Tragedy Should Spur Action
In March 2002, 13-year-old girl died of head injuries two days after being hit by a puck at an National Hockey League game in Columbus, Ohio. This tragic incident has drawn attention to the safety of fans watching hockey games.
The Canada Safety Council has a longstanding concern that flying pucks can cause serious injuries to spectators in hockey arenas. Head and face injuries occur when shots deflect into the stands at speeds of up to 150 km/h. Deaths are rare, but injuries are all too common. Consider a few examples:
March 1997: A 13-year-old boy suffered loss of academic, social and emotional functioning after a flying puck at a Windsor, Ontario rink put him into a coma.
December 1998: The mother of a teenaged player lost her sight in one eye after a puck hit her while she was watching her son play in a Manitoba arena.
January 1999: A nine-year-old Regina girl suffered a fractured skull and other injuries when a puck struck her above the right eye.
February 2000: A 21-year old man fell into a coma and died five days after a puck hit his head at an Altona, Manitoba hockey arena.
January 2002: A 53-year-old man took a puck in the left eye at a game in Sault Ste Marie, and was left with diminished vision.
There are no Canadian data on spectator injuries from flying pucks, but anecdotal evidence indicates the above are not isolated incidents. For instance, the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club said 11 of its spectators needed medical attention due to injuries from flying pucks in the 2001-2002 season up to March 22. That works out to one fan for every three games.
Most of Canada's 3,500 community arenas date back at least 30 years. That means that many are due for renovations - a good time to incorporate features that protect the fans. However, the absence of a national standard makes it hard for agencies responsible for these facilities to know how best to protect spectators. In July 2000, the Canada Safety Council asked the federal government to fund the development of a national standard for spectator protection at hockey games.
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