Abstract
The boards of ice hockey rinks are equipped with protective glass to prevent the spectators from being hit by the puck. According to international rules, the minimum height of the board with protective glass is 197 cm. This is not high enough to protect the spectators from puck-related injuries, and severe accidents have occurred in the past. This study investigates what increase in the height of the safety glass is necessary to reduce the risk of severe puck-related injuries to spectators.
Puck flights towards the safety board are simulated, based on initial take-off conditions of the puck, by top-level players. The simulations show that increasing the security glass from a board height without any protective glass of 117 cm to a total band height of 380 cm will lower the relative frequency of shots with a potential to hit a spectator by 80%. The maximum velocity of such dangerous shots was only slightly decreased from 28.4 m s−1 to 25.2 m s−1 for the same difference in band height. However, the reduced number of dangerous shots does not protect the spectators completely from injuries. The simulation model suggests that a safety wall height of 10.8 m leads to a 100% reduction in all outgoing shots.
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Böhm, H., Schwiewagner, C. & Senner, V. Simulation of puck flight to determine spectator safety for various ice hockey board heights. Sports Eng 10, 75–85 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02844205
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02844205