Photo: Crash Patch
The Snow League, a year-round league launched by Shaun White and dedicated to snowboarding and freeskiing, has launched a pilot program to address head trauma in snowsports. The league’s event in Aspen last week included thousands of stickers that were passed out to fans in attendance. They were also put to use by competitors.
The “Crash Patch” is a simple tool created by Klick Health for the Snow League. Each patch appears to be nothing more than a sticker placed on helmets with the league’s logo, but they are actually crash detection devices. When the helmet sustains an impact of 75G (75 times the force of gravity), a tiny indicator on the patch turns red. That 75G threshold is considered a threshold for high-risk impacts, and the red indicator on the Crash Patch can alert a rider or their riding partners that a recent impact could have been significant enough to cause head trauma.
“No matter how skilled, experienced, or cautious you are, what matters more than avoiding crashes is riding smart —knowing how to fall safely, how to get back up, and just as importantly, how to recognize when it’s time to pause,” reads a Crash Patch description.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that low impact head trauma can increase longterm risks and the effects vary between adults and children.
“Those who get a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) may face health problems that last a few days or the rest of their lives. For example, a person with a mild TBI or concussion may experience short-term symptoms and feel better within a couple of weeks or months. And a person with a moderate or severe TBI may have longterm or lifelong effects from the injury,”says the CDC.
Meanwhile, a TBI can disrupt the development of a child’s brain. According to the CDC, “children may experience changes in their health, thinking, and behavior that affect learning, self-regulation, and social participation, all of which are important to becoming a productive adult.”
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