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OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS (January 7, 2020) ― The National Operating Committee for Standards on Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE), which celebrates its semicentennial this year, started the year 2020 as a newly Accredited Standards Developer (ASD) of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
After an extensive review process, ANSI approved the NOCSAE standards development procedures and process, and on Dec. 30, 2019, recognized NOCSAE as an accredited standards developer. NOCSAE performance and test standards for athletic equipment are some of the most demanding athletic equipment standards in the world and are incorporated by the vast majority of athletic governing bodies.
ANSI accreditation is the culmination of six years of work by NOCSAE to engage stakeholders, refine existing standards adoption protocols and meet ANSI accreditation requirements for open participation, due process, balance and prevention of non-dominance by any single interest group. ANSI accreditation will provide NOCSAE with the opportunity to submit its standards for acceptance as American National Standards on the national and international stage, and reinforces NOCSAE’s ongoing commitment to fair and balanced athletic equipment performance standards.
“NOCSAE is proud to have received official ANSI accreditation in recognition of a continued, long-standing commitment to open standards development and practices,” said NOCSAE Executive Director and General Counsel Mike Oliver. “Standards play an essential role in addressing athletic safety concerns and they will continue to be vital as technological advances increase the options for preventing and reducing the severity of sports injuries. For 50 years, NOCSAE has been at the forefront of this work, and will continue to advance our core mission, which is the safety and protection of athletes.”
About ANSI
(ANSI) is a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Through its members, staff, constituents, partners and advocates, ANSI responds directly to the standardization and conformity assessment interests and needs of consumers, government, companies and organizations.
ANSI coordinates the U.S. voluntary consensus standards system, providing a neutral forum for the development of policies on standards issues and serves as a watchdog for standards development and conformity assessment programs and processes. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The ANSI process ensures that all interested and affected parties have an opportunity to participate in a standard’s development. It also serves and protects the public interest since standards developers accredited by ANSI must meet the Institute’s requirements for openness, balance, consensus and other due process safeguards. For more information, visit www.ansi.org.
ABOUT NOCSAE
NOCSAE, the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, is an independent and nonprofit standards development body with the mission to enhance athletic safety through scientific research and the creation of performance standards for athletic equipment. Formed in 1970, NOCSAE is a leading force in the effort to improve athletic equipment and, as a result, reduce injuries. NOCSAE efforts include the development of performance and test standards for football helmets, gloves and facemasks, baseball and softball batter’s and catcher’s helmets, baseballs and softballs, ice hockey helmets, soccer shin guards, lacrosse helmets and facemasks, and polo helmets.
NOCSAE is comprised of a board of directors representing stakeholders from a number of groups – including consumer and end users, equipment manufacturers and reconditioners, athletic trainers, coaches, equipment managers, and academic and sports medicine associations. These diverse interests have joined forces in an attempt to arrive at a common goal of reducing sports-related injuries. NOCSAE is a nonprofit, charitable organization supported by individuals and organizations with an interest in athletics. For more information, please visit www.nocsae.org.