Cut Resistant Apparel

As ski racing and big mountain skiing evolves and we continue to push new limits, athlete safety remains a priority in our programming.  We are grateful for the technology available to us that mitigates the many risks of training and competition at all levels of the sport.  Helmets, back protectors, and even mouth guards are now standard in alpine and freeride skiing. However, a new piece of protective gear is becoming more widely available and addresses a major risk that seems to be on the rise in the ski world: lacerations from sharp ski edges. Welcome to the chat - Cut-Resistant Apparel.  
 
While these garments have been a fixture on the world stage for several years, a rise in accidents closer to home is highlighting the importance of these garments. Our club alone has seen two athletes sustain significant laceration injuries over the past three seasons.  
 
This April, a young FIS athlete, Joey Macknish, was critically injured from a ski laceration while racing GS at Alberta Spring Series. Joey has asked clubs across Alberta to share his story, stressing how preventable these types of accidents are, and has partnered with VIX Protection to make cut-resistant layers more accessible to our community. Please take a moment to read Joey’s story below. 

‘My name is Joseph Macknish, and I am a Team Panorama 1st Year FIS athlete and was unfortunate enough to have been involved in a serious ski accident at Nakiska during a FIS GS race this season, where I simply hip slid and this resulted in 2 serious lacerations below my waist, with one being serious enough they rushed me to hospital via STARS Air Ambulance.
 
Lacerations and cuts are completely preventable in ski racing, and I am pleased to announce I’ve partnered up with VIX Protection, to help ensure all athletes are protected with cut proof base layers, as no one should have to go through the pain and struggle that I endured.
 
Why VIX? The owner was a FIS racer and in 2019 he nearly died after slicing through his quad and since then he vowed to eliminate these preventable injuries and formed VIX protection to deliver the best quality full cut-proof base layers, not just certain areas to save on material costs. VIX Protection helped FIS with their testing and use the highest quality materials whilst maintaining a comfortable fit. That is why 72% of World Cup athletes use VIX Protection.
 
Working with VIX Protection, we have put together a special discount for group orders that will save people money on the products and to further reduce costs, we will be combining the order for each club to reduce shipping and import taxes.
 
PLEASE REALLY CONSIDER THIS AND PROTECT YOUR ATHLETES.

I would be more than happy to talk with anyone and share details of my experience and my learnings from working with the team at VIX Protection.

Thank you, Joey!’

We encourage anyone in our LLSCs community to take advantage of the significant discount Vix is offering to Alberta athletes. Please take a moment to look at their website VIX Protection and use the Team Order Formfor pricing info and purchasing. Male, female and youth sizing options are available.  Deadline to order is June 30th and families will be sent payment links directly from Vix. Pickup instructions will come from myself once orders are shipped.  ​

Stephanie Johnston

Member Services, Lake Louise Ski Clubs