The Remarkables skifield had almost double the number of
skifield accidents as Coronet Peak this season.
There were five reported accidents for every thousand
visitors to the Remarkables.
The figure is at 2.8 per thousand for Coronet Peak.
The international benchmark figure is four per thousand.
The Remarkables ski area manager Ross Lawrence said the
Remarkables skifield had more freestyle snowboarding features
and a terrain park which Coronet Peak did not.
"People are getting up on kickers and doing jumps. There is
an inherent risk in the sport of freestyle," he said.
About 60% of those injured were snowboarders, and of those,
62% were male, Mr Lawrence said.
Last year's figure at the Remarkables was 4.8 per thousand.
The most common injury was fractures, particularly wrist
fractures among learner snowboarders.
"We are trying to prevent this by issuing wrist guards to
anyone with a first snowboarding lesson and we recommend them
for anyone who is not an experienced snowboarder," he said.
Coronet Peak ski area manager Hamish McCrostie said the
number of accidents was well down on last year.
He said ski patrollers worked to prevent accidents and good
snow conditions helped keep the figures down.
Wakatipu St John acting team leader Alana Reid said skifield
accidents were up on last year.
"I think it is because there are more people around.
Operators say their numbers are good and our stats reflect
that," she said.
The station had 300 callouts in both July and August, which
was up about 20% on the same months last year.
Skifield accidents accounted for about a third of all
callouts, she said.
Transfers from Lakes District Hospital to Invercargill or
Dunedin were also down on last year.
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