As of the 1st January 2005, the wearing of helmets, whilst skiing or snowboarding in Italy, became compulsory for all students under the age of 14 years. There have been various reactions to this from group organisers, but generally, acceptance with the students has been very easy, with a lot of students actually preferring to wear them.

We can only think that helmet usage will become compulsory in all ski resorts in Europe and the USA within a short space of time, and we applaud the Italians for being in the vanguard of the initiative. We fully support the initiative, and we have purchased our own stock of helmets for hire during the week by students on the trip. This is one of the few components of the trip that we quote as an extra charge – it can hardly be inclusive if not all students are obliged to wear them. We can also arrange for students to buy their own if they prefer.