Starting this season, Brookvale Provincial Ski Park in Canada is making ski helmets mandatory on the slopes.
“The use of helmets is now mandatory for all ski & snowboard participants at Brookvale Provincial Ski Park effective the 2016 season.
Brookvale Provincial Ski Park will introduce a mandatory helmet policy for all users of the downhill facility for the 2016 ski season. Brookvale has invested in additional rental helmets to ensure guests who do not own a helmet will be able to enjoy the slopes.
It is important to note that helmets do not guarantee someone’s safety in a crash, but they do provide additional protection and help reduce the likelihood of serious brain injury. Skiers and snowboarders are required to educate themselves on the benefits and limitations of helmet use. The primary safety consideration and obligation under the Alpine Responsibility Code is to ski and ride in a controlled and responsible manner.”
It is estimated that 83% of skiers and snowboarders in Canada already wear a helmet while skiing. In 2013, the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia made ski helmets compulsory at all of its ski areas.
Canada is not the only nation to some form of helmet law. In parts of Italy children under 16-years old are required by law to wear a helmet and many ski schools across the Alps make it compulsory for children.