The Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation partnered with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to enact new training and education protocol on Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) prevention to help protect California’s youth from the number one killer of student-athletes.

On January 30, the CIF Federated Council voted unanimously to amend CIF Bylaws 22.B.(9) and 503 to include language that adds SCA training to coach certification and practice and game protocol that empowers coaches to remove from a play a student-athlete who exhibits fainting—the number one warning sign of a potential heart condition.

A student-athlete who has been removed from play after displaying signs or symptoms associated with SCA may not return to play until he or she is evaluated and cleared by a licensed health care provider. To help educate parents and student-athletes about SCA warning signs and risk factors, an information sheet will be signed annually by the parent, guardian or caregiver and their student-athletes.

“We must always take positive steps forward that are in the best interest of our student-athletes, especially when it comes to protecting their health and minimizing risks and injuries,” said CIF Executive Director, Roger L. Blake. “Thanks to our partnership with the Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation we are able to raise awareness, educate and provide much needed information on SCA to all those involved in education-based athletics in California.”

Read more from the CIF here.