Putting Hockey Injuries on Ice

2005-09-28

Every Canadian kid who dreams of playing in the NHL will learn at an early age that in order to succeed a few hardships must be endured. But, for these young hopefuls, hauling a bag of gear to a six a.m. practice on a cold winter morning, the sacrifice is well worth making if it means being the next Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, or Sidney Crosby.

For their parents, on the other hand, getting their future NHL star home in one piece is the top priority. Reducing injuries in minor hockey is a crucial part of the journey to the NHL. To help them along, standards accompany our future all-stars every time they step out onto the ice.

"Standards give people a level of confidence that when their child is involved in hockey, there is a minimum standard protecting them against an incident or a hazard," says Emile Therien, President of the Canada Safety Council.

Hockey by nature is a rough sport. Combine that with hard ice, sharp blades and a small, frozen piece of rubber flying around at speeds of up to 160 km/h and the need for safety equipment is clear. Ever since CSA published the first hockey helmet standard (CAN/CSA–Z262.1, now a National Standard of Canada) over 30 years ago, standards have been ensuring that the equipment keeps Canada’s more than half a million minor hockey players safe.

"The standards help us ensure that we have a standard quality with respect to helmets and facial protection as well as neck protection across Canada," says Todd Jackson, Senior Manager of Safety and Insurance at Hockey Canada. "That gives us consistency across the country as to what the players are wearing."

Accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) two Canadian standards development organizations, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the Bureau de Normalization du Québec (BNQ), are responsible for the majority of hockey equipment standards. These standards are developed through consensus by a balanced committee that represents the various views and concerns of manufacturers, consumers, and regulators.

In addition to their involvement in developing hockey standards, both CSA and BNQ are accredited by the SCC as product certification bodies. In order to be able to display a certification mark – the stamp or sticker found on all types of hockey equipment - equipment manufacturers must submit their product to a series of rigorous tests that are specifically set out in the relevant standard. Testing helps ensure that these products stand up to the kinds of impact and force they would be subject to on the ice.

"These standards affect the safety of the game," says Jackson. "Full-facial protection and helmets allow us to ensure that our minor hockey players are kept in a safe environment.”

Head and face injuries are the most common type of ice hockey injuries. They can also be the most serious. Fortunately, they are easily preventable with safety equipment.

This is what Hockey Canada hoped to achieve when they commissioned CSA to create a hockey helmet standard in 1969. By the late 1970s, it became mandatory that all minor players wear a helmet bearing the CSA certification mark.

During this same period, the national standard for face protectors and visors (CAN/CSA–Z262.2) was approved by the SCC. According to statistics compiled by one of the standards most vocal champions, Dr. Tom Pashby, the standard has been very effective in reducing injuries. Dr. Pashby was instrumental in lobbying to make the use of face protectors, like helmets, mandatory for all minor league players. In the 1974-75 hockey season, players suffered 258 eye injuries including 43 blinded eyes. This compared to only four eye injuries, with two blinded eyes in the 2001-02 season. These figures are even more remarkable considering the overall increase in the total number of minor league players.

In 1990, BNQ published its first hockey equipment standard, for neck protectors (CAN/BNQ 9415-370). This essential piece of equipment is designed to prevent potentially fatal lacerations to the neck and throat caused by skate blades. Like helmets and face protectors, it is now mandatory for minor league hockey players to wear one.

Hockey equipment standards are important for making the game safer, but other elements of the game must also be considered, like hockey pucks.  While a puck may seem like a simple device, it is surprisingly complex and potentially dangerous. If a puck is too hard, it can break the glass around the boards and bounce excessively. A soft puck won’t bounce enough, stopping when it hits the boards. In 1997, the CSA standard for ice hockey pucks became a National Standard of Canada.  The puck standard aims to ensure that all pucks are made to perform equally and safely.

Standards have also been developed to protect those in the arena who aren’t in uniform, the spectators. In 2004, CSA’s standard for indoor sporting arenas was likewise approved as a National Standard of Canada.

"It’s going to give a consistent message on how facilities can monitor high-risk areas, identify those high-risk areas and respond to them," says Jackson of the standard. "That can be anything from netting, to glass, to ensuring that spectators don’t go into certain areas."

While no official statistics are kept on spectator injuries, there are numerous incidents reported each year. The standard for indoor sporting arenas is expected to help reduce spectator injuries as arenas across the country are updated.

Despite all the efforts to increase safety on the ice, there are still players who continue to ignore the warnings about the need to wear protective equipment, such as face masks. And, most often, they justify their decision by saying the equipment is 'affecting their game'.

Jackson feels that standards do affect the game, and they do so in a positive way.

"I don’t know if it affects how the game is played," says Jackson. "But it certainly affects how we deliver the game and certainly ensures we deliver the game in a safe way."

*****

Dr. Thomas J. Pashby (1915-2005)

On August 24, 2005, Canada lost a man whose passion for sport was surpassed only by his commitment to improving safety at play. Dr. Tom Pashby, a Toronto-based ophthalmologist, was best known for his efforts to reduce head and facial injuries among hockey players. He is credited with leading the Canadian campaign to make helmets and face protection mandatory in minor league hockey.  His work in this area included serving as the chairman (1975-1995) of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) committee that develops standards for hockey and box lacrosse equipment. During his prestigious career, he was recognized with many honours, including the Order of Canada (1981), the Standards Council of Canada’s Jean P. Carrière Award (1988), the CSA John Jenkins Award (1989), and induction into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (2000). His contributions to sport and safety in Canada will not be soon forgotten.

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