New Training Camp Rules

[Fred C Dobbs]

I can't remember which Bomber it was who said "The season I play for free, it's those two-a-days at training camp they gotta pay me for."

Well, it's changed:

The Canadian Football League, in conjunction with the Canadian Football League Players’ Association, took another important step to protect the health and safety of its players today by limiting the amount of contact allowed at training camps this year.

“Our players are our greatest asset, and we want to do all we can to protect them, while also protecting the essence and spirit of our game,” said Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League.

Under the new regulations, contact will be restricted to a maximum of one practice a day during training camp, as will the use of shoulder pads and other protective equipment in addition to helmets.

Only helmets can be worn for the other practice on the same day, and contact is not allowed.

Previously, coaches had the option of staging two practices featuring full pads and contact during training camp.

http://www.cfl.ca/article/cfl-limits-am ... ning-camps

[Jpan85]

Probably a good idea. Cut down on some of the training camp injuries.

[Fred C Dobbs]

Here's Coach Burke's take on the new rules:

WINNIPEG Blue Bombers head coach Tim Burke said a new CFL directive aimed at making training camps safer for players this spring won't affect what his team is doing.

Burke said the directive announced Wednesday that restricts teams to one full-contact practice per day during this year's training camp is something the Bombers were already doing in recent years and a practice Burke intended to continue.

"I think the fans would appreciate us getting the best players to the field for the opening game," said Burke.

CFL teams in previous years could require players to wear full equipment and engage in full contact twice per day during training camp, but Burke said most coaches realized a while ago the practice produced diminishing returns.

"There's some guys who are old school," said Burke, "who just kept knocking heads until there was nobody left."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports ... 71031.html

Anybody here ever heard of **** Huffman?