Where did the story come from?

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) recently published an editorial drawing together the findings from several different studies on the use of helmets in skiing and snowboarding. When reporting on this discursive piece, BBC News included some risk-reduction figures, which were sourced from a recent review of studies conducted by researchers from the University of Calgary. It is this review that has been appraised in this Behind the Headlines article.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed Canadian Medical Association Journal. The authors report that their study received no external funding.
BBC News reported the issue well, giving the context provided in the BMJ’s editorial. However, it attributed the risk-reduction figures of 35% in adults and 59% in children under 13 to a study of ski helmets by the University of Innsbruck, whereas these figures came from a review conducted by researchers at the University of Calgary.

What kind of research was this?

This was a systematic review of studies that assessed head injuries in skiers and snowboarders. To gather studies, the reviewers searched through sources of research literature, including electronic databases of studies published up to 2008, conference proceedings and reference lists of other research. They only included studies that had a control group (a comparison group of uninjured people). This allowed them to assess the effect of wearing a helmet on the risk of head and neck injuries.

What did the research involve?

The studies included were cohort, case-control or case-crossover studies. Three researchers separately extracted data from each of the included studies to ensure that data were extracted appropriately. The data extracted included the study design, the characteristics of the participants and the study results. A statistical technique called meta-analysis was then used to combine the results of the studies. This gave a pooled estimate of the risk of head injury associated with not wearing a helmet while skiing or snowboarding.
When performing a meta-analysis, it is important to assess whether it is appropriate to pool the results of the included studies. One way to measure the appropriateness of pooling a set of results is to determine how different the studies are from one another through measuring a statistical property called “heterogeneity”. The researchers measured the heterogeneity, which allows us to have a sense of the robustness of the pooled estimate. They also performed analyses using only the high-quality studies and only the low-quality studies to determine what range of results might be plausible around their estimate.
While they initially identified 36 studies, the researchers included 12 studies in their analysis after applying their inclusion criteria. Ten were case-control studies, one was a case-control/case-crossover and one was a cohort study. In total, they pooled data from 9,829 participants who were wearing helmets and 36,735 who were not.
The researchers presented two different analyses of the studies, one assessing the effect of helmet use on the risk of head injury and a second reporting the effects on the risk of neck injury.

What were the basic results?

The review found that wearing a helmet reduced the risk of head injury by about 35-40%. This variation arose due to studies comparing skiers with head injury against different control groups, including uninjured people, or a mix of uninjured people and those who were injured but not with head or neck injuries. For example, skiers and snowboarders with a helmet were significantly less likely to have a head injury than injured and uninjured people without a helmet (odds ratio [OR] 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55 to 0.79).
Helmet use was associated with a significant reduction of about 55% in potentially severe head trauma in the studies that assessed this outcome. In subgroup analyses, the researchers investigated the effect of helmet use in children under 13 and found that use reduced the risk of head injury by 59% (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.62).
Six studies specifically looked at neck injury. Analysis of these studies showed no evidence of a reduction in the risk of neck injury using helmets. The researchers report that this was true in both adults and children.

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers concluded that helmets reduce the risk of head injury among skiers and snowboarders but that there is no evidence of an increased risk of neck injury.

Conclusion

This systematic review and meta-analysis addressed the issue of helmet use for snow sports. It has several shortcomings, some of which the researchers discussed:
The studies were generally of only moderate quality, and many failed to adequately adjust for potential confounding factors, such as activity while being injured, jumping and participants’ age.
The control groups in the studies varied. For example, some studies compared uninjured people and others looked at people who were injured but not with a head or neck injury.
The definition of head injury varied across studies.
There was a lack of information about the quality or fit of the helmet. The researchers say that if poor-quality helmets or helmets that didn’t fit well were worn, the helmets’ potential to reduce head injury may have been underestimated.
Importantly, there were several differences between the various studies being pooled (high heterogeneity). This appears to be due to the different methods of the studies and the different way that samples were selected. This high heterogeneity means that we can be less confident in the results of this study. For these studies, the I² statistic (a measure of heterogeneity) was about 75%, which can be interpreted as the percentage of variation across study results that is due to heterogeneity rather than chance.
As they are not based on a population sample, it is impossible for case-control studies to calculate the absolute risk of a head or neck injury. While it appears that helmets reduce the risk of injury, the large relative risk reductions (35% and 60%) mask the fact that a head or neck injury is a rare event. The authors of this study report that the rate of head injury is about 0.09 per 1,000 outings. This means that if you went skiing or snowboarding 11,111 times, you would be likely to injure your head just once. For neck injuries, the rate is reported to be 0.46 per 1,000 outings, equating to going skiing or snowboarding 2,174 times and receiving one neck injury.

SOURCE: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/02February/Pages/head-injury-protection-ski-helmet.aspx

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A similar bill passed the Senate in 1991 but failed to move forward after facing opposition from the skiing industry. Versions have been bouncing around the Legislature ever since.

This session, the bill passed through the Senate and got through an Assembly committee last week. It now waits on a full Assembly vote and an OK from Gov. Chris Christie.

The bill had been rewritten so that parents, instead of ski resorts, would be fined if there were violations.

“Now, because we changed the onus to being on the parents, I think it has a better shot of going through,” said Sen. Joe Pennacchio, a sponsor of the bill.

Co-sponsor Sen. Anthony Bucco added that more skiers have voluntarily worn helmets in recent years. That has helped raised awareness and helps the cause.

“Watching the Olympics last year, all of the different sports in the Winter Olympics, all wore helmets,” Bucco said. “They realize the dangers in some of these sports and they make sure the Olympians wear helmets.”

Legislators in New York and California are considering similar measures. The law in New Jersey would apply only to kids under 14.

The bill has been championed throughout the process by a New Jersey doctor whose daughter died in a skiing accident more than 20 years ago.

By Carolyn Beeler

SOURCE: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/flexicontent/item/11767-ski/

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The increased use of helmets has helped reduced the number of ski injuries and death; but the risks remain when out hitting the slopes.

Competitive Edge Ski and Bike owner Jim Kennedy says helmets have become more popular to wear.

They range from 50 dollars to 200 dollars but are all equal in safety, and Jim says every skiier or snowboarder should always wear a helmet.

“We had someone here who was in a collision which he had a concussion was knocked out, was in an ambulance and probably the helmet saved his life,” said Kennedy.

In the last 10 years, head injuries have declined by 50 percent.

Still the number of people who die every year in America on the slopes remains at about 40.

Ski helmets reduce injury risk: wwlp.com

Shannon Halligan

http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hampshire/Ski-helmets-reduce-injury-risk

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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.

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Over the last 7 years, the proportion has risen from 16 percent to 82 percent.

The government says awareness campaigns have worked but there’s still a considerable difference between German-speaking and French-speaking parts of the country.

Just under two thirds of skiers in French-speaking Switzerland wear a helmet; in German-speaking regions, the number is 86 percent.

The accident prevention bureau says it’s also important to protect other parts of the body which are vulnerable to injury. The best way to prevent injuries to knees, legs and feet is to have your bindings tested by a professional.

MARQUETTE — It was an effort to keep kids safe on the slopes.

The Marquette General Women’s and Children’s Center, in conjunction with Kohl’s and Marquette Mountain, hosted a Kohl’s Cares “Heads Up on Safety” event Saturday morning.

Families learned more about ski and snowboard safety, and more than 100 children received certificates for a free ski and snowboard helmet.

In addition, Kohl’s representatives presented a grant check for more than $20,000 to the M.G.H. Women’s and Children’s Center as part of its Kohl’s Cares Program.

“It’s so important for children when they’re out on the ski slopes, whether they’re skiing or snowboarding, to be able to have their heads protected. It makes all the difference in the world if they should have any accident,” says program director Cindy Ampe.

Since 2005, Kohl’s has donated more than $127,000 to the Women’s and Children’s Center.

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Masters student Mary Ondrusz hopes to uncover the reasons why some skiers and snowboarders choose not to wear helmets.

Ondrusz writes, “There is evidence to suggest that the use of helmets may reduce the risk of serious head induries by as much as 50 percent. Nevertheless, use of helmets varies widely across regions with uptake as low as 12 percent in some areas.”

Ski helmets laws are a hot topic across ski areas worldwide. Austria was the first to bring in mandatory helmet use for under 14s in January 2009. California is currently considering mandatory ski helmet laws: two bills have been introduced, one requiring minors to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding and the other to extend to resort operations with sign posting, safety planning, and injury reporting. California would have the tightest helmet laws in the U.S. if the bills pass.

As part of her research project, Ondrusz has compiled a questionnaire asking skiers and snowboarders about their helmet use, with questions such as: do you wear a helmet when skiing/snowboarding or do you hate the idea of them? Do you think helmets are over-hyped or under-promoted? The full questionnare can be found here.

Besides the air pump, the helmet is getting great reviews for its easily adjustable venting, small and removable visor brim, durable goggle clip, and comfortable chin strap

Some experts are calling for a mandatory helmet law, one year after the death of British actress Natasha Richardson following a ski lesson at Mont-Tremblant.

Richardson, the wife of actor Liam Neeson, was taken off of life support and died last March 19th, two days after she hit her head during the beginner lesson.

She was not wearing a helmet.

While her death was shocking at the time, trauma experts say there are 200 to 250 cases of brain injury a year in Quebec.

And while helmet-use on ski slopes is up, experts including neuropsychologist Dr. Alain Ptito want governments to make them mandatory.

“It seems obvious to me,” Ptito told CTV’s Caroline Van Vlaardingen.

“It seems obvious to me that if you’re going at a certain speed and there is a risk of impact — the obvious thing is to protect yourself as best you can.”

Dr. Ptito, who works at the Montreal Neurological Institute, has been studying the effects of head injuries on memory and the thought process.

He has scanned the brains of athletes with and without head injuries to compare their brain function.

“What we see is the more severe the symptoms, the less the activation patterns.”

Financial costs

He said that the effects can last months and even years and that if public safety doesn’t prompt governments to act, politicians should be motivated by the financial costs.

“If the government wants to save money I think they should make (helmets) mandatory because it’s very expensive to treat a head injury,” said Ptito.

Think First, a Quebec group that promotes brain-injury awareness, says it could cost $8.2 million to care for a healthy 20-year-old who’s unable to work after a head injury.

Stats

Quebec ski hill operators say helmet use on the province’s slopes has grown from just over 10 per cent to close to 80 per cent over the past decade.

But that still means one in four skiers and boarders aren’t wearing them.

Human cost

Benoit Ballard knows first-hand the effect that head injuries can have on quality of life.

On April 15, 1999, Ballard was snowboarding down a beginner’s run called Cameron’s Trail at Lake Louise, Alta. when something happened.

“They said I was screaming . . . ‘cause I hit my head very hard on the ice, I guess,” said Ballard, 31.

He was not wearing a helmet.

Ballard spent the next 40 days in a coma and he awoke with only limited use of his left side.

He can move his right hand but it takes effort to open the left. The toes on his left side are always in a curled position.

“Every step I take from morning ‘till night, I have to think of the step I’m going to take,” he says “That’s my life.”

Ballard spends several hours a day in a rehab centre. He says he’s lucky to be alive but still has regrets.

“I’d give anything I have just to go back on April 15th because I’d be wearing a helmet, that’s for sure.”

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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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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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

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The article appears in the Canadian Medical Association Journal and examines 12 separate studies conducted over the past 18 years.

They were from Europe, Canada, the USA and Japan.

They contained information on self-reported injuries and reports from ski patrols, medical centres and insurance companies.

In total 9,829 people injured were wearing a helmet and 36,735 were not.

For full details of the report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal see here.

It makes interesting reading.

The number of people wearing a helmet has gone up sharply in recent years, last year fuelled by the death of Natasha Richardson in Canada and the death of a woman who was in collision with a well known German politician in Austria.

Some compulsion has now been introduced in Austria with children having to wear a ski helmet while on the slopes.

It is though unlikely there will be any widespread compulsion in Europe.

The study though did not look at how wearing a helmet afffects skiers and snowboarders behaviour. Some say that if people wear a helmet then they go faster on the slopes and feel safer, thus making the sport more dangerous.

It did not look at the different types of helmet available and which ones, if any, are safer than others.

One area of concern has been that wearing a helmet may make neck injury more likely, especially amoung children. It was feared the weight of the helmet could increase the risk of whiplash injury.

The new survey though seems to rule this out.

“What we found was, effectively, that there was a reduction in head injury risk with helmet use but no associated increase in neck injury risk with helmet use,” said Brent Hagel of the University of Calgary.

The reports conclusion is simple and calls for further work on the subject.

“Our pooled analysis of evidence suggests that helmets are effective in reducing the risk of head injury among skiers and snowboarders. We found no significant association between helmet use and an increased risk of neck injury. Based on our findings, we encourage the use of helmets among skiers and snowboarders. Additional, methodologically rigorous research is required to determine which types of helmets provide the best protection.”

Source: http://www.planetski.eu/news/1310

Are you convinced by the research? Is more needed? Will you now wear a helmet if you don’t already? Should it be made compulsory to wear one?Let us know below!

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CALGARY — Putting on a helmet before skiing or snowboarding down the slopes reduces the chances of a head injury by about 35 per cent without any risk children will hurt their necks from the added weight, suggests a review of scientific studies.

The analysis, published in Monday’s edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, looked at 12 studies from around the world dating back as far as 1991.

In particular, researchers wanted to debunk the concern that children, who have a higher head-to-body weight ratio than adults, might be more vulnerable to hurting their necks in a fall because the protective headgear made them more top heavy.

“What we found was, effectively, that there was a reduction in head injury risk with helmet use but no associated increase in neck injury risk with helmet use,” said author Brent Hagel of the University of Calgary.

Helmet use on the slopes is on the rise, but not everyone is on board, said Kelly Russell, co-author of the report and PhD candidate at the university.

“They certainly aren’t used by everyone, so some people aren’t getting the message,” she said. “Hopefully, people that are on the tipping point, they might be swayed to use helmets, because we’ve shown that they work.”

Many safety groups have long advocated the use of helmets, especially among children.

The debate became even more heated after the high-profile death of actress Natasha Richardson, who died of a blood clot on the brain last year following a fall during a ski lesson at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant ski resort. She was not wearing a helmet.

Safe Kids Canada is calling for a declaration to coincide with the coming Vancouver Olympics that would encourage people to wear helmets when they ski and snowboard. The “Vancouver Charter on Skiing Safety” is based on a similar declaration made before the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Italy is the only country in the world where winter sport helmets are mandatory.

Harry Zarins, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Canada, said the study adds to the argument that Canadian provinces should follow suit.

The government of Prince Edward Island is considering such legislation, he said, adding it would be much easier to enforce than other safety legislation such as bans on cellphone use while driving.

“It’s easy to control. If you’re on a ski hill, and you want to go up on the ski hill, you have to wear a helmet,” he said.

“No helmet, no ski pass.”

Safety groups say head injuries account for 87 per cent of deaths in skiers and snowboarders.

According to the study, head injuries account for up to 19 per cent of injuries reported by ski patrols and emergency departments. Neck injuries account for up to four per cent.

“Head and neck injuries are disproportionately represented in cases of severe trauma, and traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and serious injury among skiers and snowboards,” the report reads.

To gather the data, the researchers looked at a dozen studies from Canada, the United States, Japan and Europe. The studies involved head injuries, neck injuries or both. They looked at self-reported injuries as well as reports from ski patrols, emergency rooms and insurance companies.

Within all the studies, 9,829 participants wore helmets and 36,735 did not.

The data suggests that helmets may be more protective in males and skiers with less experience, but those trends weren’t significant.

The researchers point out that their results could be underestimated because the studies didn’t take into account proper fit and type of helmet.

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

In October, Vancouver-based Intrawest, which operates 10 ski resorts across North America, said it will make helmets mandatory for all children and teens enrolled in ski and snowboard lessons.

Hagel said it was important to consider all the available studies together to get a good idea of how effective helmet use can be.

“Incorporating that really solid, rigorous evidence was important,” he said. “Now we can be more confident in our recommendations of using helmets and hopefully that message will come through.”

SOURCE: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h5qLmqfJNJLzwlU5z5qxYhT5k_qA

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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

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