Snowboarding need not be dangerous

Regarding Lei Ann Salter’s letter about snowboarding in the Jan. 17 Acorn, I am sorry you and your son had such a traumatic experience snowboarding.

I was surprised to read that in your 25-15 (?) years of skiing you never had an injury. I have never thought to use "a pair of poles to help us stop."

We have four sons that have been snowboarding about nine years without any injuries. I am not sure who taught your son to snowboard, but I have never heard of "slamming into the snow or falling on ice" as a means of stopping a snowboard.

Snowboarding is a fairly new (10-15 years) sport. Any sport requires physical skills with some risk of injury.

In 1996-97, 36 fatalities occurred out of 52.5 million skier/snowboarders, four were snowboarders. [Out of] 45 serious injuries (paraplegic, quadriplegic, serious head injury, comas and spine injuries) nine were snowboarders, according to the National Ski Area Association.

Here are other statistics: 7.4 percent of all ski injuries are due to a skier hitting a stationary object (e.g., a tree); 3.6 percent of snowboarders injure themselves this way. 7.7 percent of injuries by skiers are from skiers running into other skiers, while snowboarders running into others is 2.6 percent. There are 0.75 deaths per 1 million skiers vs. 0.47 deaths per 1 million snowboarders. These stats came from Professor Jasper Shealy of Rochester Institute of Technology.

I agree professional skiers do not compete "in some sort of cast"; I do not think it is a cast they put you in when you hit a tree!

I read that Montel Williams at 44 started snowboarding after years of skiing. Snowboarding helps his balance in his personal fight with MS. In two years he is enjoying snowboarding and has had no injuries, according to Bodychange-Mountain Movers Press.

Every parent should talk about safety regarding anything his or her children do. However, please don’t teach your children to quit just because you have a mishap. If it is something they enjoy, encourage them to learn from their mistake and try again.

We would not have the great athletes, writers, artists, entertainers, and son on, if we all quit when something went wrong. Any new sport will take proper training, knowledge and practice to prevent injuries, and allow you to have fun and be safe.

Susan De George

Agoura Hills