Athletes take baseline concussion test

GWINN — With the prep sports fall season just around the corner, athletes across the state are gearing up for the grind of practices and games. Before they even get on the playing surface, some student–athletes at Gwinn took part in a different kind of competition today.

Eleven athletes showed up to school to take the Impact Test, which gives doctors and trainers a baseline of an athlete’s brain function should they suffer a concussion in the future. The test itself is made up of numbers, letters, and drawings that students have to react to and process as quickly as possible.

“They’re testing obviously memory, short-term and recall memory. They’re also testing reaction time,” said Bill Elmblad, who is a Certified Athletic Trainer. “If they do sustain a concussion we will ask them to come in and do some evaluations on them. Using a baseline is a gold standard for concussion testing.”

The Impact Test took students anywhere from 20-30 minutes to complete.