The move came as lawmakers this week consider hundreds of bills before a Friday deadline. Brown took action on dozens of bills already approved by the Legislature, including signing measures requiring greater transparency in the California State University and UC systems and allowing landlords to bar renters from smoking in their units starting next year.

But the vetoes showed that the governor may be setting a high bar for new state mandates.

In his veto message accompanying the helmet bill, SB105 introduced by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, Brown appeared to side with GOP critics who had characterized the measure as “nanny government.”

Brown, a Democrat, wrote, “While I appreciate the value of wearing a ski helmet, I am concerned about the continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state. Not every human problem deserves a law.”

Supporters were quick to criticize the veto, pointing out that Brown’s Republican predecessor supported an identical bill last year and that the bill mirrored existing bicycle helmet laws for children. Jo Linder Crow, executive director of the California Psychological Association, said Brown “chose to ignore the scientific evidence (and) the ski industry’s support.”

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Heavenly Supporting the Ski Helmet Bill
2. Ski helmets may soon be mandatory in California
3. CA Ski Helmet Law Denied by Gov. Schwarzenegger

More than half of American skiers now wear helmets to ski or board and head injuries have reduced by more than 50% since 2000 according to the NSAA study.
However deaths have remained steady at an average of around 40 per year. The study concluded that while ski helmets could protect skiers and boarders in low impact collisions, they are generally ineffective in high speed impacts – the commonest cause of head injury deaths whether or not the individual was wearing a helmet.
The study also found that knee injuries which used to be one of the commonest form of ski injury in the 1960s-80s have almost disappeared because of improvements to equipment over the past few decades, particularly quick release bindings.

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. VIDEO: Ski Helmets reduce injury risk
2. Ski helmets reduce incidence of brain injury
3. Study: Skiers and Snowboarders Need Helmets

New Jersey is also making great progress on their bill (S130). The legislation is very similar to the California bill and was passed with a staggering 33-2 vote. Once again, this bill is now waiting for approval from the State Assembly.

Both bills would require children 17 and under to wear a ski helmet while skiing on any California or New Jersey slopes. Fines will range from $25 for first offenses all the way up to $100 if caught again being unsafe. One of the finer points that we at SkiHelmets.org applaud in both of these bills is the fact that the penalties (fines) for non-compliance is not only for parent and legal guardians, but for any supervising adult, which we assume means schools, church groups, travel groups etc. There truly are No More Excuses in these two states (assuming that both bills will eventually pass).

This news is fantastic news in our opinion but it does make us ask some additional questions. For example, who were the 20 people who opposed the vote in California? Did they fall prey to the lobbyists from Ski Associations? Do they not want to make skiing and snowboarding a safer sport? We know that there is massive debate on the safety of ski helmets, but in the end it has never been proven that Ski Helmets are not as safe and we have seen countless reports demonstrating that Ski helmets are safer in many situations. We know that ski helmets are not going to prevent fatalities on the slopes. Skiing and Snowboarding are dangerous. It’s a fact. Just like driving a car. The idea of not wearing a helmet to us is about a absurd as driving a race car without a seat belt. It’s just plain stupid. (please feel free to comment away below, we know there will be LOTS of opinions on that last statement.)

We are curious to know what kind of accommodations will be made for people that are not able to wear a ski helmet. While there may not be many, we have seen heads that are honestly too large to fit in even the biggest ski helmet as well as people that have medical issues (like cochlear implants) that prevent wearing ski helmets. So far, we have not seen those issues addressed in these bills though we are sure it will come up in the news eventually.

Additionally, we are very curious as to why states like Colorado have not taken such bold and progressive action. When we think of skiing, our minds immediately move to Colorado and their rich powder days and crisp blue skies. Why has Colorado been so quiet about this movement? It might be time to write your senators if you live in CO and ask them why they are waiting so long to take action. Colorado should be leading this charge, it’s a shame they haven’t jumped in this game yet.

Congratulations to both California and New Jersey for your progressive and public safety focused efforts. We applaud you from SkiHelmets.org.

SKIERS and snowboarders have one thing in common: falling is often part of their alpine experience. Although most crashes injure only the ego, some high-profile accidents — like the death of the actress Natasha Richardson last year on a beginner ski trail — have brought safety to the forefront.

This winter, Vail Resorts began requiring all employees at its five ski areas to wear helmets while skiing and snowboarding on the job. And a California state senator recently introduced a bill that would require helmet use in the state for skiers and snowboarders who are 18 or younger.

“A helmet will cut the risk of injury significantly,” said Robert Johnson, an orthopedic surgeon in Burlington, Vt., who is on the board of the International Society for Skiing Safety. Even with a helmet, severe injuries are still possible, he noted.

Jarod Richmond, who reports on snow conditions at the Sunday River ski resort in southern Maine, skis about six days a week. He tested these helmets for a month on terrain ranging from tree runs and wide-open trails to the occasional jump.

Photos: Joel Page for The New York Times

GIRO SEAM Ski Helmet $160, Altrec.com.

“The venting was awesome,” Mr. Richmond said, because it channeled air to his goggles. And since these vents were easy to adjust, moderating the temperature inside the helmet was a snap, and he wore it on one of the coldest days on the mountain this year. He liked the “all-mountain look” and said that the Giro Seam “didn’t feel like you were wearing a helmet.” His favorite feature? A dial that allows the user to fine-tune the fit.

RED PRIME $159.95, backcountry.com.

Comparing the Red Prime’s integrated air pump to the Reebok sneaker pump of yore, Mr. Richmond said that this air system “helps customize the fit.” But he was surprised by how high the helmet rode on his head, leaving a gap that exposes the forehead and can cause the skier’s equivalent of an ice cream headache. The product does come with a gasket, which covers the gap.

PRO-TEC VIGILANTE ANDREAS WIIG $99.96-$139.96, backcountry.com.

The sound quality on the Vigilante’s integrated headphones was “phenomenal,” Mr. Richmond said, and the sound controls were “easy to use, even wearing gloves.” He didn’t like the material on the ear flaps, which got cold easily, but he did say the helmet had a “decent fit” and was “versatile.” He appreciated the vents that channeled air towards his goggles, keeping them fog free.

POC RECEPTOR BUG $130, backcountry.com.

The Bug had a “secure feel,” Mr. Richmond said. He took a big tumble and said it “absorbed the shock really well, and I was able to get up and go along with no real issue.” It was also “very warm,” so much so that he had to take it off to adjust the venting, which was “inconvenient.”

SMITH MAZE $100, backcountry.com.

Smith calls its Maze helmet the lightest on the market, and it was certainly the lightest in the test. Mr. Richmond called it “warm” and said that it “vents well” and would be versatile enough for springtime skiing. He did not like the removable goggle clip because it came off too easily, potentially letting the wearer’s goggles fall off. Overall, he called it a “good helmet” that “could take an impact decently.”

They may not be mandatory for skiers and snowboarders, but a new study by University of Calgary scientists proves people who wear helmets on the slopes are much less likely to suffer head injuries in a fall.

The article, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, encourages the use of helmets among skiers and snowboarders.

“It’s safer to ski and snowboard with a helmet as opposed to not wearing one,” said Kelly Russell, a PhD student at the U of C who’s the lead author of the paper. “Helmets do work.”

The research — which analysed 12 studies in Europe, Asia and North America — found that skiers and snowboarders who wear a helmet reduce their risk of head injury by 35 per cent. It also suggests there’s no evidence that a helmet increases the risk of neck injury.

Calgarian Andrew Sawatsky, 29, said he always wears a helmet when he skis. “I’ve had concussions in the past,” he said, noting he also works at a ski shop so knows all about the benefits of wearing a helmet.

Another skier, Calvin Macdonald, said it’s no different than wearing a tuque. “It becomes habit now,” he said.

The U of C paper suggests traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and serious injury among skiers and snowboarders.

“Estimates from numerous countries indicate that head injuries account for nine per cent to 19 per cent and neck injuries for one to four per cent of all injuries reported by ski patrols and emergency departments,” according to the research.

And yet, no province in Canada requires skiers to wear helmets. “We encourage it, but it’s not mandatory,” said John Ross, spokesman for Lake Louise Ski Area. “It’s still very much a personal decision and we don’t want to tell people what to do.”

However, Ross and others said helmet use is a growing trend among skiers and snowboarders. “I would estimate at least 60 per cent of our customers are now wearing helmets,” he said. “Five years ago, it was 10 per cent.” Ross said helmets are mandatory for children under 12 who are enrolled in programs at the resort.

Other hills have a similar policy, which was developed by the Canada West Ski Areas Association.

“We recommend wearing helmets for skiing or riding,” said Doug Firby, spokesman for Sunshine Village Ski Resort. “We also encourage skiers and snowboarders to educate themselves of both the benefits and the limitations of helmet usage.”

However, he said it’s only mandatory for children under 12 who are enrolled in ski or snowboard school.

Similarly, officials at the Resorts of Canadian Rockies — which runs Fernie and Kimberley in British Columbia and Nakiska in Alberta — said children in their programs have long been required to wear helmets and many customers wear helmets voluntarily. “It’s a no-brainer,” said spokesman Matt Mosteller, noting 90 per cent of resort staff are sporting helmets.

At Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park, helmets are mandatory in higher difficulty areas such as the terrain park and the half pipe. “Generally speaking, we have very high use of helmets,” said Jim Younker, chief operating officer with WinSport Canada, which operates the park. “I don’t see a lot of children without helmets.

“The conversion is the slowest among people like myself who are in their fifties and have been skiing for 35 years.”

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Helmets+injuries+study/2512091/story.html

Photo: Brent Hagel, assistant professor of medicine, and PhD candidate Kelly Russell wrote a report that found helmets reduce the risk of head injuries among skiers and snowboarders by 35 per cent.
Photograph by: Lorraine Hjalte, Canwest News Service, Canwest News Service

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Ski Helmets may cut ski injuries: STUDY
2. Review of studies says ski helmets reduce head injuries
3. Is ski industry lagging on public support for Ski Helmets?

Vonn announced Thursday via teleconference at the SIA Snow Show in Denver her top choice for her helmet design. She picked entrant Laddie’s design from Pocatello, Idaho.

Vonn had recently narrowed down her choices from more than 300 to three, including a Boulder woman who runs her own graphic design business.

Carolyn McHale, who creates logos and custom Twitter backgrounds through her Boulder-based company Boldface Design, decided to design the helmet entry in her spare time. She told 9NEWS she wanted to try something she’d never done before, and aimed at capturing what it means to be a Winter Olympian.

“While it’s disappointing that my design wasn’t chosen, it was an honor to have been selected by Lindsey as a finalist, and chosen as the favorite in the online voting. I’m still rooting for Lindsey to bring home the gold,” McHale said.

Ultimately, Vonn had the final say on which helmet to wear and winner Laddie will enjoy a trip to Vonn’s hometown of Vail, despite an online poll that voted McHale’s design as the top helmet.

SOURCE: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=131673&catid=339

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Calling all Artists: 2010 Olympic Ski Helmet Design Contest

Children under the age of 18 are used to grabbing their helmets before going for a bike ride, but soon they may have to put on a helmet before hitting the slopes as well if Senate Bill 880 is passed.

The bill, introduced last week by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), would require children under the age of 18 to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding. Like California’s bicycle helmet law, SB 880 would impose a fine of no more than $25 on parents whose children do not wear a helmet.

“California’s ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children,” Yee said in a press release last week. “Despite repeated warnings from public health experts, professional athletes, and ski resorts, each winter brings news of hundreds of unnecessary tragedies for the failure to wear a helmet. With this legislation, we can significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable population.”

To Yee, the legislation is common sense. As a child psychologist who has also spoken out about limiting children’s exposure to violent video games, Yee wrote the helmet bill after seeing a federal study that showed that half of all skiing deaths are caused by head injuries.

“When the data is so conclusive that helmets save lives and reduce severity of injuries,” said Yee, “California should set minimum standards for safety.”

Senator Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) disagrees, calling the bill “nanny government.”

“You get into the question of just how far government should go in protecting people from themselves,” Harman told the Los Angeles Times.

Yee argues that the government does not leave decisions about seat belts, car seats or basic vaccinations up to parents, and therefore a minimum safety standard should be set for helmets on ski slopes as well.

The California Ski Industry Administration, which represents ski resort operators in California and Nevada, has pledged its support of the bill. The fine for not wearing a helmet does, after all, fall on the parents, not the resorts, and as Executive Director Bob Roberts told the San Jose Mercury News, “Let’s face it: We also sell them.”

While some may complain that a helmet law would just add another cost to an already expensive sport, Chuck Peters, president of the South Bay-based Sundancers Ski and Snowboard Club, told the San Jose Mercury News that a decent helmet costs less than a day on the slopes.

Dr. Jo Linder-Crow, Executive Director of the California Psychological Association, another one of the bills supporters, says, “The lives lost and public health costs are too high to ignore any longer.”

The bill will not be heard in the Senate until at least next month and will then go to committees for further debate. A final decision is expected later this year.

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1. California trying again with Ski Helmet Laws
2. New Ski Helmet Bill Proposed in California by Senator Yee
3. Ski Helmet Law Proposed in California

As the ski season hits its stride across Canada, the issue of mandatory helmets on the slopes is once again gaining traction.

“The market demand is out there,” says Anthony Toderian, spokesman for the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). “It’s really up to the manufacturers now.”

The CSA, which recommends alpine skiers and snowboarders wear helmets, says they can reduce the risk of head injury by 60 per cent.

Last March, it approved standards for ski and snowboarding helmets for the first time, but manufacturers have yet to make a helmet to those standards.

“We haven’t had any submissions from manufacturers for certification,” says Toderian.

The lack of helmets made to Canadian standards is in part explained by the fact there is no law obligating skiers and snowboarders to wear helmets, and while the ski industry encourages their use, it is loath to make them mandatory.

Hockey club officials, on the other hand, insist players wear helmets conforming to CSA standards, and many municipalities have laws that state cyclists under a certain age must wear certified helmets, Toderian points out.

“The issue is policing it on the hill,” says Colin Chedore, president of the Canadian Ski Council, an industry umbrella group. “When you have over 20,000 million skier visits over a season on all ski hills in Canada, it’s a little different than on a rink where you have a limited number of players.

“Ski operators are concerned about having something forced on them that is difficult to manage and [adds] another cost that will drive people away from the sport.”

Nonetheless, the Canadian Ski Council encourages the use of helmets. Many alpine ski and snowboard helmets currently on the Canadian market are made to American and European standards. The CSA says its standards would offer better protection.

Richardson death renewed debate on mandatory helmets

Chedore lost 80 per cent of his hearing in one ear when he banged his head after falling backward off a ski lift several years ago. A helmet would likely have saved his hearing, he says.

“But there is no helmet made that would save someone at over 10 to 12 km/h when they hit a tree. The tree is not going to budge,” said Chedore.

The average speed on an intermediate hill is 45 km/h, Chedore said.

The helmet issue gained new urgency last ski season after British actress Natasha Richardson died of a head injury following a fall during a lesson at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant ski resort. She was not wearing a helmet.

Head injuries account for up to 15 per cent of all injuries suffered by skiers and snowboarders but 87 per cent of deaths.— Safe Kids Canada

According to Safe Kids Canada, international data shows that head injuries account for up to 15 per cent of all injuries suffered by skiers and snowboarders but 87 per cent of deaths. The group launched a campaign last fall encouraging people to wear helmets when they ski and snowboard.

U.S. statistics show that nearly 50 per cent of skiers and snowboarders voluntarily donned helmets last season, up from 25 per cent six years earlier.

A Canadian Ski Council survey of 8,000 nine and 10-year-old skiers and snowboarders across the country last season showed 95 per cent wore helmets. Its survey of 35,000 adult skiers and snowboarders last season revealed just over half wore helmets.

It helps that many ski resorts insist staff wear helmets in order to set an example, said Chedore.

In October 2009, Vancouver-based Intrawest announced that it will recommend all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets at its North American resorts. The facilities affected include Quebec’s Mont Tremblant, where Richardson was injured, and B.C.’s Whistler-Blackcomb, which will host alpine events during the Olympics.

The headgear is mandatory for children and teens enrolled in ski and snowboard programs and for any student, regardless of age, taking part in freestyle terrain park programs. By the 2010-2011 season, helmets will also be mandatory in the company’s freestyle terrain parks for skiers, snowboarders and Intrawest employees working in those parks.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2010/01/05/f-helmets-ski-snowboard.html

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Safe Kids Canada asks public for support for helmets on the slopes
2. In Canada, Ski Helmets are become a focus
3. Ski Helmets cut ski injuries by 35%: study

Richard Kinar, a regular Whistler visitor and skier, on Saturday (Nov. 14) was to receive the Dr. Tom Pashby Safety Fund Award, which has been awarded annually since 2004 to “a Canadian who has made an outstanding contribution in the prevention of injuries in sports and recreation,” Pashby Fund officials said in a statement issued Friday (Nov. 13).

Kinar is a member of the board of the Brain Injury Association of Canada, which works to educate the public about the dangers of brain injuries and advocate initiatives and programs that help prevent them. He is also a member of the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) Ski Helmet Committee.

Kinar became involved in the initiative after he was told that the helmet his son was wearing at the time of a bicycle crash had saved his life.

A former professional freestyle skier, Kinar has been especially active in calling for the mandatory use of helmets by all skiers and snowboarders. Over the past few years Whistler Blackcomb and other resorts have stepped up helmet use — this season all children and youth participants in WB ski and snowboard school programs will be required to wear them, for example. Kinar, though, has persisted in his calls for helmets to be mandatory for all mountain users.

In an interview on Thursday (Nov. 12), Kinar pointed out that head injury is the No. 1 killer of males under the age of 35 in Canada and that preventable injury is the leading killer of young people. Canada ranks 27th out of the 29 Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) countries in terms of money spent per capita injury prevention programs, he said.

Earlier this year, partly as a result of Kinar’s efforts, CSA officials released a set of design standards for snowsports helmets. But despite his efforts and those of others, the federal government has yet to enact Bill C-289, put forward by B.C. MP Dr. Hedy Fry. It would ban the sale of snowsports helmets that don’t meet CSA specifications.

“(Kinar) was most influential in getting the ski helmet standards passed,” said Dr. Pat Bishop, who chairs the CSA committee on safety equipment. “He convinced the British Columbia government to provide the funding for the CSA to develop the CSA standard.”

In addition to the cost human suffering, better helmet standards and more effective injury prevention programs could help save much of the $14.7 billion Canada’s health-care systems spend annually on treating preventable head injuries, Kinar said.

“It’s just so frustrating trying to get the message across that 90 per cent of this is preventable and predictable and that programs and initiatives need to be put in place to improve our standing in the world and protect our young people from these injuries,” he said.

“The political system here has completely ignored the leading killer of our kids, and parents don’t know it.”

The Pashby Award, which comes with a $10,000 cheque, is “recognition for all the work I’ve been doing for all these years, and it recognizes that I’m bringing in the right message to our political leaders,” Kinar said.

“This, hopefully, will help leverage some more opportunities to talk about sports injury prevention.”

Source: Whistler Question

Take note that the race was tight this year. Lovland is opening earlier than they have in over 40 years and their neighbor resort, Arapahoe Basin, will be opening Friday. Don’t book your plane tickets yet though, locals jokingly refer to the early season skiing as the “White Ribbon of Death” beacuse the conditions are not… optimal (one run, 18 inch base). Even more reason to wear a Ski Helmet!

Arapahoe Basin lost the race this year, but they are not giving up already for next year. They released a statement earlier this week: “A-Basin congratulates Loveland Ski Area for being the first ski area to open in North America when it opens tomorrow,” A-Basin officials said in a news release. “It’s nice to see our neighbor take the crown this year, but we will be back in the race for the 2010-2011 ski season.”

Have wonderful ski season this year and please wear your ski helmets.

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LAKEWOOD, Colo., June 3, 2009 – According to the 2008/09 NSAA National Demographic Study, helmet usage among skiers and riders nationwide increased 12 percent over the previous season. Last season, 48 percent of all skiers and riders were wearing a helmet at the time of being interviewed, up from 43 percent during the 2007/08 season. In comparison, only 25 percent of skiers and snowboarders wore helmets during the 2002/03 season. The annual Demographic Study is compiled from more than 130,000 interviews of skiers and riders nationwide. The study also showed that:

• 77 percent of children 9 years old or younger wear ski helmets;
• 66 percent of children between 10 and 14 wear ski helmets;
• 63 percent of adults over the age of 65 wear ski helmets;
• Helmet usage by skiers and boarders aged 18 to 24 is currently 32 percent, representing a 78 percent increase in usage for this age group since the 2002/03 season, when only 18 percent wore helmets.

In addition, overall ski helmet sales (adults and kids) have increased 43 percent over the past two years, dating back to the 2006/07 ski season. Sales of adult ski helmets alone increased 50 percent since the 2006/07 season, according to the SnowSports Industries of America (SIA) annual Retail Audit.

NSAA and its member resorts promote the use of helmets. NSAA views skiing and boarding in a controlled and responsible manner – not helmets only – as the primary safety consideration for all skiers and boarders. This fall, NSAA will be launching a new initiative designed to encourage all kids 14 and under to wear ski helmets. NSAA has set a goal of near-universal helmet usage for all children by 2012. Watch for more information at nsaa.org.

THE NATIONAL SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION, LOCATED IN LAKEWOOD, COLO., IS A TRADE ASSOCIATION FORMED IN 1962 FOR SKI AREA OWNERS AND OPERATORS NATIONWIDE.

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1. NSAA Helmet Usage Fact Sheet Released
2. Skiers and riders wearing more helmets

• 48 percent of U.S. skiers and boarders overall wear helmets, up from 43 percent from the year before; in comparison, only 25 percent of skiers and boarders wore helmets during the 2002/03 season;
• 77 percent of children 9 years old or younger wear ski helmets;
• 66 percent of children between 10 and 14 wear ski helmets;
• 63 percent of adults over the age of 65 wear ski helmets;
• Helmet usage by skiers and boarders aged 18 to 24 is currently 32 percent, representing a 78 percent increase in usage for this age group since the 2002/03 season, when only 18 percent wore helmets.
• Overall ski helmet sales (adults and kids) have increased 43 percent over the past two years, dating back to the 2006/07 ski season. Sales of adult ski helmets alone increased 50 percent since the 2006/07 season, according to the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA) annual Retail Audit.
• Notably, helmet usage increases with the skier’s ability level. Twenty-six percent of beginners wear helmets, 38 percent of intermediates wear helmets while 55 percent of advanced skiers and riders wear helmets. In comparison, the National Traffic Safety Administration reports only 20 to 25 percent of bike riders in the U.S. wear helmets.

This fall, NSAA will be launching a new initiative designed to encourage all kids 14 and under to wear ski helmets. NSAA has set a goal of near-universal helmet usage for all children by 2012. It’s an aggressive goal, but it’s also an important one. Look for our new campaign this fall!

Furthermore, NSAA promotes the use of helmets. We urge skiers and riders to wear a helmet – but to ski or ride as if they are not wearing a helmet. NSAA views skiing and boarding in a controlled and responsible manner – not helmets only – as the primary safety consideration for all skiers and boarders. A skier’s behavior has as much or more to do with the safety of the sport as does any piece of equipment.

The key safety message that NSAA and its member resorts communicate to skiers and boarders is adherence to “Your Responsibility Code,” a widely known and accepted code of conduct for the slopes that has been in use by ski areas for approximately 30 years. One of the main tenets of “The Code” is always stay in control. NSAA considers responsible and safe skiing and riding as the number one priority and helmet use as an important priority.

In 2002, NSAA launched the “Lids on Kids” interactive website (www.lidsonkids.org) in an effort to educate kids and parents about helmet use on the slopes. The central message of the website is that helmets are a “smart idea,” but guests should ski and ride as if they are not wearing one. Information on helmets is provided extensively in related safety websites and signage at resorts through the Smart Style, Get Smart, Heads Up, A.S.A.P. (Avalanche Safety Awareness Program) and Winter Kids programs. The newly issued Terrain Park User’s Guide, terrainparksafety.org and terrain park signage also include key safety messages on helmets. Visit www.nsaa.org for information on all of these safety programs.

NSAA supported and actively participated in the American Society of Testing & Materials (ASTM’s) development of the F-2040 ski/snowboard helmet standard. On behalf of the ski industry, NSAA has also supported, and expended significant resources on, scientific research on alpine sports-related injuries, including head injuries.

FOOTNOTE: Data contained within the annual NSAA National Demographic Study is compiled from more than 130,000 interviews of skiers and riders nationwide. A complete copy of the 2008/09 study will be available in August.

THE NATIONAL SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION, LOCATED IN LAKEWOOD, COLO., IS A TRADE ASSOCIATION FORMED IN 1962 FOR SKI AREA OWNERS AND OPERATORS NATIONWIDE.

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1. Ski Helmet usage up 12% for 2008/09
2. NSAA Responds to CPSC’s Helmet Endorsement
3. Industry Association Promotes Ski and Snowboard Helmet Use

Skiing Legend Toni Sailer does at age 73

Sailer will be missed by Australians and skiing fans across the world. We’ve included an article from the San Francisco Examiner below with more details.

By: VERONIKA OLEKSYN
Associated Press
August 25, 2009

VIENNA — Austrian skiing great Toni Sailer, who in 1956 became the first skier to win all three Alpine gold medals at a Winter Olympics, has died. He was 73.

Sailer passed away in Innsbruck on Monday after a long illness, his Kitzbuehel Ski Club said Tuesday.

In Austria, where skiing is a national pastime, Sailer’s death symbolized the end of an era.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer issued a statement paying tribute to Sailer as “a top athlete who already became a legend during his lifetime.”

Sailer won the downhill, slalom and giant slalom at the 1956 Cortina Olympics in Italy. At the world championships there, he took gold in the downhill, slalom, giant slalom and combined.

Sailer — who reportedly strapped on skis for the first time at age 2 — also won gold in the downhill, giant slalom and combined, as well as silver in the slalom, at the world championships in Bad Gastein, Austria two years later. Due to his speed, he became known as “the black lightning bolt from Kitz.”

After retiring from competition in 1959, Sailer became a singer and an actor. He produced skis in Canada and served as technical director of the Austrian Ski Federation between 1972 and 1976. He also served as the race director of the prestigious Hahnenkamm competition, where he won the downhill race in 1957 and the giant slalom in 1958. In both years, he also won downhill gold at Switzerland’s Lauberhorn piste.

Sailer was awarded the Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee in 1985. In 1999, Sailer was honored as Austria’s sportsman of the century.

Other Austrian ski stars expressed sadness at the news. Franz Klammer, the 1976 Olympic downhill gold medalist, said he idolized Sailer as a child.

“As a small boy, I wanted to be just like him,” he was quoted as saying by the Austria Press Agency.

Four-time World Cup overall champion Hermann Maier said he would never forget his encounters with Sailer and admired the way he dealt with his unidentified illness.

“Toni did great things for Austria and for skiing as a sport,” Maier told APA.

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According to a report in the July 22 edition of the Jackson Hole News & Guide, Miller suffered a severe head injury when she fell in a steep and rocky out-of-bounds area known as Spacewalk Couloir. Miller was not wearing a helmet while checking the ski conditions as part of her patrol duties.

According to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort spokeswoman Anna Olson, the citation was for not “not providing and ensuring head protection to help prevent or reduce the severity of head injuries.”

Scott Horn, the chief administrative officer of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, said that as part of the investigation the state’s Department of Employment issued the citation on June 18, but would not disclose the amount. That agency did not return a call by press time.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide said the resort intended to appeal the citation on grounds that there were no policies at any U.S. ski area that mandated the use of helmets for employees.

But in an interview, Horn said such an appeal was not certain. As part of the state process, the resort would conduct a number of “informal conferences” to see if the issue could be settled. Horn said that the result of these meetings would determine if the resort would appeal the fine.

Regardless of the outcome, the action taken by the Department of Employment is fodder for the arguments surrounding the use of helmets in the sport.

“We always look at safety issues,” Horn said.

But he also said that Jackson Hole has no plans to implement a policy requiring its patrollers to wear helmets.

Vail Resorts announced in April that it would require any employee at its five mountains participating in skiing or snowboarding to wear helmets beginning in the 2009-2010 season. Vail Resorts owns and operates the Colorado resorts Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone, as well as Heavenly in California. These will be the first mountains to have such requirements in the United States, according to Dave Byrd, the National Ski Areas Association’s director of education.

“From speaking with executives at Vail, the reason was to serve as leadership example to guests on mountain,” said Byrd. “So far, we haven’t seen efforts from other resorts to adopt similar policies.”

Sun Valley Resort is in line with Jackson Hole in not requiring helmet use from employees.
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Sun Valley Resort spokesman Jack Sibbach said the issue over helmet use has not been a subject of staff meetings, although it has been discussed with the company’s insurance representatives.

“As of now, we have no plans for any kind of policy yet,” Sibbach said.

One possible hesitation would be the cost of providing all on-mountain employees with helmets. Sibbach said there are hundreds of employees who take to the slopes every day, including ski patrollers, mountain ambassadors, lift operators and food service personnel.

Byrd said the issue of helmet use was highlighted this past winter after actress Natasha Richardson’s death on a beginner’s slope on Mont Tremblant, in Quebec, Canada.

“Whenever there is a death of a celebrity at a resort, it raises a lot of media attention,” Byrd said. “She wasn’t wearing a helmet and died of a head injury, even though she was on a green ‘bunny’ slope.”

Helmet use has increased exponentially over the past seven years, Byrd said, rising from approximately 25 percent during the 2002-2003 season to just under 50 percent during the 2008-2009 winter. Some 77 percent of children 9 and under wear now helmets when skiing or snowboarding, he said.

A run down Bald Mountain in winter shows that, in the case of the Sun Valley Ski Patrol, helmets and hats still vie for popularity.

In 2006, former Smith Optics employee Teresa Hukari fractured several vertebrae and sustained severe injuries to her spinal cord after she suddenly lost control on the I-80 cat track and hit a tree. In the aftermath of the injury, the company offered free helmets to members of the ski patrol.

“We looked around, noticed a lot of patrollers weren’t wearing helmets, so we made them available,” said Joe McNeal, director of research and development for Smith. “Some took us up on it and some didn’t.”

McNeal said that helmet sales have become an important piece of the company’s business over the past few years, due in large part to the advances that have been made in helmet construction and design.

“They’ve become quite fashionable and the reasons not to wear them are becoming less and less,” McNeal said.

While Byrd and his organization are for helmet use, he declined to take a position on whether or not patrollers should be required to wear them.

“A lot of them have been patrollers for decades and are old-school skiers that have deep and abiding love for the sport,” Byrd said. “There are some that wear helmets and some that don’t, and I don’t know if more will start.”

Byrd also noted that research shows that while helmet usage has increased, there has not been a corresponding decrease in fatalities or serious head injuries.

“There are limits to what a helmet can do. Helmets are rated up to 12 or 13 miles per hour, but people often ski at much faster speeds,” Byrd said.

Byrd explained that in deaths in which the victim was wearing a helmet, the cause of death can shift from “head injury” to other reasons, such as a detached aorta or internal bleeding.

He worries that helmets might even lead to riskier behavior.

“We encourage people to wear helmets, but to ski as if they are not wearing helmets,” Byrd said. “A helmet can give a false sense of security. In other words, it can be a risk enabler. Maybe you will take a jump you wouldn’t normally take or ski in more difficult terrain than you should.”

Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com

Here are a few other articles you might like:

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3. Wyoming cites resort in ski patroller’s death

Kathryn Miller died of head injuries after falling in a steep chute in March. The Wyoming Department of Employment’s occupational safety and health division investigated the accident and cited the ski resort for not requiring its workers to wear helmets while on the slopes.

Resort spokeswoman Anna Olson says the resort will appeal. Olson says no ski area in the United States at the time of the accident required its ski patrollers to wear helmets.

Vail Resorts has since announced that all of its employees who ski or ride snowboards on the job will be required to wear helmets.

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Jackson Hole death spurs helmet debate
2. JHMR to appeal citation
3. Jackson Hole case could lead to more mandatory helmet policies for ski area employees