Here at Ski Racing we’ve kept a sharp eye on the growing list of injured World Cup ski racers this season (see the list below to link to our coverage). The dangerous trend was the reason for a special International Ski Federation (FIS) safety meeting with several top alpine ski racers including Aksel Lund Svindal and Scott Macartney during the men’s World Cup in Val d’Isere, France two weeks ago.

The FIS is now acting on one of the ideas brought up in that meeting as testing is being conducted on new gate panels, or flags that rip away when a skier makes contact. Tests on the new safety precaution we performed during this week’s World Cup in Bormio, Italy.

 The solution was as simple as installing a line of Velcro down the middle of a tow-piece panel that breaks apart to prevent a skier from catching a body part or piece of equipment. Such technology might have been enough to prevent the recent, season-ending injuries suffered by American TJ Lanning and Frenchmen Peirre-Emmanuel Dalcin when they crashed into gates at high speeds.

Click the links below to read about this season’s injuries on the World Cup

Beyond a Band-Aid
Hoelzl claims Lienz GS; Vonn not badly injured
Bode Miller to skip Bormio

Larisa Yurkiw injures knee in training
Cuche could miss Val Gardena with broken rib
Canadian J-P Roy headed home after injury

Grange will miss Olympics
Rash of World Cup injuries causing concern
Gini injury more severe than first thought

Black Diamond: Aspen ice
TJ Lanning fractures neck, dislocates knee in crash

A World of Hurt
Resi Stiegler out for season

Some information for this story was provided by the Associated Press