








































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

97

original scientific article            UDC: 796.926.02:614.8(497.4)
received: 2016-11-23

FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS  
(Slovenian Case)

Janez MEKINC1, Lea GROM1, Tomislav OMEJEC2, Saša PLANINC1

1Faculty of Tourism Studies, Obala 11a, 6320 Portorož, Slovenia
2General Police Directorate, Uniformed Police Directorate, Litostrojska 54, 1000 Ljubljana, 

Slovenia

Corresponding author:
Lea GROM

University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies,
Obala 11a, 6320 Portorož, Slovenia

Tel.: +386 70 910 472
e-mail: lea.grom1@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Safety on the licensed ski slopes in Slovenia, like in many other winter countries, 
is a complex notion involving, in addition to ski slope owners and operators, several 
governmental agencies and functionaries, such as inspectors, supervisors, police, me-
dical staff, and others. We cannot assign blame for accidents to them. Our research, 
in agreement with the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia responsible for Internal 
Affairs and the Police Academy, focuses on the causes for skiing accidents. We found 
out that a skier plays an important role in safe-guarding his/her own safety as well as 
that of fellow skiers on the ski slopes. Obligations of the skier using a licensed ski slope 
are described in 10 internationally endorsed FIS Rules of Skiing. We obtained data on 
ski accidents for three consecutive ski seasons between December 2012 and April 2015. 
We studied whether or not the skiers followed FIS regulations and whether or not they 
adequately safeguarded their own safety. We also studied who is most often responsible 
for ski accidents. 

Key words: safety on ski slopes, causes of accidents, skier, skier’s fault.



98

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

VPLIVNI DEJAVNIKI NESREČ NA SMUČIŠČU

IZVLEČEK

Varnost na smučiščih je zelo kompleksen pojem. Zanj so pristojni številni orga-
ni- nadzorniki, upravljavci, policija in drugi. Vendar pa krivde za nastanek nesreč ne 
smemo pripisati njim. Izsledki dosedanjih raziskav in našega raziskovanja, ki smo ga 
opravili s soglasjem Inšpektorata RS, pristojnim za notranje zadeve in Policijsko aka-
demijo kažejo, da nesrečo v večini primerov povzroči smučar s svojim ravnanjem. Naj-
večjo odgovornost za lastno varnost in varnost ostalih smučarjev na smučišču nosi 
smučar sam, njegove dolžnosti pa so opisane v 10 mednarodno sprejetih smučarskih 
FIS pravilih. Podatke o nesrečah smo zbrali in obdelali za obdobje smučarskih sezon 
v letih 2012/2013, 2013/2014 in 2014/2015. Zanimalo nas je, če smučarji upoštevajo 
predpise in dovolj dobro poskrbijo za svojo varnost. Preverili smo tudi, kdo je najpogo-
steje odgovoren za nastanek nesreč na smučišču.

Ključne besede: varnost na smučišču, vzroki za nesrečo, smučar, krivda smučarja

INTRODUCTION

Safety on ski slopes is a complex and difficult-to-define term. It does not depend 
only on the ski slope’s operations, safety supervisors, and technical conditions that a 
ski slope is required by law to satisfy; it is also strongly affected by the behaviour of 
the ski slope’s clients, i.e., the skiers themselves. All these factors represent risks for 
potential skiing accidents to occur (Burton, Brown & Fischer, 1984; Haegeli, Gunn, & 
Haider, 2012).

Scott and Steiger (2013) studied in detail the external factors that influence the 
development of skiing destinations in Europe as well as North America, and concluded 
that the environment depends on climate change. Artificial snow is one of the possible 
solutions to ever-decreasing snow fall; however, a low client base, i.e., low attendance 
on ski slopes or difficulties in obtaining funding for the purchase and installation of ar-
tificial snow equipment often preclude this solution. Furthermore, Simpson, Gössling, 
Scott, and Hall in Gladin (2008) state that the production of artificial snow is relatively 
costly, since it requires a significant amount of energy, the production of which causes 
an increase in global warming and accelerates the melting of glaciers. Jahn (2005) 
mentions an interesting technological advance introduced to several glaciers in Austria 
where these were covered with special white-coloured plastic covers that keep the snow 
at a constant temperature thereby slowing down the melting of glaciers.

Kipp (2012) describes skiing as a unique activity that requires a certain level of 
body equilibrium and skill for a proper execution. Joubert (1978), the pioneer of Alpine 



99

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

skiing in France, explains that a skier is the central element in the execution of a ski 
turn. According to him, skiers executing a ski turn must remain in steady equilibrium 
while seeking support from the surface material on which they ski. 

According to ZVSmuč (2016, page 2), ''a ski run/piste is a section of a ski slope 
that is dedicated to skiing and is adequately equipped with signage, secured, as well as 
maintained with regard to its purpose and separated from other areas''. A ski run/piste 
must be equipped with cautionary and informative notices as well signs on prohibitions 
and obligations. 

Ski runs/pistes are classified with various colours for a designation of the level of 
difficulty. The green colour represents ski runs/pistes for beginners with lateral and 
downhill slopes not exceeding 25% and the red colour represents intermediate ski runs/
pistes with lateral and downhill slopes not exceeding 40%. The steepest and the most 
demanding ski runs/pistes for which the largest lateral and directional slopes exceed 
40% are identified in black (Deutscher Skiverband, 2016). ''It is the responsibility of all 
skiers themselves to evaluate their own skiing ability and choose ski runs/pistes that are 
appropriate for their skills'' (Guček et al., 2011). Kipp (2012) is of the opinion that it is 
the responsibility of individual skiers to evaluate the available information on the ski 
runs/pistes of a given ski area before they actually embark on them.

Similarly, Köhne, Kusche, Schaller, and Gutsfeld (2007) concluded that the majo-
rity of injured skiers during a six-year period at the German ski resort Garmisch-Par-
tenkirchen used the new model of skis with accentuated side curve (carving skis) and 
that the type of injury has changed significantly since the introduction of the new ski 
model. They compared two groups of skiers: a group that used carving skis and a group 
that skied with traditional ski models. Of specific interest were the differences in the 
number of injuries to individual body parts between the two groups and they found that 
the carving skis group suffered a significantly higher number of injuries on the trunk as 
well as upper and lower extremities than the group that skied on traditional skis. 

Mechelen, Hlobil, and Kemper (2012) stress that the classification of sports’ inju-
ries depends on the definition of a given sport injury as well as the participation in a 
given sport. In their opinion the statistical data on sport injuries should be normalized 
to one hour of a given sport activity. The authors also introduced a model that allows 
the determination of the causes of sport’s injuries and proposed that the level of a given 
injury should be categorized on the basis of the following seven categories: (i) type 
of injury; (ii) length of medical care; (iii) type of medical care; (iv) amount of time 
prevented from practising a given sport activity because of the injury; (v) loss of time 
from work; (vi) long-term bodily injury; and (vii) financial cost related to medical care. 
In addition, one needs to define all the causes and mechanisms that influence and act as 
source of injuries. The last part of the model deals with solutions that may in the future 
diminish the risk of injuries.

Hu, Baker, and Baker (2009) confirm that the causes of minor and serious injuries 
are difficult to determine, because they are influenced by various factors, such as the 
number of skiers on the ski slope, level of difficulty of the ski run/piste, the number of 
skiing days, and other factors. They note that their investigation of conditions on North 



100

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

American ski slopes showed that the number of accidents increased during the period 
from the years 2000 to 2005, despite a decrease in the number of skiers during the same 
period. Moreover, they also note that hospitals providing data on the number of injuries 
in various sports’ categories do not give a sufficiently large emphasis on skiing. 

Caine and Maffulli (2005) and Onik, Szopa, Domagalska-Szopa, Knapik, and Si-
eroń-Stołtny (2014) have divided accident risks into two categories: non-material and 
material. Non-material risks of ski accidents include the skier’s age, gender, and level 
of skill, while material risks are influenced by the quality of the skiing equipment, 
the use or non-use of helmets, and the special characteristics of the ski run/piste. The 
authors postulate that these two risk categories can lead to ski injuries. The seriousness 
of the ski injury is evaluated according to the model introduced above. Onik et al. 
(2014) arrived at the conclusion that the largest number of injured skiers with regard 
to their age fell within the group of children and youngsters below the age of 16, while 
the majority of accidents, according to these authors as well as to Caine and Maffulli 
(2005), can be attributed to falls of skiers that are the fault of the skiers themselves.

McBeth, Ball, Mulloy, and Kirkpatrick (2009) carried out an interesting study of 
ski injuries that occurred on Canadian ski areas during ten successive ski seasons from 
1996 to 2006. They note that a significantly higher number of accidents occurred to ski-
ers who used newer ski equipment. They also surmised that environmental factors play 
a large role in the number of accidents and proclaim that the afternoon skiing period 
is the most critical daily period on ski slopes because during that period of the day the 
quality of snow is the lowest and, on top of this, the skiers, after several hours of skiing, 
are physically and mentally tired and do not react to danger with the habitual alertness 
and speed with which they would react in the morning.

Goulet et al. (1999) studied children whose age was below 12 who were skiing at 
the Canadian ski resort Quebec City during the 1995/96 ski season. They noted that 
at that time, despite its popularity among the population and the use of traditional ski 
models, skiing in terms of bodily injuries ranked immediately after hockey. Furthermo-
re, they found that the main causes of ski accidents resulting in bodily injuries were: 
inappropriate equipment; inadequate knowledge of skiing; low skiing skill level; and 
use of rented equipment. They also identified the high risks that skiers who rent ski 
equipment were faced with because of lack of experience with the rented equipment. 
They established that continuing instruction as well as skill improvement are the key 
components in the quest to decrease the risk of accidents in skiing and they recommen-
ded that beginners in skiing be thoroughly informed on how to deal with ski equipment 
and on the general rules of, and appropriate behaviour on, ski slopes.

We gave special consideration to serious ski accidents resulting in death. According 
to an article The Protective Effects of Helmets in Skiers and Snowboarders, these types 
of accidents are relatively rare in the ski world (Ruedl, Kopp & Burtscher, 2011) and 
neither recreational nor professional skiers are generally aware of the risks for this type 
of accident to happen (Williams, 2016). Unfortunately, the awareness of skiing etiquet-
te as well as the appropriate behaviour on ski slopes are on a disappointingly low level 
among skiers. 



101

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

Based on a study carried out on the Austrian ski slopes during the ski season 
2009/10 and presented in the article Impact of Ski Helmet Mandatory on Helmet Use 
on Austrian Ski Slopes by Ruedl, Brunner, Kopp & Burtscher (2011) a conclusion can 
be reached that fatal ski accidents are rare and that the main cause of these accidents is 
head trauma, self-inflicted by the skier’s irresponsible behaviour, such as not wearing 
a ski helmet while skiing.

As mentioned above, the causes of ski accidents can be attributed to a variety of 
factors. Williams et al. (2007) and Hildebrandt et al. (2011) place great emphasis on 
the behaviour of skiers as well as on honouring international ski regulations. Several 
organizations have been active in this area. Among them, it is worth mentioning the 
American organization called the Pennsylvania SafeKids Coalition that makes children 
aware of the importance of ski equipment. In this regard, the biggest impression on 
children was made by comparing a human head with a coconut that was smashed to 
pieces in a heavy blow representing a ski accident when no safety equipment such as a 
ski helmet was used. 

After seeing the coconut experiment, all the children committed to wear a ski hel-
met while skiing. Alexander and Raub (2003) praised this programme pointing out that 
the knowledge and the understanding which the children acquire during theoretical and 
practical ski instruction are of great importance. Based on this finding, Hildebrandt et 
al. (2011) opined that schools as well as other educational institutions based in coun-
tries promoting skiing should put more emphasis on discussing safety issues on the ski 
slopes. We wholeheartedly agree with these authors, since children as well as beginners 
in skiing, similarly to skilled adult skiers, are all at risk of injury on ski slopes. We 
believe that an introduction of better schooling in skiing techniques as well as the obli-
gations of all participants on ski slopes would diminish the number of ski accidents and 
serve to curtail situations that increase the risk of accidents. Of course, the prevention 
of skiing accidents does not end with teaching the skiers the rules and the etiquette of 
good behaviour on ski slopes. For example, Tuli et al. (2010) have shown that facial 
injuries resulted primarily in adult skiers who fell accidentally or collided with another 
skier on the ski run/piste. They strongly recommended a sensible solution that would 
prevent or at least alleviate facial injuries, namely the use of a ski helmet during skiing.

Williams et al. (2007) have reported on the importance of using a ski helmet in 
relationship to brain trauma. A helmet can to a certain degree alleviate the consequen-
ces of a ski accident; however, they do not see a ski helmet as the ultimate solution. 
Rather, they suggest that the best approach to accident prevention is an unconditional 
honouring of the FIS rules in conjunction with a controlled speed limit on ski slopes. To 
prevent the most serious bodily injuries Onik et al. (2014) recommend to all skiers the 
wearing of ski helmets irrespective of their skill level. Caine and Maffulli (2005) also 
suggest the use of ski helmets for reducing the number of ski injuries and, in addition, 
recommend the use of wrist shields, appropriate behaviour, and a skiing speed adjusted 
to the skill level of individual skiers.

All the authors quoted the good reasons presented above for strengthening and im-
proving safety conditions on ski slopes. We believe that the learning process of children 



102

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

at a young age is very important, because the knowledge that they gain at that time will 
serve them well throughout their lifetime. Therefore, we strongly support the activities 
of organizations and projects in Slovenia, such as “Schoolchildren on Skis” that are 
focused on educating youngsters regarding the rules and codes of behaviour on the ski 
slopes.

It should be noted, however, that the knowledge of rules and regulations is a ne-
cessary but not sufficient safety guarantee for an individual skier on ski slopes. In our 
opinion, adequate ski equipment as well as a tuned and well-conditioned body that is 
ready for vigorous sport activity are also of significant importance. This point was of 
interest to Whelan, Gass, and Moran (1999) who studied the influence of warming-up 
before skiing on decreasing the risk of skiing accidents. They concluded that a series of 
stretching exercises has a very beneficial effect, not only on the skiing ability itself but 
also on the reaction time in situations in which a body that is not properly warmed up 
would respond sluggishly and this could potentially lead to an accident.

Skiers using Slovenian ski slopes must: (i) follow the so-called ZVSmuč Law (Za-
kon o varnosti na smučiščih, 2016 – Ski Safety Act, 2016); (ii) honour the international 
FIS regulations; and (iii) behave following the principle of mutual respect and under-
standing between themselves and other skiers. They may use the ski slopes in a manner 
that does not threaten or injure themselves and other skiers, or damage the equipment 
on the ski slope. In addition, they must adjust their speed as well as the direction of ski-
ing to the ski slope conditions, and they must overtake other skiers allowing sufficient 
separation between themselves and the skier they are passing. It should also be noted 
that the amount of alcohol in a skiers’ blood is by law limited to 0.24 milligram per litre 
of exhaled air and that the use of ski helmets is mandatory for all skiers below the age 
of 14 years. 

A skiing accident is defined as an incident that occurs as a result of skiing or some 
other sport activity on the ski slope and involves at least one skier who either dies, is 
injured, or causes material damage to the ski slope equipment (ZVSmuč, 2016, page 
2). Skiing accidents are divided into the following four categories: (i) accidents without 
bodily injuries that may involve damage to the ski slopes’ equipment, and will not be 
discussed in this paper; (ii) accidents with minor bodily injuries; (iii) accidents with 
serious bodily injuries; and (iv) fatal accidents. A wide variety of skiing accidents are 
possible. For example, the responsibility for the accident may lie with the operator of 
the ski slope and equipment or with the skier who did not follow the international FIS 
regulations; the accident may have been caused by a malfunction of the ski lift; or the 
cause for the accident may be something else, for example the weather conditions. 
The operator of the ski slope must keep records of skiing accidents, enforce safety 
standards, maintain the ski slope equipment, and organize the manpower as well as the 
operation of the ski slope.



103

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

RESEARCH QUESTION

The safety considerations for ski slopes have several components. Some authors 
conclude that the new style “carving skis” has had an effect on the number of ski acci-
dents (Burtscher et al., 2008; Dingerkus & Mang, 2002; Hörterer, 2004; Köhne et al., 
2007; Sabeti, 2013). Others (Caine & Maffulli, 2005; Goulet, Régnier, Grimard, Valois, 
& Villeneuve, 1999; Hu et al., 2009; McBeth et al., 2009; Onik et al., 2014) have tried 
and some of these have succeeded in proving that accidents can also be caused by other 
factors, such as the condition of the ski run, environmental factors, ski equipment, skills 
and the physical condition of the skier, warming up before skiing, etc. Furthermore, 
several researchers, when studying the causes of an accident, place great importance on 
the skiers’ knowledge and understanding of the international FIS regulations (Williams 
et al., 2007; Hildebrandt et al., 2011).

We now get to the important question on the cause of the steady increase in the num-
ber of accidents on the ski slopes. Are skiers only innocent victims of circumstances or 
are they themselves responsible for the increase as a result of a lack of understanding 
of the risks of skiing and their ignorance of the international FIS regulations applicable 
to ski slopes? A discussion about these questions will serve as a general overview of 
the accidents on Slovenian ski slopes during the ski seasons 2012/13, 2013/14, and 
2014/15. We analysed our data for the three ski seasons and compared our conclusions 
with those of previous studies by other authors. Our study has contributed to an under-
standing of the safety and security conditions on Slovenian ski slopes and highlighted 
possible concrete improvements. Because we had a somewhat incomplete access to 
data regarding the circumstances surrounding the skiing accidents, we propose that a 
record is kept over the skier’s equipment (ski model and manufacturer, presence of a 
helmet and its manufacturer) as well as other pertinent characteristics of the accident, 
such as weather conditions and snow quality, in order to get a more thorough overview 
of skiing accidents in the future ski seasons. Moreover, to date, we have not noted any 
study on Slovenian ski slopes that would evaluate the skiers’ knowledge of FIS regu-
lations. 

The following questions were addressed in our evaluation of the safety standards 
on Slovenian ski slopes:

 – Are there any statistical differences among the causes of ski accidents with mi-
nor bodily injuries?

 – What is the age of the skiers involved in skiing accidents to determine which age 
group of skiers contributes to the largest number of accidents?

 – What is the age of skiers with respect to the causes of accidents with minor 
bodily injuries?

 – What is the influence of the age of the skiers on the severity of the accidents?
 – Are there any statistical differences between the age of foreign skiers and local 

skiers in accidents with minor bodily injuries?



104

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

 – Is there a correlation between the number of days of ski slope operation and the 
number of ski accidents?

 – How do weather conditions affect the number of ski accidents?
 – Is there a correlation between the number of accidents with minor bodily injuri-

es and the causes of the accident?

METHODS

In our study we used a descriptive method based on local and international lite-
rature. In agreement with the General Police Office we analysed their statistical data 
on ski slope accidents and we also acquired some data from the Inspectorate of the 
Inspectorate for Internal Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. We used the methodology 
of an explanatory case study that is based on a thorough description and study of the 
available data for each individual situation. We determined and explained the cause 
– effect relationship among the accidents occurring on Slovenian ski slopes. For our 
study we chose an analytic method in which we show the acquired data in a tabular or 
graphic format.

We collected our data from the evidence gathered from accidents with minor bo-
dily injuries by the Inspectorate for Internal Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and 
for accidents with severe bodily injuries, as well as for fatal accidents recorded by the 
Slovenian Police. The statistical results were verified with the Statistical Package for 
Social Sciences (SPSS), namely, with the statistical methods, the chi-square goodness 
of fit test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test.

Skiers, Included in the Research

Our data sample consisted of skiers who were involved in skiing accidents on 
Slovenian ski slopes during three successive ski seasons: 2012/2013, 2013/2014, and 
2014/2015, i.e., for a period from December 2012 to April 2015. The accidents are 
split into three categories: minor accidents, resulting in light bodily injuries; serious 
accidents, resulting in serious bodily injuries; and fatal skiing accidents. As shown in 
Table 1, the total number of injured skiers on the 47 Slovenian ski slopes during the 
three seasons was 2,804. Of these, 2,683 suffered minor bodily injuries and 121 severe 
bodily injuries, of which 4 were fatal. 



105

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

Table 1. Number of accidents 

Ski Season 
Type of 
accident 

2012 / 2013 2013 / 2014 2014 / 2015
Total number 

of accidents for 
three seasons

Minor accidents 1,070 648 965 2,683

Serious 
accidents 40 28 49 117

Fatal accidents 2 1 1 4

Total # of 
accidents
per ski season

1,112 677 1,015 2,804

Source: Authors, based on the data obtained from the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for 
Internal Affairs and from the Police Academy.

In the cohort of 2,683 minor injuries, 2,349 injured skiers were the residents of Slo-
venia, while 334 were from abroad (177 from Croatia, 69 from Hungary, 61 from the 
UK, and 27 from various other countries).

The ages of the injured skiers ranged from 2 years to 87 years. For greater clarity we 
split the age range into 8 age groups, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Figure 1. Number of accidents by age (Source: Authors, based on the data obtained 
from the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Internal Affairs and from the 
Police Academy).



106

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

The highest accident rate occurred in the 15 to 24 age group of skiers (721 of 2,804 
skiers or 25.9% of the total). Children in the 8 to 14 age group also form a relatively 
large accident rate of 550 (19.8%) of injured skiers. Next in size are two age groups 
(25 to 34 and 35 to 44) that represent 365 (13.1%) injured skiers each. The age groups 
of (45 to 54) and (55 to 64) consist of 344 (12.4 %) and 204 (7.3%) injured skiers, re-
spectively. Skiers in the over 65-year age group were involved in 194 (7.0%) accidents, 
while children in the 2 to 7 age group had the lowest accident rate with 41 (1.5%) 
injured skiers. The total number of accidents for all age groups listed above adds up to 
2,784, noting that we could not get the age data for 20 skiers injured in 20 ski accidents.

RESULTS

Official reports, in addition to the skiing injuries caused by the skiers to themselves 
(self-inflicted injuries), list 24 other causes of accidents. Based on the reports recorded 
for ski accidents with minor bodily injuries, we conclude that by far the largest compo-
nent of these accidents falls into the category of self-inflicted injury. As evident from 
Table 2, the self-inflicted injuries amounted to about 50% of all minor injuries that 
happened during each of the three seasons analysed in our study. 

Table 2. Number of minor accidents

Ski season
Accidents

2012 / 2013 2013 / 2014 2014 / 2015 Total for three 
seasons

All minor 
accidents 
irrespective of 
fault

1,070 (100%) 648 (100%) 965 (100%) 2,683 (100%)

Minor accidents 588 (55%) 320 (49,4%) 520 (53,9%) 1,428 (53,2%)

Source: Authors, based on the data obtained from the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia 
for Internal Affairs.

Thus, during the three seasons (from December 2012 to April 2015), of the 2,683 
skiers with minor injuries 1,428 (or 53.2%) of them had injurious falls that they caused 
themselves and the injuries were categorized as self-inflicted and minor. We summarize 
that a study of the 121 serious accidents (including the 4 fatal ones) would result in a 
similar conclusion; however, we cannot state this categorically because the data on the 
causes of serious accidents were not available to us. We recommend that this question 
be investigated to establish whether or not the probability for serious ski accidents as a 
result of skier error and lack of skill appropriate for a particular ski run is roughly the 



107

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

same as the sum of the probabilities of serious accidents caused by all other possible 
causes. 

A closer look into the data for the three ski seasons reveals, as summarized in Table 
3, that the number of days of operation from December 2012 to April 2015 was highest 
during the 2012/13 ski season, amounting on the average to 47.1 days per ski slope or a 
total of 2,215 days for all 47 ski slopes. The 2013/14 ski season was the shortest of the 
three seasons studied with on average 26.2 ski days per ski slope and a total of 1,230 
days for all 47 ski slopes. The following 2014/15 ski season showed some improvement 
over the second one with an average of 35.4 days per ski slope and a total of 1,665 days. 

Table 3. Number of average operational days and total number of skiing accidents per 
operational day 

Ski season Average number of operation 
days per season

Number of skiing accidents per 
operational day

2012 / 2013 47.13 23.59

2013 / 2014 26.17 25.87

2014 / 2015 35.43 28.65

Source: Authors, based on the data obtained from the Association of Ski Lift Operators of Slove-
nia (GTZ) and the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Internal Affairs.

Further study reveals on average a total (combined minor plus serious) of 23.6 acci-
dents per day of operation on all Slovenian ski slopes combined during the first season 
studied, 25.9 accidents per day during the second season, and 28.7 accidents per day 
during the last season. These data clearly indicate a steady increase in the total average 
daily number of accidents from one season to the next. 

As shown in Table 1, during the three seasons from December 2012 to April 2015 
under our study we counted 2,683 accidents on Slovenian ski slopes that resulted in 
minor bodily injuries (minor accidents). In Table 4 we present for each individual se-
ason a comparison of the number of self-inflicted minor accidents with the number of 
accidents attributed to all other causes for each full day of the ski slope’s operation.



108

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Table 4. Number of minor injuries per operational day 

Ski season 
Cause of accident 2012 / 2013 2013 / 2014 2014 / 2015

Skier’s own fault 12.48 12.23 14.68

Other causes 10.22 13.64 13.97

Total number of accidents 22.70 25.87 28.65

Source: Authors, based on the data obtained from the Association of Ski Lift Operators of Slove-
nia (GTZ) and the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Internal Affairs.

Irrespective of the accident causes, the total number of minor accidents during the 
2012/13 season amounted to 22.7 per day of operation, during the 2013/14 season to 
24.8 per day of operation, and during 2014/15 season to 27.2 per day of operation. It is 
clear that the highest total number of accidents occurred during the 2014/15 season, the 
last season in our study. 

We verified our study using the chi-square test (p = 0.196; χ2 = 5.99; df = 2) whether 
or not from season 2012/13 to season 2014/15, the number of self-inflicted accidents in 
comparison to the accidents attributed to all other possible causes combined is increas-
ing through the three seasons. Since the differences from season to season were not 
statistically significant and the connectivity of the variables is weak, we conclude that 
minor ski accidents from one season to the next cannot be characterized by a constant 
ratio between the number of self-inflicted accidents and accidents attributed to other 
causes.

Of special interest is the question focusing on the effects of the weather conditions 
on the number of skiing accidents. To investigate this issue, we concentrated on two 
time periods during which the ski slopes have the highest occupancy rate, namely du-
ring the winter school holidays (10 days) and Christmas – New Year holidays (10 days). 
The Weather Service of Slovenia summarized for us the weather conditions prevalent 
on the major Slovenian ski slopes during the two 10-day holiday periods for the three 
ski seasons included in our study.

Under the heading of weather conditions, we studied the wind speed, degree of 
clouding, height of new snow, presence of fog, and presence of rain. Data presented 
in Table 5 describe the number of minor accidents that occurred on the ski slopes of 
Slovenia during the period of Christmas – New Year 10-day holidays and winter 10-
day school holidays for three ski seasons (2012/2013; 2013/2014; and 2014/2015) for 
a period from December 2012 to April 2015.



109

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

Table 5. Number of minor accidents for two ski periods

Ski season
Ski period 2012 / 2013 2013 / 2014 2014 / 2015

Christmas – New Year holidays 
(10 days) 142 26 19

Winter school holidays 
(10 days) 134 158 314

Total number of accidents during 
the complete season 1070 648 965

Source: Authors, based on the data obtained from the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia 
for Internal Affairs.

It is shown that in the second (2013/2014) and third (2014/2015) season discussed 
in our study, the number of accidents during the 10-day school holidays exceeded those 
that happened during the 10-day Christmas – New Year holidays. Moreover, during 
the 10-day school holidays of the third season (2014/2015), the number of accidents 
amounted to almost a third of all accidents that occurred during the total season (i.e., 
314 out of 965). A comparison of the weather conditions for the two holiday periods for 
a given ski season did not show any significant deviations. During the first ski season 
we noticed a difference in the average temperature of the ambient air (Christmas-New 
Year holiday: 0.1oC; winter holidays: -5.8oC); however, we cannot surmise that the hi-
gher air temperature during Christmas – New Year holiday caused a higher number of 
accidents. Even though we found a difference in the number of accidents between the 
second and the third ski season (Table 5), there were no large deviations in the weather 
conditions between the two seasons. Since there were no appreciable deviations in the 
weather conditions in the three ski seasons, we cannot postulate that weather conditions 
had an appreciable effect on the number of accidents for the individual seasons. A more 
thorough analysis of the seasons in which there are significant deviations in the weather 
conditions should be carried out and the conclusions should account for the number of 
skiers present on the ski slopes.

Of the total number of 2,683 minor accidents during the three ski seasons from 
December 2012 to April 2015 we obtained data on the causes for 2,314 accidents. 
The average age of the accident victims was 30.25 years. In Table 6 we display the 
distribution of the accidents with regard to their cause based on the data available from 
the official records on ski accidents compiled on the sites of the accidents by the ski 
slope’s supervisors and the police. Accident causes that appeared at least five times in 
the official records are specified in Table 6 as follows: (1) the skier fell because of his/
her own fault; (2) represents the fall only; (3) the skier was stationary; (4) the skier had 
just started to move; (7) the skier skied at the tail end (of a group of skiers); (8) the skier 



110

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

crashed (into a barrier); (10) the skier was stopping with a left turn or right turn; (12) 
the skier jumped; (15) the skier skied on a run marked with posts; (22) the skier collided 
with another skier; and (25) the skier was involved in an accident not listed above.

For example, accident category (25) typically includes a stationary skier; merging 
from the right or left; shadow skiing; rear skiing from the left or right side; passing; 
skiing in the reverse direction; lingering in a blind spot; sitting under a break-point; 
crossing the ski slope; skiing with an disconnected safety harness; skiing with unsuita-
ble equipment; skiing with disconnected bindings; walking on the ski run without ski 
equipment; skiing on a closed ski run; sledding on a ski run; skiing on a ski run under 
the influence of alcohol or any other psychoactive substance; as well as any other cause 
of accident that has not yet appeared in the official documents.

Table 6. Number and percentage of light accidents 

Desig-
nation Cause of accident Number of 

accidents

Percent-
age of total 

number

Rank 
average

(1) Skier fell because of his/her own fault 1,440 62.2 1,127.28
(2) Skier fell by no fault of his/her own 492 21.3 1,158.28
(3) Skier was stationary 18 0.8   750.06
(4) Skier had just taken off 29 1.3 1,139.53
(7) Skier skied in the rear 16 0.7 1,431.53
(8) Skier crashed 48 2.1 1,431.53
(10) Skier was slowing down 50 2.2 1,432.30
(12) Skier made a jump 33 1.4 1,157.99
(15) Skier skied on a run marked with posts 49 2.1   982.83
(22) Skier collided with another skier 28 1.2 1208.23
(25) Other infrequent accident causes 111 4.8 1,250.18
Total 
number N/A 2,314 100.0 1,463.31

Source: Authors, based on the data obtained from the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia 
for Internal Affairs.

We found a significant deviation for accidents caused by skiers who either were sta-
tionary or jumped resulting in ranks that were significantly lower than in other groups. 
This suggests that there are significant differences among the average age ranks for 
various causes of accidents (p = 0.000; χ2= 46.83; df = 10).

Next, we focus on the average age of the accident victims who in their accidents 
suffered minor or serious (including fatal) bodily injuries and show results in Table 7 



111

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

during the three consecutive winter seasons (2012/2013; 2013/2014; and 2014/2015) 
during the period from December 2012 to April 2015. We acquired age data for 2,779 
skiers: data for serious accidents were available for all the age groups and we used the 
average value age values for each group. For the oldest group (age above 64 years) we 
did not have the maximum age, so we do not know the real median age. Based on our 
data for minor injuries, we assumed that in the severe injury category the average age 
for the highest age group was also 69 years.

Table 7. Number of accidents and age rank averages 

Bodily injury Number of accidents Rank average Sum of rank 
averages

Minor 2,658 1,386.43 3,685 142.50

Serious (incl. fatal)   121 1,468.33    177 667.50

Source: Authors, based on the data obtained from the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for 
Internal Affairs and from the Police Academy.

We then used the Mann-Whitney U test to determine whether or not the seriously 
injured skiers were on average older than the skiers in the minor injury category. For 
minor accidents the rank average is 1,386.43, while for serious (including fatal) injuries 
it is 1,468.33). Our calculations show that differences among various ranks exist; howe-
ver, we cannot claim that they are statistically significant (p = 0.272; U = 151,331.5). 
This means that the average ages of the accident victims with respect to the type of 
injury (minor versus serious including fatal) are essentially the same.

Since foreigners skiing on Slovenian ski slopes during the three winter seasons 
from December 2012 to April 2015 represented 12.45% of the total population that was 
included in the category of minor accidents, we now touch upon foreign skiers in Table 
8. The average age of all skiers (local and foreign) was 30.37 years.

Table 8. Number of accidents and age rank averages 

Injured skiers Number of accidents Rank average Sum of rank 
averages

Local 2,069 1,291.40 2 671 910.00

Foreign   582 1,449.00    843 316.00

Source: Authors, based on data obtained from the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for 
Internal Affairs.



112

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

The Mann-Whitney U test was used to investigate whether or not there were any 
statistically significant differences in the ages of foreign skiers and domestic skiers 
involved in minor accidents on Slovenian ski slopes. The investigation results in a rank 
average of 1,291.40 for local skiers and 1,449.00 for foreign skiers. This result is based 
on almost null risk suggesting a statistically significant difference in rank averages 
between local and foreign skiers (p = 0.000; U = 530495) and we conclude that the 
foreign skiers injured on Slovenian ski slopes during the past three ski seasons were, on 
average, older than the local skiers.

DISCUSSION

As stated above, Goulet et al. (1999) showed that two of the possible factors affect-
ing the risk of a skiing accident are insufficient knowledge of and the fitness needed for 
skiing. In Slovenia, the responsible functionaries are not mandated to deal with these 
issues; however, despite this drawback, our study shows that in more than a half of 
all minor ski accidents the injuries suffered by the skier are self-inflicted, i.e., are the 
skier’s own fault and caused by the skier’s own error.

Our finding that the average number of accidents per day of ski slope operation is 
increasing from one season to the next is comparable to the situation on North-Ameri-
can ski slopes, as shown by Hu et al. (2009). Both studies showed a steady increase in 
the accident rates for minor and severe (including fatal) bodily injuries from one season 
to the next and suggest that for the benefit of tourism and recreational skiing, strong 
measures will be required to stop this disturbing trend on ski slopes around the world. 

Based on our finding that the largest proportion of injuries is attributed to the age 
group of youngsters and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 years, we propose 
an educational innovation: a ski examination that would likely improve the general 
knowledge of skiing rules and regulations. Educational institutions could introduce this 
project into special education curricula in a similar manner that they already use with 
cycling examinations in which Slovenian school-attending children must exhibit a cer-
tain knowledge of traffic rules to make their cycling safer.

The ski examination would consist of two components. The theoretical component 
would focus on the FIS regulations on skiing and the practical component would be 
part of the already existing programme under the auspices of winter schools in nature 
or special school days concentrating on various sport activities. Thus, ski examinations 
would promote skiing as a Slovenian national sport and would also decrease the num-
ber of ski accidents that are on ski slopes often caused by the skier’s own fault.

Several years ago, one of the Slovenian elementary schools (Osnovna Šola Rovte) 
already introduced a pilot programme on formal ski education based on theoretical and 
practical examinations as part of winter school in nature. The programme was very suc-
cessful and greatly improved children’s knowledge of the international FIS rules and 
understanding of the consequences that can arise from carelessness and ignorance of 
the rules while skiing (Grom, 2009). 



113

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

We also investigated the age of skiers for a given minor accident and found that 
more than one age group fell into a rank average that differed from the other ones. 
Based on these deviations it has become clear that there are statistically significant dif-
ferences in rank averages and that age affects the cause of minor accidents. The effect 
of the age of injured skiers on the type of injury was also of interest to us and we found 
that both categories of injury (minor and serious including fatal) were roughly the same 
average age.

We need to mention foreign skiers who visit Slovenian ski slopes and represented 
12.45% of the total cohort of skiers with minor injuries. Despite our findings that there 
are differences between the average age of foreign and local skiers, we believe that it 
would make sense to modernize the pictograms on ski trails as well as post informati-
on on ski slopes in the major foreign languages to decrease accident risks for foreign 
skiers.

Following the statements above, we believe that our research can contribute to the 
overall safety on Slovenian ski slopes. Regarding the findings, slopes should promote 
and ensure that all skiers understand the possible consequences that may result from 
crazy and irresponsible skiing. It would be advisable to modernize the pictograms that 
exhibit the FIS rules on Slovenian ski hills, since this move would definitely be attrac-
tive to local and foreign skiers, and a larger exposure of skiers to modern pictograms 
would eventually bring the international FIS rules into the skiers’ sub-consciousness.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the available literature and our results we cannot unequivocally state whe-
ther or not skiers on Slovenian ski slopes follow the international FIS ski regulations 
and the unwritten etiquette of skiing adequately. However, we can safely state that in 
the majority of ski accidents the skiers are responsible for causing their own injury as 
well as putting other skiers in danger. In concrete terms, the self-inflicted injuries du-
ring the last three seasons on Slovenian ski slopes accounted for 1,428 minor accidents 
out of a total of 2,683 minor accidents. 

Safety on ski slopes is strongly affected by various educational activities for chil-
dren attending elementary schools during the winter months. Research has shown that 
children and youngsters are often injured in accidents on ski slopes. Therefore, increa-
sing the awareness of safety issues on ski slopes with a ski examination would clearly 
result in an improved level of understanding of the FIS rules. Special programmes on 
ski instruction in elementary schools would also improve the work of commercial ski 
schools and ski associations, thereby, contributing to an elevated level of knowledge of 
skiing, understanding the FIS rules, as well as appropriate behaviour on the ski slopes. 
This would result in increased safety on ski slopes and a concurrent decrease in the 
occurrence of skiing accidents.

To follow the safety situation on Slovenian ski slopes as well as skiing accidents 
trends, it would make sense to continue collecting accident statistics in future ski sea-



114

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

sons. This would allow us to verify whether or not the number of skiing accidents conti-
nues to increase; however, the various governmental agencies involved in the collection 
of accident data must unify their accident investigation processes and data keeping. 
This would give a more efficient supervision over the causes of skiing accidents and 
enable the same data analysis for both minor and serious (including) fatal accidents. As 
regular users of ski slopes, we believe that ski slope safety is of great importance for 
the promotion of skiing as a component of the tourism industry. Based on the modest 
opportunities for the development of the skiing industry in Slovenia, we cannot expect 
that Slovenia will become competitive with the skiing superpowers Austria and Italy 
in the near future. However, we believe that Slovenian ski slopes have an optimistic 
future, provided that the safety of the skiers is strengthened and modernized. This will 
decrease the number of skiing accidents and help to leave a positive impression on the 
visitors to the ski slopes.

As for future work, we believe that the area of ski slope safety would benefit from 
a study of the correlation between weather conditions, ski slope conditions, and skiing 
accidents, since these factors undoubtedly affect the occurrence of accidents and should 
be, in the future, recorded in accident reports. 

REFERENCES

Alexander, M. H., & Raub, J. (2003). How to protect your “coconut”: A safety demonstra-
tion on the importance of wearing a ski helmet. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 29(5), 
461–462. VIEW ITEM 

Burton, R. R., Brown, J. S., & Fischer, G. (1984). Skiing as a model of instruction. Eve-
ryday cognition: Its development in social context, 139–150.

Burtscher, M., Gatterer, H., Flatz, M., Sommersacher, R., Woldrich, T., Ruedl, G., et 
al. (2008). Effects of modern ski equipment on the overall injury rate and the pattern of 
injury location in Alpine skiing. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine: Official Journal of 
the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, 18(4), 355–357. VIEW ITEM 

Caine, D. J., & Maffulli, N. (2005). Epidemiology of pediatric sports injuries (Vol. 48). 
Basel: Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers.

Deutscher Skiverband. (2016). Retrieved June 9th from http://www.deutscherskiverband.
de/

Dingerkus, M. L., & Mang, A. (2002). WINTERSPORT: Verletzungen und Überlastungen 
beim Carving. Sports Orthopaedics and Traumatology, 17(4), 213–218. 

Goulet, C., Régnier, G., Grimard, G., Valois, P., & Villeneuve, P. (1999). Risk factors 
associated with alpine skiing injuries in children a case-control study. The American 
Journal of Sports Medicine, 27(5), 644–650. VIEW ITEM

Grom, R. (2009). Smučarski izpiti? Revija Šport Mladih. 16(144), 26-27.
Guček, A., Terčelj, A., Kordež, M., Giacomelli, O., Muhič, D., Makuc, V., Bokal, L. 

(2011). Slovenski smučarski slovar [Slovene dictionary of skiing terms]. (L. Bokal, 
Ed.). Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0099-1767(03)00178-8
http://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Abstract/2008/07000/Effects_of_Modern_Ski_Equipment_on_the_Overall.8.aspx
http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/27/5/644.full


115

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

Haegeli, P., Gunn, M., & Haider, W. (2012). Identifying a high-risk cohort in a complex 
and dynamic risk environment: out-of-bounds skiing – an example from avalanche safe-
ty. Prevention Science, 13(6), 562–573. VIEW ITEM 

Hildebrandt, C., Mildner, E., Hotter, B., Kirschner, W., Höbenreich, C., & Raschner, 
C. (2011). Accident prevention on ski slopes – Perceptions of safety and knowledge of 
existing rules. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(4), 1421–1426. VIEW ITEM 

Hörterer, H. (2004). TRENDSPORTARTEN: Carving-Skifahren. Sports Orthopaedics and 
Traumatology Sport-Orthopädie - Sport-Traumatologie, 20(4), 221–226. VIEW ITEM 

Hu, G., Baker, T. D., & Baker, S. P. (2009). Skiing injuries in perspective. Wilderness & 
Environmental Medicine, 20(1), 96–97. VIEW ITEM 

Jahn, G. (2005). Glacial cover-up won’t stop global warming, but it keeps skiers happy. 
Environmental News Network. Retrieved July 15th from http://www.enn.com/top_stori-
es/article/2060

Joubert, G. (1978). Skiing: an art, a technique (1st U.S. edition). Laporte: Poudre Canyon 
Press.

Kipp, R. W. (2012). Alpine skiing. Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Köhne, G., Kusche, H., Schaller, C., & Gutsfeld, P. (2007). Skiunfälle – Veränderun-

gen seit Einführung des Carvingski. Sport-Orthopädie - Sport-Traumatologie - Sports 
Orthopaedics and Traumatology, 23(1), 63–67. VIEW ITEM 

McBeth, P. B., Ball, C. G., Mulloy, R. H., & Kirkpatrick, A. W. (2009). Alpine ski and 
snowboarding traumatic injuries: incidence, injury patterns, and risk factors for 10 ye-
ars. American Journal of Surgery, 197(5), 560-563-564. VIEW ITEM 

Mechelen, W. van, Hlobil, H., & Kemper, H. C. G. (2012). Incidence, severity, aetiology 
and prevention of sports injuries. Sports Medicine, 14(2), 82–99. VIEW ITEM 

Onik, G., Szopa, A., Domagalska-Szopa, M., Knapik, K., & Sieroń-Stołtny, K. (2014). 
Skiing and snowboarding sport injuries. Polish Annals of Medicine, 21(1), 36–39. 
VIEW ITEM 

Ruedl, G., Brunner, F., Kopp, M., & Burtscher, M. (2011). Impact of a ski helmet man-
datory on helmet use on Austrian ski slopes. The Journal of Trauma, 71(4), 1085–1087. 
VIEW ITEM 

Ruedl, G., Kopp, M., & Burtscher, M. (2011). The protective effects of helmets in skiers 
and snowboarders. BMJ, 342, d857. VIEW ITEM 

Sabeti, M. (2013). Die vordere Kreuzbandruptur im alpinen Skilauf. Sport-Orthopädie - 
Sport-Traumatologie - Sports Orthopaedics and Traumatology, 29(4), 297–303. VIEW 
ITEM 

Scott, D., & Steiger, R. (2013). 4.24 - Vulnerability of the ski industry. In R. Pielke (Ed.), 
Climate Vulnerability (Vol. 4, pp. 305–313). Oxford: Academic Press.

Simpson, M. C., Gössling, S., Scott, D., Hall, C. M., Gladin, E. (2008). Climate change 
adaptation and mitigation in the tourism sector: frameworks, tools and practices. Paris: 
UNEP, University of Oxford, UNWTO, WMO.

Tuli, T., Haechl, O., Berger, N., Laimer, K., Jank, S., Kloss, F. et al. (2010). Facial tra-
uma: how dangerous are skiing and snowboarding? Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial 
Surgery, 68(2), 293–299. VIEW ITEM 

Whelan, K. M., Gass, E. M., & Moran, C. C. (1999). Warm-up: Efficacy of a program de-
signed for downhill skiing. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 45(4), 279–288. VIEW 
ITEM

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11121-012-0282-5
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.02.018
http://dx.doi.org/10.1078/0949-328X-00220
http://dx.doi.org/10.1580/08-WEME-LE-237.1
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/2060
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/2060
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orthtr.2007.01.014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2008.12.016
http://dx.doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199214020-00002
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.poamed.2014.01.003
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e31821e7e91
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d857
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orthtr.2013.10.006
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orthtr.2013.10.006
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2009.09.072
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0004-9514(14)60357-3
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0004-9514(14)60357-3


116

Janez MEKINC, Lea GROM, Tomislav OMEJEC, Saša PLANINC: FACTORS AFFECTING ACCIDENTS ON SKI HILLS ...,  97–116

ANNALES KINESIOLOGIAE • 7 • 2016 • 2

Williams, R. (2016). Ski helmets and the backcountry. Wilderness & Environmental Medi-
cine, 27(1), 182–183. VIEW ITEM 

Williams, R., Delaney, T., Nelson, E., Gratton, J., Laurent, J., & Heath, B. (2007). Spe-
eds associated with skiing and snowboarding. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 
18(2), 102–105. VIEW ITEM 

Zakon o varnosti na smučiščih [Ski Safety Act] (ZVSmuč). (2016). Uradni list Republike 
Slovenije, (44/16) [Official Gazette of RS, no. 44/16], 21. Retrieved December 9th from 
http://www.uradni-list.si/1/objava.jsp?sop=2016-01-1922

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2015.10.003
http://dx.doi.org/10.1580/06-WEME-OR-037R1.1
http://www.uradni-list.si/1/objava.jsp?sop=2016-01-1922

