Safety Standards in Sport: Are They Where They're Supposed To Be?

Written by Theressa Jabbour

Header & Thumbnail photo by The Canadian Press 


How many times have you heard a variation of the phrase: safety standards are written in blood? That is because more often than not, safety regulations are not introduced or enforced until an accident or severe injury occurs. This unfortunate phenomena is true for many professions and activities that involve any degree of physical activity.  Competitive sports are no different. So many athletes are at risk of serious, life-changing injuries, even in this day and age of advanced medical intervention and prevention. While safety has certainly improved in recent decades, sports are still not without their risks. Athletes are often encouraged to push their bodies way past their limits in order to achieve the desired results, with pressure often coming from coaches and direct supervisors. The types of injuries can be self-inflicted, contact enforced or a result of outside forces. Nevertheless, each and every sportsman and woman deserves the right to be protected under safety regulations. These regulations, when enforced at the highest level, pave the way for implementation in lower levels of competitive and leisure sports. 

Three major sports in which safety is a main concern are hockey, American football, and Formula 1. While each sport faces its own unique set of rules for injuries, all these high-risk activities could be a major brewing ground for long-term injuries if the participants are not adequately protected.

Hockey:

In the past two decades, at least five professional hockey players have died on the ice, according to an article by The Spectator. Hockey remains a dangerous sport, especially at the highest level. Common injuries include concussions, broken collarbones, shoulder dislocations, and ligament and muscle strains and tears, as reported by the University of Philadelphia Medical Centre. 

Most recently, an incident at a hockey game in England shocked the hockey world when player Adam Johson’s neck was accidentally slashed by an opponent’s blade, leading to his death. This was not the first time such an incident had occurred. In 1975, hockey goalie Kim Crouch was lucky to survive a cut from an opponent’s skate, yet neck guards are still in constant debate. Although both incidents were unintentional, the fact remains that there is always a chance for hockey players to be injured by other players’ skates.  A preventive method includes the mandatory donning of neck guards. Already enforced in lower level hockey, these neck guards protect player’s necks and the surrounding area from accidental contact with the blades on the bottoms of other players’ feet. 

The International Ice Hockey Federation made neck guards mandatory for all its competitions late last year, but this ruling does not apply to professional leagues such as the NHL, which has been facing increased calls about the safety of its players. In November of 2023, the National Hockey League Players’ Association was reportedly exploring its options regarding mandatory neck guards. Nothing has been announced yet, but several other minor hockey leagues have mandated neck guards for their players in recent years. These leagues include the Canadian Junior Hockey League, Maritime Hockey League, Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Violence is never the answer, but hockey culture is yet to change its tune, as outlined in my previous article The Culture of Hockey in Canada. If hockey players cannot stop themselves from breaking the rules and engaging in fights, the next best thing to ensure player safety is the strict enforcement of safety gear, with neck guards amongst them. 

American Football:

American football has a reputation for being a very physical sport, with each position having its own athletic requirements. This physicality brings with it a plethora of injuries, especially at the highest competitive level. Common injuries include ankle and hamstring strains, shoulder dislocations, wrist and hand injuries, and concussions. American football players in particular are at a high risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy due to the repeated traumatic brain injuries they may be subjected to as a nature of the contact sport. Proteins called tau build up in the brain following repeated bumps to the head, and the subsequent brain damage can lead to dementia and even death.

Head injuries remain a hot topic of discussion. The NFL reported that there were 213 concussions in 2022 and 219 concussions in 2023, with the rate remaining fairly consistent, though the NFL is committed to reducing the overall rate in games. A rule change in kickoff procedure was introduced in order to lower the amount of concussions. According to the National Football League Players’ Association, during the 2015-2017 season the kickoff made up 6% of overall plays, yet represented 12% of concussion injuries. Players had about four times the concussion risk during a kickoff compared to passing or running plays. 

With player safety in mind, the Competitions Committee worked with multiple NFL and team divisions to approach changes to the kickoff play, which were successfully implemented. Helmets are also an important part of an NFL player’s protective gear. They are tested each year for their ability to reduce head impact severity by biomechanical engineers in order to assess which are the best. Innovation in helmet safety is prioritised by the NFL through a combination of medical, engineering and manufacturer expertise, even going as far as designing position-specific helmets. The NFL claimed in 2023 that better helmets have resulted in an average 24% reduction in sustained concussion over the past five seasons. While this is certainly a step forward, American football remains an injury-inducing sport that still requires work to make it safer.

Formula 1:

Formula 1 may not be a contact sport like the other two mentioned, but it does contain a high risk to drivers’ lives. Driving around in a racecar that can reach speeds of more than 300 km/h comes with its own set of challenges, such as engine failures, brake failures and high speed crashes with barriers and other cars. Developments in the area of safety have come a long way since the inception of the sport, and are an ongoing process as the sport continues to implement safety measures for the protection of its drivers. Jackie Stewart, a three-time World Champion, played a major part in advocating for driver safety, fighting for mandatory seat belts and full-face helmets. 

Photo by Scuderia Ferrari via Ferrari.com 

A major development in Formula 1 safety was the halo device, introduced in 2018. This invention is a three-pronged device made of titanium that is situated on top of the cockpit and encircles the driver’s head. Felipe Massa’s injury in 2009 and Jules Bianchi’s death in 2014 prompted a deeper discussion into cockpit safety, amongst other incidents. Most recently, F1 driver Zhou Guanyu was protected from serious injury by the halo when his car flipped over multiple times and crashed into the barrier. Controversial at the time of its implementation, this cockpit protection has gone on to save numerous lives of Formula 1 drivers. The halo protects drivers from pieces of flying debris as well as impacts from outside sources, as in cases when one car is launched on top of another.

Another life-saving invention is fire-resistant race suits. Although drivers had been wearing race suits for a while, by 1975, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile mandated a fire-resistant standard. This regulation helped save the life of Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean, who was in a serious accident in 2021 when his car crashed into the barrier and was engulfed in flames. He survived relatively unscathed owing to his race suit, save for severely burnt hands. This inspired F1 and the FIA to work on gloves that would provide increased fire protection. With driver safety in mind, Formula 1 is continuously advancing its safety measures.  

Safety in sports has clearly come a long way, with player and driver well-being at the forefront of all developments. In sports such as hockey, American football and Formula 1, in which athletes are put into risky situations that are part of the appeal of the sport, injuries are difficult to avoid but easy to mitigate. With the evolution of clothing, helmets and cars, sports such as these can be made both safe and entertaining for everyone involved. The next time you think twice about wearing a helmet or proper protective gear, remember the accidents and injuries that have occurred for their invention and implementation, and put your safety first when partaking in any physical activity.

Rita Jabbour