Since the death of Natasha Richardson in March 2009 due to a head injury resulting from a skiing accident a call has gone out to ski resort owners particularly in Canada to make the wearing of ski helmets mandatory. Up until now the wearing of a helmet for skiing has been purely on a voluntary basis, but since that fatal day last March the mindset has changed on the subject.
The Quebec resort when Natasha fell has just recently issued a press release stating that they will require all skiers at the resort to wear a helmet. As I understand it, the owners of the resort in Quebec also own several other resorts through out Canada and the Western United States. All of these resorts will be making the wearing of helmets mandatory.
And this is just a start. With the Olympics just about to start in Vancouver there is a movement afoot to make the wearing a helmets in BC mandatory.
Soon the cry will be going out to all ski and snowboarding resorts around the world to make the wearing of helmets mandatory.
Why does it take a fatality for people to start creating regulations? Helmets have been worn for several years now particularly by the ski racers, freestyle skiers and now the snowboarders.
Natasha wasn’t the first person to die of head injuries nor will she be the last. As long at the wearing of ski helmets is voluntary will always have those macho and cool people that refuse to wear helmets.
It seems to me that the younger generation is more apt to put helmets on whereas the older generation tends to be a little reluctant. The mindset seems to be that “I have been skiing without a helmet since I started and nothing has happened to me, so why should I start now?” This is precisely the person that will end up falling and possibly hurting themselves.
Fortunately the latest helmets are fashionable and people are starting to wear them. Not only that, the new breed of ski and snowboard helmets, come with audio capabilities, so you can listen to music while whooshing down the hill.
It will be interesting to see how many people will be wearing helmets this coming season.