A skating accident in Finland

[Finnice]

WARNING - this is horrible.

I did not find a link in English, so a short summary of the very sad and horrible accident.

10-year-old schoolchildren were skating at the rink in Rauma, Finland. A girl fell, and another girl collided with her. The fallen girl´s skate blade hit the other girl´s neck (collarbone area) and she died at the hospital, I think because the cut arteries and the loss of blood.

We often forget how sharp the skates are, they really can be lethal.
It is sad for all the people involved, the children, the families, the teacher who was supervising the lesson. My condolences.

I still think that figure skating is the most wonderful sport and it is great that it is taught in schools.

[milanessa]

How sad.

[paskatefan]

OMG! That is so tragic! My thoughts and prayers for the victim and her family. I hope the child who accidentally collided with her doesn't suffer endless guilt over this, either. Purely a terrible accident.

[Ozzisk8tr]

How dreadful. So sad for all involved.

[ChelleC]

How horrible. Thoughts and prayers for the families.

[numbers123]

oh
yes we do forget how sharp those blades are.

[Buzz]

How terrible for the little girl and her family. My prayers are with them.

[Gypsy]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the the family of the little girl who was lost, and to the other girl and her family. How incredibly tragic for both.

[Nan]

Very sad for all involved. Tragic.

[Satellitegirl]

sad.

[nubka]

What a sad nightmare for all involved.

[skatesindreams]

How awful!
My heart goes out to all those touched by this.

[MikiAndoFan#1]

How horrible.

[BittyBug]

Truly tragic.

[Vash01]

People often forget how dangerous ice skating is. The history is littered with serious injuries due to the sharp blades, falls, etc. When I had just started learning FS, the instructor had warned me that another skater could skate over my fingers, if I have fallen. This case is a million times tragic.

[nlyoung]

How horrible! Hockey playing children aren't allowed on the ice without Kevlar neck guards to protect against this. I can remember when my daughter was learning to skate in the Canskate program (for hockey and figure skaters). She had a helmet, which was mandatory, but no face guard the first week but after watching the little ones falling all over the ice with blades flashing, I ran out the next day and got the face mask to go with it. Helmets with face masks are mandatory for hockey at all levels, but once figure skaters learn to skate they're on their own. I'm surprised we don't hear about more such incidents, especially among dancers and pair skaters.

[vesperholly]

I'm surprised we don't hear about more such incidents, especially among dancers and pair skaters.

Honestly, probably because there aren't that many incidents. Figure skating is not a contact sport like hockey, and figure skaters learn quickly to stay far apart from each other, especially during things like camel spins and spirals. One of the first things that children in classes learn is how to fall properly. IMO, better to teach them caution than bundle them up against all imaginable possibilities. Face masks can be equally problematic because they impair vision - very important to be able to watch out for skaters.

I've skated for about 20 years (thousands of hours on low- and high-level freestyle ice) and taught learn to skate for over 10 years, and not once has anyone been cut by someone else's blades. Plenty of sprains, including a few to myself, and other injuries, but blades? No, thank god. That's not to say it doesn't happen, but I think it's rare.

[pair mom]

[QUOTE=nlyoung;3291706]How horrible! Hockey playing children aren't allowed on the ice without Kevlar neck guards to protect against this. I can remember when my daughter was learning to skate in the Canskate program (for hockey and figure skaters). She had a helmet, which was mandatory, but no face guard the first week but after watching the little ones falling all over the ice with blades flashing, I ran out the next day and got the face mask to go with it. Helmets with face masks are mandatory for hockey at all levels, but once figure skaters learn to skate they're on their own. I'm surprised we don't hear about more such incidents, especially among dancers and pair skaters.[/QUOT

Sadly my son was a competitive pair skater and almost lost his index and middle finger after falling in a twist and his partner came down on his hand. Surgery and almost of year of physio to try to straighten the index finger to no avail. Thankfully it was his left hand and he is right handed. And I know of a few other pair fellows who have had similar injuries to their hands as well as a couple of dancers... so they do happen...

[halffull]

How very sad. My thoughts are with all involved.