Snowboarding Saftey Essay, Research Paper

One of the newest and fastest spreading sports is snowboarding. As this sport has come along, several clich s have been formed. One outstanding one is that all snowboarders are reckless teenagers who should go home. Well, it is true for the most part, but there are also exceptions. The safe ones. The key to snowboarding is safety. A good rider is a safe rider. A boarder must always follow the official code of responsibility. Boarders must also protect themselves. If safety is not taken seriously, snowboarding can be dangerous.

The code of responsibility is as follows: 1. Ride under control and in such a manner that you can stop or avoid other riders or objects. Recently, a snowboarder did not follow this rule and hit a jump and landed on a skier killing him. 2. When riding downhill or overtaking another rider, you must avoid the rider below you. This rule should be followed when passing those slow skiers who take up the whole hill with the unnecessarily long turns. 3. You must not stop where you obstruct a trail or are not visible from above. When local snowboarder Pepper Fajans stopped under a jump to pick up a hat and goggles, another snowboarder came over the jump and hit Fajans. Fajans should have followed this rule. 4. When entering a trail or starting downhill, yield to other riders. Not yielding to others can cause a collision. 5. All riders shall use devices to prevent runaway skis. A leash around the ankle will prevent a miss held board from sliding down he hill and hitting somebody. Fines can be around $500 if a runaway prevention device isn’t worn. 6. A rider shall keep off closed trails and posted areas and observe all posted signs. Often these signs will give warning of a cliff and should be taken seriously. Even if you follow the rules though, there is still room for injury.

The law does not require boarders to wear any kind of protection but many people have begun using helmets among other types of protective gear. A helmet should be worn to protect your head, duh! Proof shows that when being hit in the head with a baseball bat, a subject wearing a helmet will receive less of an injury than a subject without a helmet. Wrist guards need to be worn while learning how to ride because the most common injury in snowboarding is a broken wrist especially for beginners.

Learn how fall correctly. It sounds weird but if you learn how fall correctly then when you fall, on accident, you will naturally fall in a manner that will not hurt you. A smart rider, for the sake of their own safety, should only ride in areas that they have the skills to ride in. If a boarder is not good enough to ride moguls and loses control, he or she is a hazard to everybody around them and are putting himself or herself in danger.

By following all of the above, you will have the best time you can and be the safest. Just always remember to use your head; follow the rules and you will win. Protect your head; be sure to wear pads so you don’t get sore or brain damaged. Don’t let your overconfidence get to your head; know when you are no longer safe to other people or yourself.