World Rugby gives U of C $500K to study injuries in girls' rugby

The University of Calgary entrance sign and arch are shown in a stock photo. (Getty Images)

The University of Calgary has received funding from World Rugby to research concussions and injuries in girls' rugby.

The SHRed Concussions research team, which is part of the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Kinesiology’s Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC), will receive a $500,000 grant.

The funding comes after SIPRC chair Dr. Carolyn Emery, Dr. Stephen West and PhD candidate Isla Shill submitted a proposal to World Rugby to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted approach to injury and concussion prevention in the youth female game.

The sites that the study will be looking at include Calgary, Winnipeg, Quebec City, Vancouver, Bath (located to the west of London, UK), and Leeds (located close to Manchester, UK).

For the UK sites, Emery, West and Shill will be joined by Keith Stokes, a professor in the University of Bath, and Ben Jones, a professor with Leeds Beckett University.

Emery says that the opportunity to work in a international setting is very exciting.

"The most exciting thing about this opportunity is to build an international research team focused on the prevention of injuries and concussions in female youth rugby, is to engage the leadership of Dr. Stephen West and Isla Shill, bringing together a international research team in a field in which they share a passion for player welfare in youth rugby."

Shill is a former rugby player for the University of Calgary Dinos, and says that studies like these are necessary.

"There are huge gaps in the female youth game and a need to support female-specific evidence informed injury prevention strategies."

Mark Harrington, the World Rugby Chief Player Welfare and Rugby Services officer, says that World Rugby is looking forward to the results.

"We look forward to seeing tangible outcomes that will further support our evidence-based approach to advancing welfare for players at all levels of the game."