Safe Kids Canada asks public to support ski helmets
November 23, 2009
THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER – Safe Kids Canada is asking the public for their virtual votes in favour of the use of helmets on the slopes.
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 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.
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.
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