THE SURVEY ON HELMET WEARING RATE IN NISEKO SKI RESORT

Y. Urabe¹, T. Tashiro¹, Y. Tamura¹, M. Kawai¹, N. Maeda¹, M. Komiya¹, M. Morikawa²

¹Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Department of Sports Rehabilitation, Hiroshima, Japan, ²National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan

Background: Skiing and snowboarding are popular sports in Japan that can be enjoyed by young and old for a lifetime. However, there is a risk of serious accidents such as head injuries due to falls. To prevent head injuries, the wearing of helmets that soften the impact on the head can be effective. However, the helmet wearing rate during snow sports in Japan is low, at less than 50% (National Ski Safety Council, 2020), and awareness of the need to prevent head injuries is insufficient. In Niseko, Hokkaido, one of the world's leading snow resorts, the “Niseko Rules” have been established to ensure the safety of skiers and snowboarders. The rules include a section on helmets, which is expected that awareness of the importance of wearing helmets has been increasing. However, the helmet wearing rate for skiing and snowboarding in Niseko has not yet been reported.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the helmet wearing rate of skiers and snowboarders in the Niseko area of Japan, and to use the results for safety management at ski resorts.

Methods: The participants were skiers and snowboarders who visited the Niseko Annupuri ski resort in Hokkaido, Japan during the 2021-2022 season, from 24 to 28 December 2021. A video camera was set up on the main slope of the ski resort, and a fixed-point observation was conducted for 30 minutes from 10:30 to 11:00. The video observation was conducted over all five-days period. The measurement item was the percentage of helmet wear for skiers and snowboarders.

Results: In this study, the helmet wearing rate for skiing was 55.6% and for snowboarding was 49.1%.

Conclusions: According to a report by the Japan Ski Safety Council, the average helmet wearing rate in Japan was 42.3% for skiing and 16.0% for snowboarding in the 2020-2021 season, however, this study found a higher rate than those. The ski resort of Niseko, which was the subject of this study, is known as a ski resort in Japan with a very high percentage of foreigners. A previous study about wearing helmets during snow sports in Canada showed that the wearing rate was approximately 80%, suggesting that foreigners may be more aware of the need to wear helmets. From the above, the helmet wearing rate was high at the Niseko Annupuri ski resort because of the large number of snow sports enthusiasts from overseas. Not only for this reason, the establishment of the “Niseko Rules” must have influenced this result. Other ski resorts in Japan take Niseko as a good model and need to address measures such as the establishment of safety rules, which may change Japanese awareness of the importance of wearing helmets.

Implications: The results of this study indicate a high helmet wearing rate in Niseko and should be used to educate Japanese skiers and snowboarders on the prevention of head injuries.

Funding acknowledgements: We have no funding acknowledgement in this study.

Keywords:
Snow sports
Helmet wearing rate
Video observation

Topics:
Sport & sports injuries

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Hiroshima university

Committee: Ethical Committee for Epidemiology of Hiroshima University

Ethics number: E-2659