Last season, 48 percent of all skiers and riders were wearing a helmet at the time of being interviewed, up from 43 percent during the 2007-08 ski and snowboard season. In comparison, only 25 percent of skiers and snowboarders wore helmets during the 2002-03 season.
The annual Demographic Study is compiled from more than 130,000 interviews of skiers and riders nationwide and also showed that:
- 77 percent of children 9 years old or younger wear ski helmets;
- 66 percent of children between 10 and 14 wear ski helmets;
- 63 percent of adults over the age of 65 wear ski helmets; and
- Helmet usage by skiers and boarders aged 18 to 24 is currently 32 percent, representing a 78 percent increase in usage for this age group since the 2002-03 season, when only 18 percent wore helmets.
NSAA and its member resorts promote the use of helmets. This fall, NSAA will be launching a new initiative designed to encourage all kids 14 and under to wear ski helmets. The organization has set an internal goal of near-universal helmet usage for all children by 2012.
