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.

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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

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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.”

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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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1. Grand Geneva Resort First in Area to Offer Kids Helmets for Skiing, Snowboarding
2. Safety Researchers Urge Helmet Use

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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1. Helmets protect skiers, snowboarders from head injury
2. You are 35% safer with a ski helmet says study
3. Ski helmets reduce incidence of brain injury

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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2. You are 35% safer with a ski helmet says study
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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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1. Ski Helmets cut ski injuries by 35%: study
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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

Photo Credit: Matt Sampson/SkiHelmets.com

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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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Nearly half of all skiers and riders wore helmets last season, according to a survey by members of the National Ski Areas Association. Usage climbed to 48 percent in 2008-09 from 43 percent the season before.

The new survey showed 77 percent of children 9 years old and younger wear helmets, as do two-thirds of those between ages 10 and 14. On the other end of the age spectrum, 63 percent of adults ages 65 and older wear ski helmets.

About one in three skiers and riders between ages 18 and 24 wore helmets last season.

“It’s really the middle demographic, the 30-somethings to 50-somethings, that have been slow” to embrace helmets, said David Perry, senior vice president of the Aspen Skiing Co.

The Aspen Times

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14122499

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Nancy Cutting has three children, 10 to 18 years old, and they always wear ski helmets, she says — “Always.”

As she shopped Wednesday afternoon at Skirack in downtown Burlington, she said, “It’s become a habit for these kids to put a helmet on. It’s all they know.”

Helmets are becoming increasingly common on the slopes, both in Vermont and throughout the country. This week, the National Ski Patrol embraced a helmet initiative with Vermont roots, and the National Ski Areas Association is developing a program to encourage those younger than 14 to wear helmets by 2012.

“They are wonderful,” said Bill Stenger, co-owner and president of Jay Peak Resort, referring to protective headgear. Three years ago, the northern Vermont resort mandated employees wear helmets, he said. All ski school participants also must wear a helmet.

“We try to set a tone in policy that enforces and promotes wearing a helmet,” Stenger said. “They are wonderful for two reasons: They protect the skier and rider, if they do have a collision, and they are warm.”

Because of the prevalence of glade skiing at Jay Peak, “logic and common sense” compel about 85 percent of people there to wear a helmet, Stenger said. That, he said, is a “remarkable increase” from five or 10 years ago.

After decades of skiing helmetless, Stenger changed course about seven years ago to persuade his three grandchildren they should wear helmets, too. “It’s hard to tell them to do something if you aren’t willing to do it,” he said.

Helmet use is getting some high-profile endorsements. The National Ski Patrol has joined an initiative by a Fletcher Allen Health Care doctor called Protect Head at All Times, or PHAT. The program — which encourages helmet use through example, not mandatory use — has been running a pilot program at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Cambridge. The National Ski Patrol’s involvement is expected to help the program catch on at resorts throughout the country.

“We are really pleased with this. This is potentially a game-changer,” said Robert Williams, a pediatric anesthesiologist at Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen, who is spearheading the program.

In addition to developing PHAT, Williams has documented the rapid increase of helmet use at Smuggs. During the first year of his study, the winter of 2002-03, he found that fewer than half of skiers and snowboarders at Smuggs — 44 percent — wore helmets. That increased to 73 percent last winter, he said.

Last year, nearly nine of 10 riders younger than 18 wore a helmet at Smugglers’ Notch, said Williams, who is also an associate professor at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine. About six in 10 adults wore a helmet. Williams declined to release the comparable data from earlier winters until he published the results of his study.

The group that is most difficult to persuade to wear helmets, he said, is 15- to 30-year-old males who do not have season passes, Williams said.

In its own study, the National Ski Areas Association found that one-third, or 32 percent, of those from 18 to 24 years old wear helmets while skiing or snowboarding. That’s a marked increase from 18 percent in 2002-03. Those 9 years old and younger register the highest percentage of helmet use, 77 percent, the association found in its study last year of 130,000 riders nationwide.

Matt Manser, the alpine hard goods buyer at Skirack, said there were twice as many helmet sales this October compared with October 2008. “That’s huge for us,” he said, adding November’s sales represented an increase, too.

“It’s a safety feature, but it’s also warmer. That’s why a lot of people get into it,” he said. The helmets cost $60 to more than $300. “You wear a helmet not because you are crazy, but because someone can run into you.”

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that nearly 8,000 head injuries each year could be prevented if all skiers and snowboarders wore helmets. Williams says that translates into 650 to 700 preventable head injuries in Vermont alone.

Smugglers’ Notch doesn’t require visitors or employees to wear helmets, but the employee policy is reconsidered annually, and the resort “highly encourages” helmet use, said Barbara Thomke, a resort spokeswoman.

Williams is pleased the level of overall helmet use at Smugglers’ rose to three-quarters, but he isn’t sure if the level has topped out. There was a slight dip from overall helmet use from 2007-08 to last winter, he noted. “We’re not sure if that’s a statistical quirk or if we have reached the limit,” he said.

Williams is not advocating for changes in state law to compel full helmet use. “We can get a much higher use through viral use than plodding through state legislatures,” he said.

More research will be conducted at the Vermont resort this year, he said.

The studies have cost more than $100,000, Williams said. The money has come through a variety of grants. There has been no funding from the helmet industry, he said.

Williams is lukewarm on the National Ski Areas Association call for all skiers and boarders 14 and under to wear helmets by 2012. The Lakewood, Colo.,-based trade association represents 326 resorts.

“I endorse the idea, but I think we should get everybody into helmets and forget the ages,” Williams said. “I don’t really want to this to be youth-orientated campaign. I want this aimed at everyone. I don’t want kids to feel that you have to be in a helmet, and when you are older you can take the helmets off.”

Contact Dan McLean at 651-4877 or dmclean@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

SOURCE: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091204/NEWS02/91204002

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Ski helmets were already becoming more and more common at ski resorts across North America when actress Natasha Richardson died following a fall at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant ski resort last April. With the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on the horizon, Canadian safety organizations are calling for greater use of ski helmets, as well as higher standards for manufacturers.

Safe Kids Canada is asking Canadians to show their support for the use of helmets during winter ski sports by signing the Vancouver Charter on Skiing Safety. The charter is designed to encourage the use of helmets during skiing and snowboarding activities, and it has already been endorsed by British Columbia, the host province of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

“Given the increase in serious head injuries resulting from skiing and snowboarding activities, we felt it was time to ask Canadians to come together and show their support for protecting children from these preventable injuries,” said Pamela Fuselli, executive director at Safe Kids Canada. “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.”

While head injuries have been shown to comprise three to 15 per cent of all injuries suffered by skiers and snowboarders, Safe Kids Canada says over 85 per cent of skiing and snowboarding deaths are caused by head injury. More specifically, traumatic brain injury has been reported to account for 67 per cent of skier deaths in children. They say research has shown that ski and snowboard helmets are effective at preventing head injuries. It is estimated that for every 10 people who wear a helmet, up to six may avoid head injuries.

But the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) says that there are no ski helmet manufacturers that produce helmets that meet the standards they revised last March. Canada has no laws forcing manufacturers to meet any specific standards. Nevertheless, the CSA still recommends their use, and says they can reduce the risk of head injury by 60 per cent.

But the lack of CSA-approved helmets has become a reason for ski hills to avoid making them mandatory. Last season the provincial government of Prince Edward Island, which runs a hill at the provincial park in Brookvale, said it would consider making helmets mandatory, the CBC reports. But a meeting of the Atlantic Canada Ski Council decided to continue to make helmet-wearing voluntary because of the lack of CSA-approved helmets.

“At this point no hills are moving forward with the mandatory helmet policy,” provincial parks manager Shane Arbing told CBC News last week. “This is the decision that’s been made, and we’ll be consistent with other ski hills.”

Some ski resort companies are making changes, although largely symbolic. Vancouver-based Intrawest will recommend all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets at its North American resorts starting this season, which include Mont Tremblant and British Columbia’s Whistler-Blackcomb, which will host alpine events during the Olympics. 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.

Source: http://www.skirebel.com/magazine/archives/4888

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2. Is ski industry lagging on public support for Ski Helmets?

(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.

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** 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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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

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“Around 44% of skiers and boarders wear helmets” said Betony Garner of the Ski Club of Great Britain (www.skiclub.co.uk), “We urge people to take the risks very seriously and advise that all children under 13 wear ski helmets this winter and adults do so at their own discretion”.

Miss Garner noted that the numbers wearing helmets was rising significantly however.

Mark Warnes, Managing Director of Ski Republic (www.ski-republic.com) said, “We give all of our customers free ski helmet rental, yet time after time the offer is declined or the customer puts the helmet on one side. Brits are among the worst for this as most European skiers are far more likely to wear ski helmets, often bringing their own with them, or taking up our free ski helmet rental.”

“Helmets are essential in any sport where there is a possibility that the head may come into contact with a solid object and, without head protection, skiers are particularly vulnerable”. Mt Warnes continued.

According to www.skihelmets.com, 44% of skiers currently wear a helmet and 42% are intending to wear one the next time they go skiing. One reason for this growth is that out of 84,200 winter sports injuries recorded last season, 17,500 were head related.

It is believed that out of those 17,500, 7,700 injuries and 11 deaths – a little under 10% of the total – could have been avoided if the injured person had been wearing a helmet.

Another reason is that helmets are getting lighter and more comfortable to wear.

Recent research in Canada and Sweden has shown that serious head and spine injuries have becoming more common in recent years among both skiers and snowboarders, partly because of faster speeds but also due to more people who are not properly trained trying jumping and acrobatics, especially in the terrain parks.

Studies have found that snowboarders are between one-and-a-half times and four times more likely to have accidents than skiers. Men are more likely than women to get seriously injured, those under 35 years old are at higher risk of brain injury and that the most serious injuries usually happen to people not wearing a helmet.

Source: http://www.fasttrackski.co.uk/ski-news/general-ski/less-than-half-of-brits-wear-helmets-even-when-provided-free-200910284814.php

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