"Stewards of ice hockey": a historical review of safety rules in Canadian amateur ice hockey.

Much has been written about the violent nature of ice hockey and the need to make it safer.' Perhaps the most telling evidence of its violent or unsafe nature were reports of spinal cord injuries in the 1980s and 1990s2 The medical profession was so concerned about the problem that representation was made in February 1983 to the board of directors of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (now the Canadian Hockey Associat i ~ n ) . ~ Changes to the playing rules and an education campaign were undertaken to target this problem. The medical profession was not the only agent of change. Increasingly violent acts leading to severe injury attraded the attention of co~r t s .~ Knowledge of this legal activity has sensitized players, coaches, administrators, and parents of the need to control the more violent ads in the game. Politicians, on occasion, move to the forefront as external agents for change.5 While external agents of change are important as supplementary monitors of how members of society perceive the health and vitality of the sport, internal agents, namely, the executive members of the branches of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), are the real stewards of safety for the sport. The executive members discuss ideas for change offered by their constituents, and they forward motions for rule changes to the Rules Review Committee of the CAHA, which comprises the chair of the CAHA rules committee, the branch presidents, and the referee-in-chief for the CAHA. This committee grants or denies the motions. Approved