Ski and snowboard injuries cost ACC nearly $140 million over five years

Injury-prone skiers and snowboarders have run up $140m in accident compensation claims over the past five years.

Although the number of claims in 2020 was down compared to 2019, the cost to ACC was at a five-year high – topping $30m for the first time.

Data shows there were 12,539 claims due to accidents and injuries on the slopes – down by 1241 on the previous year.

Of those, 7871 were skiers and 4668 were snowboarders.

The 45-54 age-group had the greatest number of skiing injuries (1686), while the 20-29 agegroup was the most prominent for snowboarding injuries (1765) in 2020.

The regions with the highest number of ACC claims last year were:

Otago: 5507 (skiing 3498, snowboarding 2009) Canterbury: 2206 (skiing 1503, snowboarding 703) Manawatu¯ -Whanganui: 1879 (skiing 1029, snowboarding 850) Soft tissue injuries were the most common issue for both skiers (6392) and snowboarders (3431), followed by fracture and dislocation (1404) and concussion/ brain injury (437).

The most prevalent injury for skiers was to the knee (2082), while for snowboarders it was the shoulder, including clavicle (750).

The cost of claims paid for skiing-related injuries was almost twice as high as those suffered while snowboarding in 2020. The costs were:

Skiing $21,341,879. Snowboarding $10,380,164. A spokesman for ACC said all claims were down in 2020 due to Covid-19 ‘‘and the ski season was affected by this as well’’.

Hayden Bligh, a member of ski patrol at Treble Cone Ski Area, said although there was an inherent danger of injury with skiing and snowboarding, there were ways to mitigate the risks.

‘‘The big thing is safety gear and there’s been a large push over the last five years for that. A lot of skifields now make helmets mandatory for staff,’’ he said.

‘‘Helmets and safety equipment is cheaper now than it used to be.’’

Bligh, who has been working in the ski industry for 20 years in New Zealand and the United States, said people should do their research to ensure they were on the right run for their level and physically fit enough for the demands of a day on the slopes.

‘‘People need to stay within their ability and progress as they are ready for it,’’ he said.

‘‘You do see people who don’t go through lessons, and they’ll just jump on the chairlift and go straight to the top . . . and they are well out of their depth.’’

Serious skiers trained in the summer months to keep ‘‘ski-fit’’, Bligh said. ‘‘There are many ways to mitigate injury, but it’s also not avoidable. At a high level of sport you are always going to get it.’’