Warning line on hockey rinks may increase risk of injury: U of C study
CALGARY The idea is to give hockey players a visual warning that they’re about to hit the boards, but a finding in a University of Calgary study published in the European Journal of Sport Science suggests a “look-up line” at the end of the rink may do more harm than good.
Researchers at U of C’s faculty of kinesiology were funded by USA Hockey, after the Look-Up Line Foundation asked the body to approve the line for all rinks in the United States. The foundation was started by Thomas E. Smith after he became partly paralyzed when he slid head first into the boards.
“His idea was that (the line) would act like a queue, a signal for a player being checked, so that it could increase their head angle and have a safer position when they were checked,” said lead researcher Joan Vickers.
The researchers tested the onemetre wide warning line for a year in the Olympic Oval rink, with assistance from the university’s men’s hockey team. One end of the rink had the line. The other didn’t.
In one-on-one trials, the players wore eye trackers and devices that measure head angle, revealing the look-up line was not having the intended effect. The players consistently looked down at the line and for longer than on regular ice, potentially making them more vulnerable to injuries.
One surprising and unexpected result of the $50,000 study, however, was the players tended to skate further away from the boards where the look-up line was located.
She also said a player told her he didn’t like the line and felt he had to work harder to control the puck.
“If you put something unusual and different within the playing environment, that’s going to grab their attention and it’s also going to cause a difference in their behaviours,” said Vickers.
Kevin Kolbelka, executive director of Hockey Calgary, said he couldn’t comment on whether the look-up line would help, but said Hockey Calgary has been taking measures to prevent injuries.
Vickers said more research is needed to determine whether the look-up line would work.