Dominic Boutin
Beginning this fall, Gee-Gees football players will wear helmets equipped with a system of shock absorbers developed with the help of Blaine Hoshizaki’s research team at the University of Ottawa’s Neurotrauma Impact Laboratory. The team’s four-year study showed that this new system absorbs shock from impact better than traditional foam padding and can help reduce the number and severity of concussions. This year’s model of the Xenith X1 football helmet will be outfitted with the system.
In 2005, the American firm Xenith approached Hoshizaki, director of the School of Human Kinetics and world-renowned expert in the area of head protection, about developing a safer helmet. “The helmet will provide Gee-Gees players with the best protection you can get,” said Hoshizaki, who will continue his research on head injury prevention thanks to this partnership between Xenith and the University.
Research continues with efforts to tailor the technology to meet the specific needs of other contact sports such as hockey, lacrosse, rugby, downhill skiing and boxing.
