Winter Sports Safety – Are You Following the Safety Guidelines?

Whenever you are out for any kind of sports, the first thing you need to take care of is the safety of yourself and your family, especially kids.

After all, colder temperatures might not keep adults or even kids from venturing outside for sports, but injuries can!

Therefore, you must consider some safety tips for winter sports!

Winter sports or any sort of recreational activities offer all of us with tons of excitement and fun, but with that, it is also imperative to follow the safety rules or guidelines, so that you don’t turn your exciting sport into a nightmare or suffer a severe injury.

Therefore, for your assistance, here are some useful safety tips for winter sports.

Snow Tubing and Sledding

• Search for a good hill – You must select the hill that offers a clear pathway without any obstacles. For this, you need to make sure that hill doesn’t lead to a street, parking lot, road or any other watery area such as a lake, river or a pond.
• Slide downhill in a proper body position as one of the most important safety tips for winter sports– Never try to slide downhill keeping your head at first as it will increase your chances of hitting the floor and damage your neck or head. Always sit up as you face forward in order to steer. If you lay down on the sled, you will simply increase the risks of neck, back or head injuries.
• Keep the hill bottom clear – Before you allow another sled to go ahead, make sure that the hill bottom is clear and no one is present down the slope.
• Use appropriate material – Never use low-quality or improper material for winter sport such as plastic sheet or rubber. This is because such materials can easily be pierced by sharp objects spread all over the ground.
• Use a steering mechanism or a sled with runners – Make sure to avoid snow disks or toboggans as they are not considered safe.

Snowmobiling

• Many people neglect the safety tips for winter sports and allow their kids to ride a snowmobile which results in severe injuries. No kid under the age of 6 should be allowed to take part in snowmobiling regardless of whether an adult is present to guide them or not.
• Similarly, children under sixteen years of age are also not suitable to take up snowmobiling and adults should keep a check on this so that mishaps can be avoided.
• Wearing a bike helmet cannot save you from injuring your head; therefore, make sure you go with only the specifically designed helmets for high-velocity motorsports. Do wear only the certified helmets and avoid the mistake of using a bike helmet for your safety purpose.

Pond Skating/Ice Skating

Your best bet is to go with skating rinks over traditional pond skating. However, if you prefer to go with pond skating, then here are some considerations for you.

• Always contact with local authorities to determine which particular areas are actually approved and avail the permission if this is allowed to skate on a lake or pond.
• Before you plan to skate on a lake or pond, make sure that the weather has been severely cold for at least a week.
• Always go with skates which are sharp enough, especially before skating on lake ice or pond as this could be really dangerous otherwise.

Snowboarding and Skiing

• If your kid is taking part in this winter sport for the very first time, then make sure that they get proper lessons for snowboarding or skiing.
• Take adequate exercise activities that would help in warming up the muscles involved in snowboarding or skiing, so that you can prevent severe injuries. Also, make sure to stretch for a while after warming up to keep yourself going for your long exciting winter sport.
• Always use adequate snowboard equipment and skis such as adjusted bindings and well-fitted boots. You may also take the assistance of certified technicians to get some help with fittings.
• As you must stick to trails considering your own and your kid’s skill level, you must also pay attention to all the trail signs. Similarly, obey the trail closure and avoid going off the trail.

With that, don’t forget to stay hydrated, look out for others, take frequent breaks, watch the weather and use sunscreen. All of these are some useful safety tips for winter sports that must be considered at all times to have fun enjoying outdoor sports throughout this season!