby. This essay will delve into and explore whether professional rugby union is becoming too dangerous and why this is the case.
Was the professionalism of rugby a good idea? Sure, it’s great to watch and exciting to play but at what cost, Death? As a rugby player myself, I believe rugby is a fantastic sport and it is something I know a lot about. However, I believe the size and fitness of the players is changing the dynamic of the game. The idea that rugby players must be over a set height and weight for selection to represent your country is profound. The skill and determination of a player appears not count for much in today’s rugby.
The equipment worn by the players contribute to making the sport of rugby union much safer. Mouth guards are worn; this is a piece of plastic that fits to the players upper set of teeth, to prevent the teeth clashing. Teeth clashing can cause concussion; therefore, mouth guards are worn to stop this danger. Secondly, post pads are placed around the rugby posts to stop the players hitting into them and causing a very serious injury, as the posts are made from metal. Although not mandatory, scrum caps are likely to be the most commonly used accessories in the game. This piece of equipment involves a cloth helmet that covers the head but leaves the face uncovered; the cap is filled with small pockets of soft material, usually foam. This also helps to stop the game being so dangerous. There are many pieces of equipment that contribute to making the sport of rugby much safer. However, there are many reasons why the...
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...are to forgiving in such a dangerous sport. With people’s lives on the line in some situations, why should the referees forgive athletes for rule breaking? Rule breaking should be more harshly dealt with, resulting in match bans or sending the athletes off the pitch.
In the past ten or twenty years we have noticed a considerable change in the players physiques, however this is not a valid reason for rugby becoming more dangerous as this is in fact protecting the athletes. However, surprisingly, the equipment involved in making the game safer can have the reverse effect as the players take safety for granted, this can result in injuries to players. The structure is different from other sports, but isn’t much more dangerous. Rugby is a contact sport, and in any contact sport however good the rules are injuries will occur. I believe rugby is in fact becoming safer.
Playing football comes with several risks factors that players’ acknowledge prior to playing the game starting a young age. Regardless, these players still chose to play the game, which they end up loving and cherishing despite all the risks accompanied with it. Football is one of the toughest sports in the world; it takes a certain amount of strength, speed, and aggressiveness to play 48 minutes of hard-nosed football. However, the National Football League (NFL) is in the midst of a controversial issue. Is the NFL getting soft? This has been a debatable issue for several years. While some believe that implementing all these rules in the NFL is progressively turning the game soft, others say that the NFL is not getting soft; it is just trying to make the game safer for its players.
Injuries are common in most sports that have a contact component attached. Whether it’s at a professional level, or a school level, injuries are always bound to occur in contact sport. This analysis will look into the role headgear could, should and would play, and debates whether it should be made mandatory. Olympic sports such as Ice Hockey, Bicycle Riding and Baseball are just some examples that currently require athletes to wear a form of headgear. However, Australian contact sports such as AFL and Rugby give the option for players to wear headgear for protection. In 2011, 14 year old Ben Robinson was hospitalised after being treated 3 times in a game for head blows in a rugby game . In 1994, professional boxer Bradley Stone died from head injuries whilst boxing against Richie Wenton . Examples like these show the brutality of contact sports. Because of this, my paper will look at the issue of headgear in contact sport and will particularly look at this issue at junior sports level.
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
This is because the equipment does not protect the important parts of the body that are most vulnerable to injuries. Furthermore, they also don’t make football players hit or tackle other players correctly, leading to serious injury and some have even died, due to concussions or other serious injuries.
For the safety of the players in the present and future, a stricter concussion protocol should be required at all levels of football. Though improvements have been made, the game of football is constantly changing and the protocol needs to keep up with the changes. Today’s athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before: "Size and physical conditioning techniques in sports at all levels have evolved to create an intense athlete. They 're able to create more force, power and speed than ever before and that leads to harder hits and a greater number of hits" (Neporent). These advances in training have led to a more dangerous sport. The protocol has improved in recent years along with an emphasis on player safety, but the increasing numbers of players with long-term effects of concussions show there is still work to be done.
American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understanding head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. In respect, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and regulations to improve helmet safety. Regardless, standards and regulations attempt to address helmet safety through government intervention and a proper measuring system for football helmets. Despite the cultural perception of football, measures are taken to ensure safety, such as the reforms and education with regards to playing safer football. I intend to address the technological advances and regulation of football towards the discussion of helmet safety. Therefore the aggresivity in football’s culture should embrace stronger helmet standards and regulation that are promoted through improved testing methods and innovations because of the need to prevent further dangerous head injuries, especially concussions.
Nonetheless, some parents are still very reluctant to put their kids in football or rugby. This, I believe, is why high contact sports could eventually perish. Fewer and fewer kids are playing sports each year where there is an elevated risk of a head injury or concussion. (Paine) Parents do not want to gamble with their children’s mental ability and thus deny their children the opportunity to participate in high contact sports. In some sports, they have changed all sorts of rules and almost completely changed the game to ensure player safety. For instance, Hockey Canada called for a rule change to delay body checking in minor hockey. Instead of having the kids learn how to hit in PeeWee (ages 11-12), they have pushed it back an age group to Bantam (Ages 13-15). (CBC Sports) Parents were becoming too nervous about placing their children into a sport where there was hitting or hard body interaction for absolutely no reason. Why spend thousands of dollars for your child to play a contact sport and risk having them injured when there is little chance of making it as a professional athlete. Essentially, contact sports are becoming less popular among younger children and
So whats one more thing to think about? There professional level athletes,they need to give themselves more credit. And yes there right, injuries are bound to happen in a contact sport, but they need to try and do their best to play within the rules that are being set for their benefit.
One of the biggest controversial topics going on today is should children still be aloud to play football, knowing what we know about serious injuries? The article that I chose ( “Don’t Let Kids play football”) is about the consequences that could occur playing such a contact sport. The debate is that some people believe that football teaches important life lessons and others believe that it can cause serious life changing injuries.
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
In conclusion I could say that yes, high school football is dangerous. Most of its dangerousness would come from not having the correct equipment, or running plays with too many head hits. If coaches would reduce plays with head hits, punish those that hit too hard for no reason in need, and provide better gear high school football would be safe. Why not try to improve the game for the athletes? Is only four years a players gets to experience high school football, why not make the best of out of
Rugby is the true sport of men, because you wear no pads, and it is even more violent than football; however, football requires that you wear pads, thus being the true sport of want-to-be men.
Your equipment needs to keep you safe in this sport. The football helmet is the most important one because it protects your brain and keeps you from having a head injury or from becoming paralyzed. You also need a mouth guard to protect your teeth because who wants to walk around with no teeth in their mouth. Next, you have thigh, hip, and knee pads, these protect your lower body, and they prevent you from damaging your lower body. Then we have the shoulder pads, these pads protect your chest and shoulders. Last we have football cleats, these help you keep grip to the grass or turf so you won’t twist an ankle or etc.
Going back to college after you have been out of school for quite a few years, had three children, been married, and divorced is a lot harder than I ever imagined. It takes hard work, dedication, and missing out on the little things previously taken for granted. I miss taking naps the most. I believe if you can tough it out through the worst days, you can finish school and provide a better life for your children and yourself. You need a lot of willpower and a large sense of humor.
Imagine it is a Friday night underneath the lights, in October, and you are walking into a stadium packed with fans cheering. But the only noise you can hear is the sound of your cleats hitting the pavement as you are marching up to the field, and the only thing you see is the other team and the end zone. It is such a stimulating feeling, it is unforgettable. Now, you may think I am talking about an American football game, but I am not. I am talking about a rugby match. Believe it or not, football derived from rugby. Differences are in rugby, there are no pads, the ball does not have laces, fifteen men to a side, and above all else, it is an international sport and it is safe compared to football. How come if it is safe, and it is a worldwide sport like soccer, why is it not a school sport like football is too many high schools and colleges across the country? Rugby needs to be a school sport not only because it is safe or it is international, but because it builds character in those that need support, teaches people how to work as team, and to expose what real brotherhood is.