Study Shows TackleBar™ is a Safer Version of Football

ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- TackleBar™ Football has a lower injury rate than both flag and tackle football. A new study, published in The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine this week, shows TackleBar has an injury rate seven times lower than any other form of football. The study was authored by Dr. Uzma Samadani, MD, PhD and her team in conjunction with the University of Minnesota. Dr. Samadani is an internationally recognized neurosurgeon and a leading brain injury researcher.

"What is important for children is to get them active - to get kids outside playing and running around," said Dr. Samadani. "Kids love football and reducing risk associated with conventional tackling is logical. Our work investigating injury rates in football and its alternatives ensures parents, coaches and league administrators have vital information to make decisions in the best interest of our kids. Our study shows that TackleBar has a more favorable safety profile than other forms of football."

TackleBar is a modified version of football currently being used by teams and leagues in 27 states and three countries outside the US. Players wear traditional football equipment, plus a harness around their midsection that holds two removable foam bars on the lower back. The design teaches and requires players to use proper form tackling technique while wrapping up the ball carrier and then ripping off a foam bar to end the play. This approach eliminates the final step of tackling a player to the ground, where most injuries occur. Unlike flag football, TackleBar teaches safer contact and sound fundamentals, preparing young players for an eventual transition into tackle football.

To gather data on TackleBar, researchers followed nearly 1,000 nine-year-old to 14-year-old kids across 56 teams. In almost 16,000 practices and games over a full three-month season, there were only five injuries that required a player to miss the next practice or game. There were no reported head injuries. TackleBar players averaged less than one injury per 1,000 practices and games.

"We are incredibly proud of those numbers, and it proves what we've known all along: TackleBar is a safer version of the game because it eliminates the big hits and requires players to use proper technique," said TackleBar CEO Tim Healy. "We've been hearing stories for the last three years about how much safer TackleBar is. Now, the data supports what we've been hearing from parents and coaches."

Recently, TackleBar entered a strategic partnership with Riddell that joined two teams dedicated to preserving the great game of football. Riddell's strong team of sales representatives across the country will now be able to educate coaches and league administrators on the benefits of TackleBar as well as supply them with the innovative equipment. TackleBar debuted in 2016 and has seen double-digit growth each year with participating leagues. The game has been embraced and endorsed by football coaches, parents and kids, as well as former NFL players.

About TackleBar:
TackleBar Football is a modified game that preserves the tradition and spirit of football while providing an ideal transition between flag football and tackle football. The TackleBar harness teaches safer contact and sound fundamentals, while providing kids an authentic football experience that decreases injuries and increases participation. Since 2016, TackleBar has been used by youth football leagues as a game format, and by high school and college programs as a tool for teaching safer contact. TackleBar was a finalist in the NFL's First and Future competition in 2019, and is endorsed by the Minnesota Vikings. Learn more at: tacklebar.com

Media Contact: Brigid Ling
Email: [email protected]
Website: tacklebar.com

SOURCE TackleBar

Related Links

http://tacklebar.com

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