A new study by ‘two-for-one’ ski equipment rental business Ski Republic and the Ski Club of Great Britain has found that less than half of British skiers wear ski helmets, despite a greatly heightened awareness of the danger and risk of head injury to skiers in recent years.
“Around 44% of skiers and boarders wear helmets” said Betony Garner of the Ski Club of Great Britain, “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 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.
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.
