Canadian
Ski Patrol System
Who Is the CSPS?
The Canadian Ski Patrol is
a registered non-profit corporation comprising highly-trained volunteer
and professional members.
The System is national in
scope and was formed to promote safe skiing and to provide assistance to
injured skiers.
The CSPS's membership of
more than 6000 patrollers provides a Canada-wide, highly-skilled and responsible
service to the
skiing industry.
More Info About the CSPS Official Website: (www.csps.ca)
The Canadian Ski Patrol has
evolved from rather humble beginnings to become an organization that has
been modeled as the
basis for ski patrols around
the world. Part of what the CSPS is and does is listed below.
Accident Prevention
Although the Patrol is most
widely recognized for its handling of ski accident victims, it is safe
to say that at least half of the CSPS
activities are in the area
of accident prevention.
Recently, in response to
industry needs, it was decided that these strong efforts would be increased.
To ensure that this
responsibility is being
actively met, four specific actions are being undertaken.
a) Patroller education
Although accident prevention
has always been taught as part of the 40 hour beginners course and the
even more demanding
refresher's course, the
emphasis is to be officially increased. The section of the manual dealing
with this subject has been expanding
threefold and new and practical
instruction will be taught.
The role of the patroller
is emphasized (subject is some cases to authorization from the area manager).
As well as providing concrete
examples of action to be
taken to help reduce the incidence of ski accidents.
b) Area management relations
The Patrol can only be as
effective in accident prevention at a ski centre as the area manager determines.
Management is the final
authority on many programs
and actions that can be taken.
This is designed to help
the manager and patrol leader determine beneficial programs and establish
the mechanics for their
implementation.
c) On-site programs
The Patrol carries out a
number of different actions at different areas depending on needs. These
programs outline procedures for
activities such as:
| Hill opening sweep procedure | |
| Accident prevention maintenance | |
| Observation and recommended action | |
| Localized accident reporting system | |
| ecord Keeping | |
| Closing sweep procedures |
d) Public education
Although the Patrol has
limited resources, it has developed programs designed to raise safety consciousness
among the skiing public.
Most of these are covered
under the section entitled "Promotional programs". Most of the material
and programs are available
for use at your area.