Ski injuries under Alpine Canada microscope

A rash of ski injuries to key members of the senior team has prompted Alpine Canada to host a ski-racing safety summit this spring in Calgary.

“The most important factor is we are masters of our own destiny. We want to keep the sport exciting, but manage risk,” said Max Gartner, president of Alpine Canada.

The symposium will include provincial sports leaders, sports scientists, growth and development experts and FIS representatives, and will strive to initiate changes at grassroots levels.

“It means asking questions about when to expose athletes to speed events and get recommendations on the equipment side,” said Gartner.

Of the 25 athletes on the Canadian National Alpine ski team, eight are currently on the injury list.

“All of our up and comers, the 26- and 27-year-olds, have had significant injuries in their career,” said Gartner.

Gartner wants to take a look at several factors, including ice injection on courses, equipment regulations and age restrictions. Changes have been made to make courses safer with fencing, however, other issues must be addressed.

The Alpine Canada president is realistic about the scope of the summit and hopes FIS will follow suit. The governing body is currently studying risk factors and ski forces in partnership with the University of Salzburg in Austria.

“At the World Cup, we can only be at the table, but we want to make sure we take care of things in Canada,” Gartner said.

Over the past five years, there has been an increase in the number of broken legs in alpine skiing, Gartner said, such as the injury suffered by Manuel Osborne-Paradis two weeks ago.

“We want to look at equipment and ask does that contribute to the injuries. Equipment has made tremendous strides with recreational skiers, but is it creating too many forces (on limbs)? We are definitely seeing more knee injuries at younger ages, so we need to be proactive,” Gartner said.

Years ago, regulations changed to reduce the side cut (or curvature) in skis to make them safer, however, athletes are now bigger and skiing at faster speeds.

Ice injection, a process in which water is pumped under the snow to create a hard, skating rink-like surface is used at all World Cup races. Gartner believes there could be a correlation between injection and head injuries.

“I think it’s a big contributor to head injuries. It creates a concrete-like surface. Now on the men’s circuit they use it all the time. The risk level is going up.”

U.S. skier Lindsay Vonn complained about injection at the Vancouver winter Olympics and at last year’s World Cup race at Lake Louise. Proponents of injection state it creates an even surface, which reduces accidents, while many racers have stated it’s difficult to tune skis for variable terrain.

Either courses should have no injection or injection on all turns.

More injuries will lessen the number of athletes attracted to the sport, Gartner said, as safety is tied to the long-term viability of the sport.

“I’m sensitive to those concerns. I have two daughters. One tore her ACL last year and the other is racing,” Gartner said.

Canmore world cup racer Kelly McBroom has yet to complete a season without injury. She’s currently recovering from a broken leg suffered on her second training run on her first European world cup race. She suffered the injury only a month after coming back after missing nearly two years with torn ACL and MCL ligaments, and is keen to see what happens with the symposium.

Having lived through the nightmare of career threatening injury, she wants to ensure others have different results.

“I don’t want anyone to go through the same thing I did,” McBroom said.

The pressure to perform as a ski racer is intense, forcing racers to push the boundaries when chasing a podium finish. That can lead to tragic, life changing split second decisions.

“Everyone is pushing so hard to find ways to go faster. You put it on the line with every race,” McBroom said.

She believes the issue is bigger than just Canada, as several teams have suffered injuries.

“It’s important to address what’s happening not just to our team, but to all teams. The amount and severity of injuries is surprising. Every day it’s something new,” McBroom said.

She can’t pinpoint a specific issue contributing to injuries, as each is unique.

Banff’s Jan Hudec’s promising career has had several setbacks due to injury.

After battling through knee and back problems, he’s currently on the shelf due to a broken hand.

Gartner says it shouldn’t be up to the athletes or coaches to worry about safety on the course, but the governing body. Athletes will always test the regulations.

“Set the regulations and the athletes will go to the limit,” Gartner said.

The safety symposium should produce several changes to Canada’s ski landscape, he said, including hard guidelines.

“I’d like to see concrete action come out of this. For example, we could determine there should be no speed races before the age of 16. There are debates we have to have.”

The summit will take place the first week of April at Canada Olympic Park.