Seriously, ski areas are concerned with safety every day of the year. Skiers should have at least one week each winter when the topic of safety is in your face. It’s now; Jan. 15-23 is The National Ski Area Association sponsored “safety awareness week.”

Each year the NSAA slides out a new spin, catchy phrase or grabby logo promoting safety on the slopes. Lids on Kids, Heads Up, and “Objects are closer than they appear” are all cutesy campaigns to encourage skiers to slow down, think about their actions, and be prepared for risk and dangers that exist on the slopes.

NSAA’s latest is a “Tree Wells Steer Clear” graphic which is far more engaging than the “Non-Avalanche Related Snow Immersion Death Warning” that means simply you could sink into deep unpacked snow around tree bases.

All this week, look for the Skiers’ Responsibility Code on napkins, signs and posters at resorts. If you “Know the Code”and “Smart Style It” (and you should), you could win prizes from contests and quizzes on the slopes, so go to NSAA for a quick review.

Here are a few fun ski safety programs going on in New England:

Killington will be giving a free lift ticket to anyone purchasing a helmet at the resort Jan. 15-21.
Sugarloaf will offer ski runs with Ski Patrol so you can learn about mountain safety straight from the experts. Sugarloaf ambassadors will host their second annual funny “Safe or Sorry” game show on WSKI TV.

Okemo hosts a Scavenger Hunt Jan. 16 for families to find safety clues out on the slopes and win prizes.

Take Safety Week as an opportunity to teach your kids The Code, and reinforce smart skiing and riding. It can be fun, especially if you enter the “Helmet Head” contest at Okemo, then vote for the best bad hair shots on Facebook.

Photo by Greg Burke For more of Heather’s family ski tips go to www.familyskitrips.com

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1. Free Lift Ticket when you buy a ski helmet at Killington
2. Okemo Resort celebrates national safety week with free PSP passes
3. Ski Safety Celebrated Next Week in Tahoe

The Resort, in partnership with MountainView Hospital and Fremont Emergency Services, is sponsoring Lids on Kids, a national program that provides free ski safety education and helmets to children.

The free program kicks off Jan. 15, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., each Saturday through Feb. 5. Residents are invited to visit a special Lids on Kids tent near the base lodge area where toddlers through preteens will be fitted for a helmet and learn about the skier and snowboarder code of safety.

“Safety, fun and learning. Those are our top priorities,” LVSSR’s director of business affairs Curt Sheffield said in a statement. “Through Lids on Kids, we’re able to help kids by providing a helmet that fits properly.”

Unlike children’s clothing and shoes, ski helmets should not be purchased with “room to grow,” Sheffield said, adding that ski helmets are not effective if they are too small or too large.

Lids on Kids coincides with the National Ski Area Association’s Safety Week, Jan. 15 to 23, 2011. The association educates skiers and snowboarders about resort and slope safety. Although head injuries account for about 15 percent of all skiing and snowboarding injuries, it’s the most frequent cause of death and severe disability, according to the association.

For more information about Lids on Kids, visit www.lidsonkids.org.

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1. Okemo Resort celebrates national safety week with free PSP passes
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3. Grand Geneva Resort First in Area to Offer Kids Helmets for Skiing, Snowboarding

For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2010

Contact: Adam J. Keigwin,
(916) 651-4008, (916) 256-5758

Dr. Phil Helps Pass Yee’s Child Ski Helmet Bill

Committee Approves Legislation to require children wear helmets while skiing

SACRAMENTO – Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) got a big boost from talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw for his bill to safeguard children who enjoy California’s most popular alpine sports: skiing and snowboarding.

Yesterday, the Dr. Phil Show focused on the need for greater helmet use by children while skiing and snowboarding and today Yee’s SB 880 to require all children under age 18 to wear helmets while skiing and snowboarding was approved by the Senate Health Committee. SB 880 is modeled after existing law that requires minors to wear helmets while riding a bicycle.

“I think this is a very timely and important issue to address as kids do dangerous things, and as adults, we have to use our foresight to protect them from themselves,” said McGraw.

Since the show aired, Dr. Phil’s viewers have been writing to Legislators in support of the bill through his website, www.drphil.com.

“California’s ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children,” said Yee, who is a child psychologist. “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.”

In March 1999, Shelby Ganitch was not wearing a helmet when she lost control of her snowboard and her head hit the packed snow. She was knocked unconscious and airlifted to San Bernardino Trauma Center where she laid in a coma for 3 ½ weeks.

“I had to relearn how to do everything,” said Ganitch. “If I had been wearing a helmet, my injuries would not have been nearly as severe.”

“The passage of SB 880 out of Committee is a big step toward reducing head and brain injuries experienced by young skiers and snowboarders,” said Dr. David Lechuga, a neuropsychologist.

Half of all skiing deaths are caused by a head injury. Recent studies show that when helmets are used, the incidence of traumatic brain or head injury has been reduced 29 percent to 56 percent. The Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has found that more than 7,000 head injuries per year on the slopes in the U.S. could be prevented or reduced in severity by the use of a helmet. The CPSC study also showed that “for children under 15 years of age, 53 percent of head injuries (approximately 2,600 of the 4,950 head injuries annually) are addressable by use of a helmet.

“We are very pleased to be working with Dr. Yee on this important public safety measure for children in California,” said Dr. Jo Linder-Crow, Executive Director of the California Psychological Association. “The tremendous research coming from the growing field of neuropsychology made this an issue of utmost importance to our members and the public that we needed to tackle head on. The lives lost and public health costs are too high to ignore any longer.”

“When the data is so conclusive that helmets save lives and reduce severity of injuries, California should set minimum standards for safety,” said Yee. “We correctly do not allow parental choice for car seats and seat belts or basic vaccinations for children attending schools; nor should a helmet for kids on ski slopes be optional.”

Following the lead of California’s bicycle helmet law, SB 880 would impose a fine of not more than $25 on the parents of a child who fails to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding. The bill will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

—

San Francisco Child Care Bill Approved

Today, the Senate Education Committee approved Yee’s legislation to extend a subsidy program that allows San Francisco child care facilities to serve thousands of children from low-income families. Without Yee’s Senate Bill 1225, the program that serves an additional 6,500 children would terminate at the end of this year. San Mateo County has a similar program that extends until 2013.

Due to the high cost of living in San Francisco, the program consists of two main components. Under SB 1225, the ongoing eligibility for subsidized childcare is raised from the 75 percent of the state median income to 85 percent of the state median income. For a family of four, this change increases the maximum income eligibility from $49,620 per year to $60,108 per year.

SB 1225 will also continue the program’s ability to provide for higher contract reimbursement rates – approximately an additional $2 to $5 per a child served per a day. The normal daily reimbursement rate is $34.38, but under the program San Francisco’s rate is $35.63 and for San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) the rate is $39.52. SB 1225 would extend the San Francisco subsidized child care program until 2016.

“For low-income parents trying to maintain employment or attend school, this child care program is the most needed resource in their lives,” said Yee. “Without SB 1225, many San Francisco child care providers will be in serious fiscal danger and run the real risk of going completely out-of-business.”

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1. New Ski Helmet Bill Proposed in California by Senator Yee
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3. CA: Gaines & Neillo butt heads over ski helmet bill

Brighton Ski Resort has teamed with officials at Intermountain Medical Center, Life Flight and the Brain Injury Association of Utah for a public service campaign called “Save your brain, wear a helmet.” Those who purchase a ski pass at Brighton on Saturday will get a ticket for a helmet raffle to be conducted throughout the day. Those who show up wearing a helmet at the ticket booth will receive a two-for-one night skiing pass to Brighton, which is good any night the rest of the season.

The resort also will sell helmets that day at a discounted rate.

Bill Duehlmeier, a nurse practitioner with the trauma program at Intermountain, said about 49 percent of skiers and snowboarders nationwide wear helmets while on the slopes, yet “approximately 30 to 60 percent of traumatic brain injuries can be avoided by wearing a helmet.” Such injuries are the leading cause of death and serious injury among skiers and snowboarders.

Medical personnel see “more mild traumatic brain injury with snowboarders,” and about 25 percent of snowboarder injuries involve the head. About 20 percent of injuries for skiers involve the head, he said.

“Most of the injuries we see are concussions, but we also stress that concussions can affect your entire life,” Duehlmeier said. “Even a small one can cause issues with your job and personal life with lost concentration and memory. They’ve also been found to affect people’s ability to manage stress and concentrate.”

While nothing can prevent every possible injury, “we do know that major head injuries or life-threatening injuries rarely occur when people are wearing a helmet.”

Traumatic brain injury can lead to serious or lifelong disability, including paralysis and serious concussions that can take months or years for recovery.

Susan Connors, president of the Brain Injury Association of Utah, emphasized in a news release that “a concussion is a brain injury. … Medical evaluation by a licensed health care provider before returning to play is essential to the athlete’s short-term and long-term health.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, each year among children ages 5 to 18.

For more information, contact the association at 801-484-2240, or visit their Web site at www.biau.org.

By Carrie A. Moore

Deseret News
SOURCE: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700013772/Officials-promote-helmet-use-for-skiers-snowboarders.html

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2. Helmets protect skiers, snowboarders from head injury
3. Getting Skiers to Wear Helmets

The commentary calls for skiers to shun the cultural stigma or fashion faux pas associated with wearing ski helmets to encourage helmet use as a routine part of the ski and snowboard culture.

Head injuries in these two alpine sports are the most frequent cause of hospital admission and death. Research shows that about 120,000 people in North America suffer head injuries while skiing or snowboarding each year. Recent studies have shown that helmets help reduce the risk of head injuries by up to 60 percent.

“Despite compelling evidence that shows wearing a helmet significantly reduces the chance of head and brain injury, there are still those who argue that helmets are not fashionable or part of the ski culture,” explains Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital. “We have established the safety benefits but now we must find ways to integrate helmets so it becomes another piece of standard equipment for people on the slopes. It is time for everyone who has a stake in skiing and snowboarding to do their part to make the slopes safer.”

According to the authors, a shift in attitude toward helmet use is necessary to quash cultural stigmas. They say that change has already begun. For example, during the 2009 National Ski Safety Week, ski areas in California, Colorado and Washington offered discounts on helmets through the Lid for Kids safety awareness program. Other resorts are including a helmet with their child and youth ski and snowboard rental packages.

“Resorts have two reasons for promoting helmets — one, it keeps their customers safer and two, they are also seeing a discount in their insurance premiums when the slopes are safer places,” says Dr. Cusimano. “Role modeling can also have a powerful effect on what people sense as normal. Ski patrollers and instructors understand that helmets lessen the risk of traumatic brain injury and view themselves as role models for the public; however, most do not wear helmets regularly.”

The authors recommend:

* All ski and snowboard advertising images include people wearing helmets
* Public Service Announcements featuring well-known athletes promoting healthy physical activity
* Parents wearing helmets to promote the practice with their kids
* Formal instruction aimed at ski resorts, schools and novice skiers offered through groups such as, Think First and the National Ski Areas Association, need to be included in any campaign to make the slopes safer.

“We are on the brink of changing the culture in skiing and snowboarding towards helmets,” he says. “What we need is action by various stakeholders so wearing a helmet no longer becomes a fashion decision but rather common sense. We need action from national organizations, to ski resorts and schools, to parents and kids to make this culture shift. At that point, we will make real progress in reducing the number of head injuries on the slopes.”

SOURCE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100217114636.htm

Photo: AP

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STANLEY TUCCI always makes sure he wears a helmet when he goes skiing – after his best friend NATASHA RICHARDSON died in an accident on the slopes last year (09).

Richardson passed away last March (09) after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a fall during an alpine holiday in Canada.

Tucci was devastated by the tragedy, and was grieving again just two months later (May09) when his wife passed away after a battle with cancer.

Now Tucci, who is a keen skier, makes sure his children wear helmets when they go on winter sports holidays to protect them if they have an accident.

Tucci says, “My wife was a great skier. We used to go skiing every year and I took the kids again just after Christmas. I feel it’s important to do the same things we always did, as painful as it is.”

Asked if Richardson’s death prompted him to wear a ski helmet on the slopes, he says, “It did. I knew Tash. She was one of my best friends. The last time my wife got out of bed was to go to Tash’s funeral… The kids always wear helmets.”

SOURCE: http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/tucci-wears-ski-helmet-following-richardsons-death_1132486

SUNDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) — Helmets reduce skiers’ and snowboarders’ risk of head injury by 35 percent and don’t increase the risk of neck injury, a new study shows.

Some people believe that helmets may increase the risk of neck injury when skiers and snowboarders fall, particularly children, who have a greater head-to-body ratio.

In this study, Canadian researchers analyzed the findings of 12 studies conducted in Asia, Europe and North America and concluded that helmets were beneficial.

“The use of helmets significantly protects against head injuries among skiers and snowboarders,” wrote Brent Hagel, of Alberta Children’s Hospital, and colleagues. “Risks of head injury can be reduced by 35 percent.”

“Based on this evidence, we encourage helmet use,” they concluded.

The study was published Feb. 1 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Data from numerous countries suggest that head injuries account for up to 19 percent and neck injuries up to 4 percent of all ski and snowboard injuries reported by ski patrols and emergency departments. Among skiers and snowboarders, traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and serious injury.

More information

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons has more about sports-related head injuries.

– Robert Preidt

SOURCE: Canadian Medical Association Journal, news release, Feb. 1, 2010

Link Source: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/635665.html

Photo Credit: Matt Sampson/ SkiHelmets.org

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Will this change now that Vladimir Putin, the most macho of world leaders and a man given to baring his chest at every photo-opportunity, has posed on the slopes in a crash helmet? No doubt the message he intended to convey to the Russian people was that their prime minister skied hard and fast – unlike President Dmitry Medvedev, who was sporting a hat with a dinky tassel.

Surely now there’s no shame in the British male being seen in a hard-hat, if even Vlad has decided to hell with helmet hair.

A top Canadian brain surgeon and seasoned skier, he wears a helmet every time he hits the slopes.

Around the world traumatic brain injuries are on the rise, probably due to increased speed and acrobatics in skiing and snowboarding. And helmets definitely save lives, says Tator, the foremost expert on spinal cord and head injuries in sports.

Head injuries are the most common cause of death among skiers and snowboarders. But 44% of skiing and snowboarding head injuries could be prevented simply by wearing a helmet. Despite these figures, helmets are not mandatory on

Canadian slopes.

Though you can now buy helmets that meet Canadian Safety Association standards, there are still ski helmets on the market that do not have CSA approval.

The (CSA) committee worked several years and undertook a detailed scientific exercise to decide on the required level of protection in snow sports’ helmets,” says Tator who also founded ThinkFirst Canada, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of brain and spinal cord injuries.

Put a lid on it! That’s the advice from ski helmet advocates who would like to amend Canada’s Hazardous Products Act to require that snow sports helmets meet CSA standards.

In Tator’s view, anyone who skis–at whatever level and on whatever kind of slope–should wear a helmet.

And while ski schools make kids wear helmets and some resorts are finally recommending helmets for adults, Tator doesn’t feel the helmet movement has moved fast enough:

Some legislation and enforcement would be a good idea.”

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Helmets can prevent what Tator calls the most catastrophic of brain injuries.” They can prevent fractures of the skull and fragments of the bone penetrating into the brain, he explains. They can prevent blood clots from forming in and around the brain (the kind of injury that is thought to have killed actress Natasha Richardson, whose unprotected head hit the slopes last March on the very Quebec hill on which Tator had skied just two weeks before.)

If an unhelmeted head hits the icy surface or a firm object like a tree or a ski lift, that can cause a blood clot,” he explains.

These are the ways people die on the slopes from head injuries.” (Helmets, however, won’t prevent a concussion which is the movement of the brain within the skull due to the brain being jostled because of a collision or even a whiplash.)

In a research paper coauthored by Tator, the rise in traumatic brain injuries coincide with the development of, and acceptance of, acrobatic and high speed activities on the mountains. But even though most traumatic snow sport injuries happen to risk-taking young men, Richardson was just an ordinary skier. Traumatic head injuries can be devastating and therapeutic interventions to restore neurological function in survivors may be limited.

Unlike yesteryear, says Tator, ski hills today are groomed for speed and equipment allows for it. There are more terrain parks where you can do aerial activities, including jumps. When you ‘catch air’ you take on added risk but even a pro can’t perform 100% every minute. If you think you can emulate aerials like the experts, you could come down on your head and break your neck.”

Protection is the cure. In general, force is the product of mass and acceleration,” he says. As people are bigger and able to ski faster, the forces become so great that the head and spine cannot withstand the degree of force. The tearing or bruising of the brain can produce permanent deficits.”

- – -

Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Kids look to parents as role models, so parents should practice what they preach. Wear a helmet whenever and wherever you ski. Apply the no helmet, no skiing or snowboarding” rule.

- – -

Know the alpine responsibility code

We believe in alpine responsibility,” says Dr. Charles Tator, founder of ThinkFirst Canada. The international alpine responsibility code can reduce risk on the slopes. Here’s what to know:

Always stay in control. You must be able to stop or avoid other people or objects.

People ahead of you have the right-of-way.

Do not stop where you obstruct a trail or are not visible from above.

Before starting downhill or merging onto a trail, look uphill and yield to others.

If involved in an accident or collision, stay at the scene and identify yourself to the Ski Patrol.

Always use proper devices to help prevent runaway equipment. Observe and obey all posted signs.

Keep off closed trails and closed areas.

Do not use lifts or terrain if your ability is impaired through alcohol or drugs.

You must have sufficient physical dexterity, ability and knowledge to safely load, ride and unload lifts.

SOURCE: http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2208089

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1. Ski helmets reduce incidence of brain injury

(Burlington, VT) The National Ski Patrol and PHAT, a ski helmet advocacy program supported by Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care, have formed a partnership to promote increased use of ski helmets at the nation’s ski areas. The National Ski Patrol (NSP) will assist PHAT (Protect Head at All Times) with distributing information explaining the benefits of ski helmets around the nation, and will include information about PHAT on its website. A study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that nearly 8,000 head injuries each year could be prevented if all skiers and snowboarders wore helmets.

“In just a few years, PHAT has created an effective, non-coercive program to increase usage of ski helmets and raised the visibility of the issue across the nation. We’re very pleased to be partnering with PHAT to help skiers and snowboarders of all ages have a safer experience on the slopes,” says Tim White, Executive Director of the National Ski Patrol.

“I can’t overstate the importance of the National Ski Patrol’s help with this initiative. Our program is based on the use of role models, and research shows the public recognizes ski patrollers as leaders in both skiing ability and safety,” said Robert Williams, M.D., a pediatric anesthesiologist at Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen who founded the PHAT program in 2002. “Their example will help change the culture at ski resorts and establish the use of ski helmets as the norm.”

The PHAT program has proven effective at ski areas in Vermont where its efforts have been concentrated. For example, at Smuggler’s Notch Resort helmet use rates were approximately twice the national average for the 2007-2008 season.**

PHAT takes a non-coercive approach to increasing helmet use by encouraging ski areas to make sure all images of skiers depict them wearing helmets; distributing posters and stickers designed to appeal to young skiers and boarders; urging ski areas to mandate helmet use for employees; and using informational booths and drawings for helmets to attract attention to the issue.

“In the past several years, the medical literature has made it very clear that helmets are effective in reducing the chance of a head injury while skiing or snowboarding. They certainly won’t prevent all head injuries, but the time has come for all skiers and riders to wear a helmet every time they hit the slopes,” said Dr. Williams.

###

** A study released in 2008 through the University of Vermont shows that helmet use by adults at Smuggler’s Notch has nearly doubled, with almost 60% of adult skiers and riders now using them, up from 30% in the 2002-2003 season when PHAT started its program. Usage by children jumped from 60% to 80% over the same time period. The study, based on more than 30,000 observations of skiers and riders over four winters, shows that among children, female snowboarders are the least likely to wear a helmet while younger male skiers are the most likely to wear a helmet.

About the National Ski Patrol
The National Ski Patrol is a Federally Chartered non-profit membership association dedicated to
serving the public and the mountain recreation industry. For more than 70 years, the NSP has been at the forefront of safety and emergency care education programs. The association’s 27,000 members represent 98 percent of the nation’s patrollers. For more information access www.nsp.org.

About PHAT
PHAT (Protect Head at All Times) is a helmet advocacy program created in 2002 by Dr. Robert Williams, a pediatric anesthesiologist at Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont. PHAT has joined forces with the University of Vermont, ski areas and other partners to encourage all skiers and riders to wear helmets. In just a few years, the PHAT team has created an effective program to increase usage of helmets, and raised the visibility of the issue throughout the U.S.

About Fletcher Allen
Fletcher Allen Health Care, together with our partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont’s academic medical center. Our mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care, education and research in a caring environment. Fletcher Allen serves as a regional referral center — providing advanced care to approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York — and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties. With more than 30 patient care sites and 100 outreach clinics, programs and services throughout the region, Fletcher Allen is committed to being a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region. For more information about Fletcher Allen, visit our Web site at www.fletcherallen.org.

F O R IMMEDIATE R E L E A S E:
November 24, 2009

C O N T A C T:
Michael Carrese/Fletcher Allen Timothy White/National Ski Patrol
(802) 847-2886 or 760-8832 (303) 988-1111

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An online petition launched on the group’s website Friday is aimed at showing support for the “Vancouver Charter on Skiing Safety,” which encourages people to wear helmets when they ski and snowboard. The charter is based on a similar declaration made in Italy ahead of the 2006 Winter Games.

“We want children to take part in sporting and recreational activities and to be active and healthy, while at the same time being safe by wearing a helmet,” Pamela Fuselli, executive director of Safe Kids, said in a statement.

The group says international data show head injuries make up between three and 15 per cent of injuries to skiers and snowboarders, but account for 87 per cent of deaths.

Among children, Safe Kids says brain injuries account for 67 per cent of deaths.

The helmet issue gained new urgency last ski season, after actress Natasha Richardson died following a fall during a ski lesson at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant ski resort.

The 45-year-old actress, wife of actor Liam Neeson, died of a blood clot on the brain in April, two days after she fell.

Last month, Vancouver-based Intrawest announced that it will recommend all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets at its North American resorts, which include Mont Tremblant and B.C.’s Whistler-Blackcomb, which will host alpine events during the

The headgear will be 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.

The Canadian Standards Association, which recommends skiers and snowboarders wear helmets, has said they can reduce the risk of head injury by 60 per cent.

According to the Canadian Ski Council, there were about 4.2 million Canadian skiers and snowboarder in the 2007-2008 season.

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

Safe Kids said the province of British Columbia has endorsed the declaration, as well as the Canadian Pediatric Society, the Canadian Public Health Agency and the organizing committee of the Vancouver Olympic Games.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Find them online at: http://www.safekidscanada.ca

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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

Intrawest To Recommend That All Resort Guests Wear Ski Helmets

New Snowsports Helmet Use Guidelines Receive Industry Support From The National Ski Areas Association And Canada West Ski Areas Association

Vancouver, BC, October 1, 2009 – Intrawest today announced that, beginning with the 2009-2010 winter season, the Company will increase awareness of the importance of ski helmet use at all of its wholly-owned ski resorts in North America. Intrawest will recommend that all skiers and snowboarders visiting its resorts wear helmets and there will be mandatory helmet requirements for all children and youth participants in Ski and Snowboard School Programs as well as all students participating in freestyle terrain park programs, regardless of their age. The new helmet use guidelines underscore Intrawest’s commitment to guest safety and have the support of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA).

A ski helmet will be included with all children/youth ski and snowboard rental packages from all of Intrawest’s equipment rental outlets. The new guidelines will be supported with enhanced employee education sessions and common language highlighting the importance of helmet use will appear on resort websites and in all trail maps. Going forward, Intrawest will place an increased focus on using website images and advertising visuals that feature skiers and snowboarders wearing helmets and Intrawest will introduce new graphic standards that require all of its ski resorts to feature helmets predominantly.

In the past at some resorts, a parent/guardian has had the ability to opt-out of having their children wear a helmet in certain on-mountain programs and activities. Beginning this season, Intrawest will remove the parent/guardian “opt-out clause” from all children’s waivers for Ski and Snowboard School Programs and all freestyle terrain park student programs.

Looking ahead to the 2010-2011 winter season, Intrawest will require employees to wear a helmet at all times while skiing or snowboarding on-duty in any freestyle terrain park at its resorts. Staff at Intrawest’s Ski and Snowboard Schools will also be required to wear a helmet if they serve as a guide or an instructor for any program that requires mandatory helmet use by a resort guest. Several Intrawest resorts will begin to implement these new employee helmet use guidelines this winter and the remaining resorts will be fully compliant by the beginning of the 2010-2011 winter season.

“Intrawest is working in conjunction with the ski industry to establish important best practices on behalf of our resort guests and employees,” said Bill Jensen, chief executive officer at Intrawest. “Together, we have established a new baseline for helmet use at our resorts that has received strong support from the NSAA and CWSAA. We will continue to work with all of the ski industry associations in the United States and Canada to raise awareness of this important initiative and the obligation of everyone to ski and ride in a controlled and responsible manner.”

The helmet usage guidelines will be phased in at the following Intrawest ski resorts:

• Copper Mountain (Colorado)
• Winter Park Resort (Colorado)
• Steamboat Ski Resort (Colorado)
• Stratton Mountain (Vermont)
• Snowshoe Mountain (West Virginia)
• Mountain Creek (New Jersey)
• Tremblant Resort (Quebec)
• Panorama Mountain (British Columbia)
• Whistler Blackcomb (British Columbia)

About Intrawest
Intrawest is a leader in the development and management of experiential destination resorts. The Company has interests in a network of resorts at North America’s most popular mountain destinations including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world. In addition, Intrawest markets and sells real estate at its resorts in North America and at other third-party locations around the world. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and is a portfolio company owned primarily by private equity funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG). For more information, visit www.intrawest.com

For further information, please contact:
Ian Galbraith, Intrawest Corporate Communications
Tel: (604) 695-8317 or igalbraith@intrawest.com

Source: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/media/news/season_2009-10/091001.htm

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Steamboat Springs — Intrawest, the parent company of Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp., is increasing awareness of helmet use at its resort this year.

Intrawest will recommend this ski season that all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets at its resorts, and it will require helmets for children and some teens in ski and snowboard school programs, according to a news release that came out today. All students participating in freestyle terrain parks will be required to wear a helmet. The helmet will be included in the ski school packages.

The changes will lead to requirements that some instructors wear helmets during the 2010-11 season. Intrawest will then require employees to wear helmets while on duty at freestyle terrain parks. Instructors will be required to wear helmets if their class is required to do so.

The company also will increase the focus on helmet use in its graphics and advertisements, according to the release.

“Intrawest is working in conjunction with the ski industry to establish important best practices on behalf of our resort guests and employees,” said Bill Jensen, chief executive officer at Intrawest.

Calls are out to Ski Corp. to determine how the resort will handle the policy change.

The change will be implemented at Steamboat Ski Resort, Copper Mountain and Winter Park in Colorado. It also will be made at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, Mountain Creek in New Jersey, Tremblant Resort in Quebec, Panorama Mountain in the United Kingdom, Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia and Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia.

Source: http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/oct/01/intrawest_turns_focus_helmets/

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Broomfield-based Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) operates the Breckenridge, Vail, Keystone and Beaver Creek winter resorts and Heavenly at Lake Tahoe, Nevada-California.

In a statement Monday, the company said its on-slope employees will be issued a helmet as part of their uniform.

In addition to children enrolled in group lessons, helmets will be a required part of the ski or snowboard rental packages for children 12 and under next season unless a parent signs a waiver.

Vail Resorts said it is imposing the helmet rules for safety reasons.

“We firmly believe when children are participating in our ski and ride school programs that we must provide them with the proper equipment that promotes enjoyment of the sport while also reducing the possibility of injury,” Blaise Carrig, co-president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division, said in a statement.

“Even though we will now require children in our ski and ride schools to wear helmets and make them a mandatory part of every child’s rental package, we strongly recommend the use of helmets for all of our guests, regardless of their age or ability level,” Carrig said.

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