ASTM F27 Committee Could Broaden Scope to Include Park Jumps Soon

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27 October 2011

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine-Denver, Oct. 27, 2011-Despite two negative ballots on a proposal to broaden its scope to include standards-writing for some terrain park features, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F27 Snow Skiing Committee is likely to do just that in the near future.

ASTM bylaws changes, such as the proposal to broaden the scope of committee F27, require unanimous approval. However, the two negatives could be resolved or overridden by the conclusion of the F27 Committee meeting in Denver Jan. 24, just ahead of the annual SIA Snow Show.

Regardless of the status of the bylaws change, the terrain park task group meeting is expected to be of greatest interest. Task group chairman Jasper Shealy told SAM that the meeting will be "informational." The group plans to review research that covers injuries and jumping behavior, a standard used in Switzerland created by the country's accident prevention bureau, and any Olympic and freestyle jump guidelines. Shealy hopes to include Canadian and European studies, assuming the group can get any non-English studies translated. In all, he believes there have been 30 or so studies conducted worldwide.

Shealy said that since ASTM standards represent consensus thinking, any standards-writing is likely to be several years off. "From my perspective, we don't have a good definition of the problem. We need a lot more information before we can begin writing any kind of meaningful standard," he said.

Shealy added that, if the experience with the ASTM rental shop practices standard is any indication, terrain parks will have effectively adopted the consensus practices by the time a standard, if any, is formalized.

While attendance at the terrain task force meeting, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Denver Convention Center, is free, ASTM asks attendees to register in advance, and asks for a donation of $25 to help the volunteer organization fund its operations. To register, go to www.astm.org/meetings and, under "Find a Meeting," choose F27 Snow Skiing and follow the non-member registration instructions. For further information, contact Christi Sierk at 610-832-9728 or csierk@astm.org.