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Very Sad News


wakeup

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That is sad, especially when they are so young.

Brings to mind that old, over used cliche "At least he died doing what he loved"

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This really sucks, I always push my stepson to try more stuff and if this was to happen I wouldn't know how to feel. I would probally sell the boat and spend more time doing something else, I don't think I could get anyone in the family to enjoy the sport again. Very sad, I feel for the family.

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Man, that is just awful. Makes me think twice about getting my kids into the sport. I know it was a freak accident, but it still reminds you just how dangerous watersports in general can be. Broken bones and blownout knees are one thing, death is quite another. My heart goes out to the family in this devasting loss.

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I quess this is another way of gauging how far you take this sport, we are certainly not as good as the pro's but you have an idea of what can happen as you start to challenge yourself and others. I have wondered what could happen at the speeds I get up too when I'm crossing the wake and there have been times where the wake sets me off at another position and so far I have been really lucky, "Knock on Wood"

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That is terrible, what a sudden and untimely way to go.

It makes me reconsider the risk before encouraging our children to excel in that sport.

Does anyone use a neck brace of some kind wakeboarding? Or has anybody heard of someone wearing this form of safety equipment? This would possibly be worthy of starting as a helpful safety topic.

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Very sad news indeed...I was having a conversation with my brother a week ago about our on the water activities. With two kids and a lot of responsibility I don't need to attempt a flip or whatever. Enjoy the water...get a surfboard!!!!!!!!!!!!! At the end of the day I feel for the family who lost their son but, I would have to say that it is a freak accident...we can't steer our kids away from wakeboarding because it's "dangerous." Ride with common sense, use proper equipment, be in control, and have fun. On that note...I hope everyone on this site has a safe season behind our BUs!!!!!

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That really is pretty sad news. Scary in fact.

I also ran across this discussion on wakeboarder about an amateur rider who did a face plant, like many of have done, and now is in the hospital with life threating injuries. Here is the link Life Threating Injuries

I wonder is wearing a helmet helped out in either of these cases? I've gotten my head rung a few times and I'm seriously considering wearing a helmet this season.

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Stewart, reading the article, it said it his neck broke on impact, so I dont think a helmet would have helped in this case. But it does make me think about dusting mine off and actually using it for once.

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Sad story. The broken neck is similar to several of the racing accidents (Dale Earnhardt Sr,. Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty) where the head keeps moving and the body stops or vice versa. The impact speed is not very high in the fore/aft direction to cause the neck fracture. The Hans device in racing has pretty much eliminated the head acceleration problem and improved safety dramatically. The helmet would not change the outcome, but retraining the neck and head to move together would. I would suggest looking in to a neck restraint as a solution for this type of accident. The Hans works because it is a tether that keeps the body and head connected, it requires attachment to a helmet and the Hans is restrained by the shoulder belts in the race car, the part not available to the wakeboarder / skier / footer. Sprint car drivers wear a neck restraint or horsecollar that keeps the head steadier by acting as a stop against the helmet edge. Ron Scarpa wears one barefooting along with a helmet.

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Very sad. You don't really expect this sort of thing at wakeboarding speeds either.

I bought helments and neck braces for my kids a couple months ago. Mostly for footing and skateing but I think I will encourage them for boarding too. I got the ones with the ear flaps to help prevent ear drum blowouts too. I know many others will take more precautions in the way of equipment and technique adjustments, so like always some good comes from a tragic accident like this.

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