Organisation of safety measures in an Alpine World Junior Championship

Objectives-To study the implementation of skiing safety during the Alpine W orld Junior Championship of 1995. Methods-A map of the area was made with descriptions of the slopes and all its facilities and the security measures along the course. The number of co mpetitors who started and any injuries reported were recorded in a question naire. Results-A total of 452 girls and 546 boys started in the different races. O nly four injuries were recorded, all in girls. The overall injury rate was 4 per 1000 runs. An injury rate of 8.3 per 1000 runs was recorded in the do wnhill. One skier had a possibly severe injury (ISS = 14) in the downhill; the rest of the injuries were minor (ISS = 1). The mean ISS was 4.3 and the total ISS was 17. Conclusions-A significantly higher injury rate was recorded for young femal e than young male racers. The injury rate was significantly higher in downh ill than the other alpine disciplines in the Alpine World Junior Championsh ip. The injury rate was not significantly different from that recorded one year previously for Olympic racers, and juniors therefore need the same saf ety measures as Olympic racers.