Statement from the National Operating
Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment
Regarding Virginia Tech Star Rating System

"The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) believes additional research in the very important area of athlete safety can be helpful in understanding concussions and help parents and athletes make choices about what equipment to wear. However, we caution against an overreliance on any individual data point, rating or measurement which could lead to inaccurate conclusions or even a false sense of security that one helmet brand or model guarantees a measurably higher level of concussion protection than another for a particular athlete."

"A concussion in football is a very complex event involving different and changing forces, linear and rotational accelerations, impact duration, player concussion history and overall health, and potentially even genetics.  Virginia Tech's rating system approaches a very broad and complex issue from a narrow vantage point of linear accelerations only and does not address rotational accelerations, which the consensus of scientific experts agree are involved in many, if not almost all, concussive events."

"NOCSAE urges parents of athletes and athletes to get all the facts about football helmets and concussion protection. Your child's or your safety is too important to rely on only one partial measurement of helmet performance."

For the most reliable information regarding helmets and concussion and injury protection and prevention, NOCSAE encourages athletes and parents to carefully review:
• Hang tags that come with all new football helmets that address the helmet's abilities and limitations
• Informational booklets developed by manufacturers that contain critical information about the helmet's abilities and limitations
• Warning infarmation that is prominently affixed to the exterior of every helmet
• Free downloadable resources created by the Centers for Disease Control regarding concussion recognition, response and prevention. Those resources can be found at www.cdc.qov/concussion/sports/