The California State Legislature Assembly Bill No. 1 (AB-1), and the California Health and Safety Code § 124241 (n) reads:
A youth sports organization shall annually provide a declaration to its youth tackle football league stating that it is in compliance with this article, and shall either post the declaration on its internet website or provide the declaration to all youth tackle football participants within its youth sports organization. 

The following is our...
STATEMENT OF DECLARATION
CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATURE: ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 1 (AB-1)

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION
Under existing law, a school district, charter school, or private school that elects to offer an athletic program is prohibited from allowing a high school or middle school football team to conduct more than 2 fill-contact practices, as defined, per week during the preseason and regular season, as defined, and from conducting a full-contact practice during the off-season. 

This Bill would express legislative findings and declarations relating to youth football and specifically relating to player safety. The Bill, on and after January 1, 2021, would require a youth sports organization, as defined, that conducts a tackle football program to comply with certain requirements, including, among other things, not conducting more than 2 full-contact practices, as defined, per week during the preseason and regular season; not holding a full-contact practuce during the off-season; having coaches receive a tackling and blocking certification, as specified; having designated personnel annually complete specified concussion and head injury education, a specified factsheet related to opioids, and designated training relating to heat-related illness, as defined; meeting specified requirements relating to safety equipment; having a licensed medical professional present during games, as specified; having coaches receive first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and automated external defribillator certification; and inspecting safety equipment, as specified. 

The Bill, on and after January 1, 2021, would require a youth tackle football league to establish youth tackle football participant divisions that are organized by relative age or weight or by both age and weight, and to retain information for the tracking of youth sports injuries, as specified. The Bill would declare that nothing in its provisions would prohibit any youth sports organization or youth tackle football league from adopting and enforcing rules providing a high level of safety than the requirements of this Bill. 

On January 25, 2021, it is hereby declared by the members of the Executive and General Board Members of the South Gate Youth Football, Inc. organization (aka; South Gate Youth Football & Cheer or South Gate Aztecs), that we shall abide by the rules of the California State Legislature, AB-1, the California Youth Football Act, and the subsequent applicable California Health and Safety Codes: § 124235, § 124236, and § 124241; and that all policies, procedures and practices shall be applied in support of and to act in compliance to the rules of the California Youth Football Act beginning January 1, 2021.  

Section 1. (a)
The People of the State of California and the volunteer leaders; participants (players, cheerleaders, authorized team staff) and parents of the South Gate youth Football, Inc. organization finds and declares the following: 

 

1. Youth football's highest priority is the safety and well-being of it's participants. California children must have the right to be protected wth safe youth football standards and practices empowering parents to make informed choices regarding the elected activities of their children. 
2. Nationwide, over 2.5 million players, coaches, cheerleaders, and parent volunteers participate in youth football. 
3. Your football provmotes the values of teamwork, self-discipline, diversity, academics, nutrition, leadership, and acceptance. 
4. Youth football promotes an active lifestyle that helps combat obesity rates in youth, which have increased by 300 percent over the past four decades and that lead to a broad range of health problems previously not seen until adulthood, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and elevated blood cholesterol levels. 
5. Youth sports have become increasingly expensive due to elimination of after school sports programs and the proliferation of travel teams and tournament-centric scheduling, but youth football remains an affordable neighborhood-based sport that is accessible in every community in California, irrespective of socioeconomic status or geographic location. 
6. Football is one of California's most popular sports, and the safety and well-being of the players is youth football's priority. 
7. Any youth football organizations have implemented policies requiring the annual or biannual recertification of all football helmets by the helmet manufacturer or by an independent third party and the replacement of helmets that are damaged or that do not meet the current safety standards or recertification requirements. 
8. New helmet testing standards are being implemented to enable players to wear the safest helmet possible, and manufacturers continue to advance helmet technology. 
9. Blocking and tackling techniques designed to remove the head from contact have become the nationwde standard for teaching blocking and tackling, and coaches are required to complete annual certification and continuing education in blocking and tackling techniques that emphasize the removal of the head fro any blocking or tackling and that provide coaches with noncontact drills designed to reinforce this training. 
10. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Concussion Protocol Training has become standard for many youth football organizations and coaches in an attempt to minimize the risk of injury for youth football players, and the training is designed to identify those plaers who exhibit symptoms of a concussion, to prescribe protocols for the immediate removal of those players from the game or practice, and to outline stringent "return to play" protocols that coaches, players and parents must follow after a youth football player has received clearance from a medical doctor before that player is allowed to return to full participation. 
11. Youth football organizations have implemented policies for concussion response, proper hydration, equipment fitting, and age and weight requirements. 
12. California prohibits high school and middle school football teams from conducting more than two full-contact practices per week during the preseason per week during the preseason and regular season, and California also prohibits the full-contact portion of a practuce from exceeding 90 minutes in any single day and completely prohibits full-contact practice during the off-season. 
13. The awareness of the possible injury risks associated with football are now widely known and accepted by parents, players, coaches, officials, medical professionals, and the general public. 
14. The decision to play youth football ultimately rests with the parents, after their thoughtful consideration of the the risks and benefits, as to whether participation in youth football is in their child's best interest. 
15. In order to ensure youth tackle football participant safety and competitive play, youth tackle football leagues should be divided into divisions based on the participant's relative size and maturity, including classifications by appropriate weight, age, and size. 

Section 1 (b)
It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to build upon pior legislation, including Assembly Bill 2007 (Chapter 516 of the Statutes of 2016), to improve youth tackle football safety with new safety standards while honoring youth tackle football's spirit and tradition. 

Respectfully submitted, 
On Behalf of the Executive and General Board Members
of the South Gate Youth Football, Inc. Organization 

LORA L. GONZALEZ
President