‘

__fo_re

Committee

4 : bo 5 . vey
foe wt

Last season. 12
‘hockey players were
legally blinded com-
pared to elght in the

_ previous year according
ports_received_by-

“Dr. Tom Pashby, a
Toronto ophthalmolo:
gist and chairman of
the Canadian Standards
Association (CSA)

Protective Equipment
‘for Hockey and
_Lacrossé Players.

‘\During the 1977-78
season, Pashby received
_reports of cight cyes legally

_ blinded, while. the 1978-79

on

’

‘None wearing masks

a)

boa

statistics ‘show 12 eyes lost... and tests. and certifies them. . masks
'. None of the players injured So far,

were wearing hockey face
protectors: - a fact which
disturbs Pashby who has
been treating eye injuries to

years..

“The .youngest victim to
lose an eye-was 19 years old
and the rest were in their 20's
and 30's,” explains Pashby.
“The younger players are
forced by their leagues to
wear face protectors, but the
older players are playing
pick-up hockey and are not
required to wear masks. The
result is more injuries to
older players.”

CSA. has published
standards for face protectors

st year in

hockey ‘players for over: 30. .

the program. is
voluntary, which means that
non-certified masks can be
sold next to certified ones.

“The. wise. hockey. player
» should buy and wear a CSA
‘certified hockey mask. Look
for the mark before’ you
purchase,” says Pashby.
“The statistics certainly
prove the success of the
program. For instance, last
year there were 42 eye in-
juries reported, the year
before 53, and in '74 and '75,
before face protectors were
widely used, we had 253 eye
injuriesand 42 eyeslost.”

' Pashby also suggests goal
tenders not wear moulded

j The’Nancy Drew’ of travel troubles: PageB

. an

models fail ‘to meet. CSA
standards,

“~ Over the last three hockey -

seasons, 12 goalies received |

eye. injuries, They: were:all-" °°"

wearing moulded masks. Of’:
these 12, . five eyes were
legally blinded. ‘Moulded -

. masks, especially those. not

custom made, do not
provide adequate protec-
tion, ; ;

“The new CSA standards

have been improved and
" now

offer. sufficient
protection for goal tenders,
We're also concerned with _
the number of dental claims.
We will be _ investigating
these to see what im-

provements can be made.”

‘

Pay

because. ‘current |

’

,