ATHLETIC THERAPY

Athletic therapy services are available for all student-athletes. In order to provide quality service, each team is provided with one or more student-therapists who are available to assess and treat any injury that might occur. The Gorman/Shore Sport Injury Clinic operates under the direct supervision of certified athletic therapists, who are available to assist each student-therapist and to oversee the medical care for all student-athletes. A team of doctors, dentists and other professionals in the medical field serve as "adjuncts" to the clinic and are available should an athlete require immediate consultation and assistance.

The Gorman/Shore Sport Injury Clinic is open Monday to Friday from 11:30am to 7pm and is located in room 201B Tait McKenzie Centre.

Medicals

It is highly recommended that all student-athletes have a physical performed by their family physician every year. Required medical forms must be completed in full and submitted to the team's student-therapist before the first practice, tryout or training camp. First time York athletes from the following teams are required to have medicals performed by physicians serving on York University's Sport Medicine Team: football (prior to the first practice), men's and women's ice hockey, and women's rugby (prior to the first game).

Student athletes can participate in interuniversity sports only after York sport medicine staff has provided medical clearance.

Provincial Health Insurance

All athletes must have a valid provincial health card (i.e., OHIP number) before they can practice or play. Note: All athletes must carry their original health card with them at all times.

Extended Health Insurance

It is highly recommended that all interuniversity athletes have extended health care coverage to assist in offsetting those costs not covered by your provincial health care plan, i.e., OHIP.

As a student registered in 15 or more credits at York University, you will be charged the York Federation of Students (YFS) extended health care plan fee when you pay your tuition fees unless proof of alternate insurance can be provided (see YFS Student Rights Handbook, page 36). This does not include those students registered in Glendon, Glendon-Education, or Atkinson. Osgoode students have a separate mandatory extended health plan. All other students must contact Cindy Hughes, head athletic therapist, regarding extended health care coverage.

Counselling and Development Centre

The CDC helps students to realize, develop and fulfill their personal and academic potential through an assortment of diverse programmes. Among these are personal counselling assistance, learning disability programs, self-help programs, learning skills programs, psychiatric disability programs and special groups and workshops. For more information, please call the CDC at 416-736-5297 or visit them at 145 Behavioural Sciences Building.

DRUG EDUCATION AND DOPING CONTROL

Each year, student-athletes must complete a Student-Athlete Drug Education Online Seminar and sign the York and CIS Doping Control Forms in order to compete.

CIS athletes are a part of the drug testing protocol currently used by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. Any athlete may be tested at any time. Athletes testing positive for banned and restricted substances will be sanctioned and their name will be released to the media. A list of banned and restricted substances and consequences of a positive test are outlined in the CCES website at www.cces.ca.

Do not assume it is okay to take a medication because it is prescribed by your physician.

Under certain medical conditions and circumstances, often with asthma and respiratory ailment drugs, prescribed medications containing a banned substance may be permitted upon declaration and approval by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

It is extremely easy to make mistakes, e.g., Claritin is not banned, however Claritin Extra is!

REMINDER: Before taking any medications (prescription, over the counter, off the shelf, herbal remedies, vitamins, etc.), check with either:

1. Cindy Hughes, Head Athletic Therapist
2. CCES website at www.cces.ca
3. The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport at 1-800-672-7775

Many herbal remedies are banned or contain banned substances not listed on the label. Herbal and nutritional supplements are not subject to the same federal regulations as the typical foods people purchase at the grocery store, and as such it is possible for a product to contain ingredients that are not listed on the packaging. Some of these products contain "natural" or botanical sources of banned or restricted substances without listing the banned substance (for instance, the plant "ma huang" contains the banned drug ephedrine).

Note: Some herbal or nutritional substances have accumulative effects or may interact with one another to produce a positive effect.

The CCES cannot provide a definitive response to requests about the status of these products.

York University, the OUA and the CIS are unequivocally opposed to the use by athletes of any banned, restricted substance or illegal substances (e.g. Exstacy or Marijuana), or methods in contravention of the rules of national and international sport federations, the International Olympic Committee and FISU.

York University, the OUA and the CIS are unequivocally opposed to any encouragement of the use of such substances and or methods by individuals in position of leadership in university sport (i.e., coaches, athletic staff, medical practitioners, sport scientists, administrators, etc.), or by the athletes themselves. The provision of, or administration of banned or restricted substances to athletes, is forbidden.