Ski Swap Thanks

Thanks to all who came and helped at Ski Swap. We made about $500 along with a good contact of someone who maybe able to get some sponsorships for some of our athletes. Think snow!

Diet, Exercise are just as important as the helmet

Getting a concussion is unfortunately common in the world of competitive snowsports. A new study, done on football players, has found that a healthy lifestyle may benefit the brain. Those who ate high-fat foods had greater difficulty with recalling information, orientation and engaging and applying ideas, compared to those who ate less fat and had healthier diets overall. The researchers also found that frequent, vigorous exercise was associated with higher physical and mental health ratings among former college football players. "While the negative effects of repeated collisions can't be completely reversed, this study suggests that former athletes can alter their lifestyle behaviors to change the progression of cognitive decline." Physician and Sportsmedicine.

Instant Wine Bar Raffle

MSF is launching its first fund raiser of the season. We are selling $5 raffle tickets for an "instant wine bar." With a minimum of 30 bottles of wine, plus accessories, this will be the perfect stocking stuffer. The drawing will be on Valentine's Day, so "Feel the Love," and purchase your tickets from:

• Okemo Ski Swap Nov 18-20 at Okemo base lodge. Look for the MSF booth

• An MSF Board Member

• Sending $5 per raffle ticket to LTC-MSF, PO Box 243, Ludlow VT 05149

MSF Now on Facebook

Friend McCostis Scholarship Fund on Facebook.

Helmet Safety

MSF provides ongoing information about ways to keep our athletes safe and reduce the likelihood of injuries. As part of this effort, we provide the latest information on brain injury and helmet safety.

The following study, while specific to football helmets, points out that helmet technology may not be at the level we think it is and snow athletes need to be mindful of how they ski and ride.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Modern football helmets are no more effective in protecting high school and college players from injury than the leather helmets used nearly 100 years ago, according to a new study by the Cleveland Clinic.

Researchers conducted impact tests on the latest, high-tech helmets and low-tech old ones that mimicked the hits young players routinely suffer on the field and that lead to thousands of concussions each year.

"What we tested were common, everyday hits," said lead researcher Adam Bartsch. "We didn't test the really severe NFL kill shots."

The researchers discovered that for most impacts and angles, today's polycarbonate helmets are no better at reducing injury than the "leatherheads" of old. And in some cases, the old helmets offered slightly better protection.

Bartsch called the results "really surprising." He said they raised serious questions about the effectiveness of a helmet with a hard outer shell and a fairly stiff interior padding in protecting players from the low- and medium-impact hits that, over time, could lead to head, neck and brain injuries.

The Cleveland Clinic researchers say they are not advocating a return to leather helmets. But they hope the study will prompt helmet manufacturers to re-examine design, especially of youth helmets.

Bartsch said that while those youth helmets, which are essentially scaled down-versions of pro helmets, appear to have been optimized for the high-impact hits common in the National Football League, they are not optimized for the less dramatic -- but still traumatic -- hits that occur thousands of times a day during amateur play.

The results were published online on Friday in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said emergency room visits by children and adolescents for brain injuries jumped 60 percent between 2001 and 2009.

Football was one of the sports the CDC said was most likely to lead to brain injuries.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher)

One Way to Reduce Costs for Kids Training

As the MSF board evaluates applications for weekend/target term training scholarships, we'd like to point out one way families can help with costs. Okemo mountain provides a number of volunteer positions, which provide free season passes for your self and family members, as well as discounts on training programs, food and even equipment. If your child is a serious athlete, this is an opportunity you don't want to over look. For more information about volunteer positions, check out the Okemo website.