The issue of concussion and head injury in sport continues to gain media attention. It is an area SSA has been involved with for a number of years. Our work has focused on football via Rezzil’s Player 22 VR heading system and rugby, American football and Australian rules via HITIQ.
Helmet use has increased, but can brands and sponsors do more to encourage pople to use them?
In this piece on the BBC’s Ski Sunday Jenny Jones, the Olympic bronze medal-winning snowboarder, talks through the issues of safety in snowsport, particularly the development of helmet technology. These technological advancements have made a huge difference to elite athletes and happy amateurs alike.
Jones highlights the increase in helmet use on the slopes in recent years. In competition, helmets are now mandatory across all snowsports. Outside of competition, the tide is moving in the same direction. It is the norm for children to have to wear helmets while on the piste. Increasingly resorts are putting helmet policies in place to encourage adults to wear them and some insurance products insist on helmet use.
Snowsports are often considered lifestyle sports. They have a strong culture that surrounds them. Brands and sponsors are attracted to the mixture of sport, music, fashion and film as well as the personalities that go with that. Safety messages often don’t mix with the sense of cool that brands are trying to harness. However, when talking about such an important topic, should brands, sponsors and the athletes/influencers that work with them do more to drive the message about helmet use?
Helmets offer brands easy real estate for exposure, think of the Red Bull helmet that is now so familiar on the heads of many of the world’s top skiers and snowboarders. Helmet branding also provides inherent credibility in terms of the safety and performance stories linked to concussions amongst athletes. When brands link with athletes, influencers and filmmakers should they insist they wear helmets whenever they are on, or off-piste? Would this help create a culture of everyday use rather than just during training, competition or stunts?
Click on this link and skip to 45mins 30seconds to hear Jones’ excellent piece and let us know what you think.
Sport Science Agency uses its insight and expertise to tell performance stories and unlocks their value for brands, broadcasters and rights holders. To see some of our work click here If you want to know more about what we can do for you, drop us a note via info@sportscienceagency.com and we can arrange to go for a healthy vitamin packed drink.