EQUIPMENT NEEDS BY GROUP-chart

GROUP 4, 5, 6, and 7 EQUIPMENT PHOTOS

GROUPS 1, 2, 3 EQUIPMENT PHOTOS

Equipment – Intent, Minimum Requirement and Guidance

Ankle Protection

Intent: Prevent cut and puncture wounds of the Achilles tendon from blades during the thrust phase of the stride.

Minimum Requirement: When no cut resistant suit is worn, a cut and puncture resistant anklet made of Kevlar or Dyneema must be worn on both legs, covering the legs from the tops of the boots to 10 cm above the tops of the boots.

Guidance: Extend coverage higher up the legs, as desired.  The more cut and puncture resistance, the better.

Eye Protection

Intent: Prevent eye injuries resulting from ice chips or a collision with a blade or other object.

Minimum Requirement: Shatter-resistant glasses or a complete visor are required for all skaters.  All glasses must be held in place by a strap.

Guidance: Clear or yellow lenses are recommended.  The higher the level of shatter resistance and the more extensive the protection, the better.

Hand Protection

Intent: Prevent cut and puncture wounds on the hands from blades.

Minimum Requirement: For Learn to Skate programs, gloves or mitts must be worn.  For any long blade activity, full leather gloves or a synthetic glove which offers an equal or superior level of cut and puncture resistance to leather must be worn.

Guidance: The more cut and puncture resistance of the gloves, the better.

Head Protection

Intent: Prevent major and minor head trauma and traumatic brain injury due to impacts with ice, boots, blades, bodies, boards and crash pads

Minimum Requirement: A helmet must be worn for all on-ice activities.  It must be securely fastened under the chin at all times.  A skate blade should not be able to penetrate any ventilation holes in the helmet.

For Learn to Skate and Learn to Speed Skate Programs, as well as training for Active Start and FUNdamentals aged participants, helmets must be ASTM F 1849 certified or CSA approved (hockey, snowboard/ski skateboarding helmets only).  For all other competitions and activities, helmets must be ASTM F 1849 certified.

Knee Protection

Intent: Prevent puncture and blunt force impact wounds to the knees.

Minimum Requirement: Full frontal knee coverage providing complete coverage of the patella.  Made of puncture resistant (e.g. Kevlar or Dyneema) and impact absorbing (e.g. high density foam) material.  Protection may be worn over a skater’s skin suit or it can be integrated in the suit.

Guidance: The more puncture resistance and blunt impact energy absorption, the better.

Neck Protection

Intent: Prevent cut and puncture wounds to the neck area, especially in the areas of the major arteries.

Minimum Requirement: All skaters must wear neck protection covering the lower half of the full circumference of the neck and covering all soft tissue below the chin to a point extending below a line joining the armpits at the front of the body.

Neck protection must be made of Kevlar, Dyneema, or ballistic nylon.  Protection may be integrated into the design of a skater’s skin suit or worn tucked into a skater’s skin suit.  If separate neck protection is worn it must fastened securely.

Guidance: The more cut and puncture resistance and the greater the extent of neck coverage, the better.

Rest of Body Protection

Intent: Prevent cut and puncture wounds on any other part of the body not already covered by other protective equipment.

Minimum Requirement: All skin below the mid-line of the neck must not be bare.  Skaters participating in events sanctioned as SSC Championships and/or as Selection/International competitions must wear cut resistant clothing meeting or exceeding the minimum standards established by the ISU.

Guidance: Minimum requirement “rest of body protection” is recommended for all other activities (e.g. training) where skaters are performing at a level similar to the lowest level of SSC Championships.  The more cut and puncture resistance, the better.

Shin Protection

Intent: Prevent cut and puncture wounds along the shin from blades, as well as some measure of blunt impact protection from hitting hard objects/bodies.

Minimum Requirement: When wearing long blades, skaters must wear hard plastic or built-in cut and puncture resistant material with some impact energy absorption.  Full frontal shin coverage is from within 2.5 cm of the top of the boot to within 2.5 cm of the bottom of the knee protection.   Protection may be worn over/under a skater’s skin suit or it can be integrated in the suit.

Guidance: The more cut and puncture resistance and impact protection of the shins, the better.

Skate Blades

Intent: Reduce the puncture making capacity of the blades.

Minimum Requirement: The rear and front tips of all skate blades shall be rounded to a minimum radius of 1cm.

Guidance: The rounder the tips, the better.