Is head protection a no brainer?
Following the near fatal drowning of Kalani Chapman at Pipeline on Friday, should surfers take serious consideration over wearing head protection when surfing waves of consequence? Friday's competition of the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout saw a solid swell rolling into the infamous reef break which improved throughout the day. During the afternoon's final heat Pipe charger Chapman took off on a massive second reef bomb, stalling into one of the biggest caverns of the day. The crowd were anticipating the spit followed by KC, however he didn't reappear. What ensued was a frantic rescue led by Seth Moniz, Nathan Florence and the water patrol. Chapman had suffered a heavy hit to the back of the head causing trauma and unconsciousness, his own board thought to have been the cause. There is of course always this risk, alongside the possibility of connecting with the reef and the likelihood of taking several heavy waves on the head, when you surf waves like Pipeline! Some surfers, such a Landon McNamara (pictured)choose to wear head protection. Sadly he is in the minority. This begs the question, why do the majority of big wave chargers not? In my mind there is one answer to this question.....Image! Skate and BMX has had this same issue for years. A vibe that wearing a helmet is some how uncool...not hardcore. It's taken some serious injuries to some high profile athletes along with strict rules by skatepark owners to start to change perception and rid these sports of this ridiculous notion. Let's hope that after this incident measures are put in place to reduce the risk of serious head injuries in surfing. In the mean time we hope and pray that Kalani makes a full and speedy recovery. OTT A friend pointed me in the direction of an interesting article by Surfer Magazine regarding chronic traumatic encephalopathy in surfing. If you've not already read it, hit the link below or copy and paste! http://www.surfer.com/features/shock-waves/#ZfM8VfA4LoYvwe9F.97