Speeds of pediatric snowsport participants: insights for injury prevention strategies

Building upon previous research into the speeds of adult snowsport participants, this research sought to investigate the maximum speeds attained by pediatric snowsport participants across their snowsport session. Speeds were recorded using a GPS-based data-logging device that enabled recording of speeds, distance travelled and duration. From over 700 h of data, the average maximum-recorded speed was 44.1 km/h. While there was a significant difference in the average maximum speeds across four levels of experience, there was no significant difference between the average maximum speeds of females and males (42.5 km/h cf. 42.4 km/h), or between alpine skiers and snowboarders (43.8 km/h cf. 40.0 km/h). As noted in previous snowsport speeds research with adults, the average maximum speeds of the pediatric snowsport participants exceed the testing protocols of all current helmet standards in use. Language: en