Hockey is still Canada's game. Every year, hundreds of thousands of us, young and old, continue a centuries-old tradition of putting on skates, grabbing a stick and a puck, and heading for the nearest rink, pond or arena. Canada's game is a fast game. It can also be a risky game — players skating, pucks flying, sticks up and boards and ice as solid as ever.

Canadian engineers have done a great deal to make our game as safe as possible, developing protective gear that improves with each generation. The team of engineers and other specialists at CCM, the largest hockey equipment manufacturer in the world, have done intensive studies concerning head protection and hockey helmets throughout their 100-year history. They have learned and applied their knowledge of:

• the critical impact areas of the skull;
• the frequency of the areas where the most injuries occur;
• how helmets can offer maximum protection while not obstructing vision or hearing; and
• how they can be designed so they don't feel like portable steam baths.

These studies, and leading-edge engineering, make CCM hockey helmets among the best in the world. For the 1999-2000 season, CCM engineers designed the new HT500 hockey helmet. It is one of the most advanced helmets in the world, and features an impact management system composed of a dual-density foam liner designed to absorb both high and low energy impacts. Here's how engineers played a key role in the development of this next generation of hockey helmets.

Mechanical engineers design helmets for maximum protection against head injuries. They put their designs through rigorous testing that imitates what the helmet might undergo during a hockey player's collision with the boards, the ice or other types of impacts. These tests help engineers determine the kinds of shocks and stresses the helmet will endure. They can then design them to withstand, absorb and transfer all that energy so the hockey player inside is protected.

Engineers designed the following advances into the HT500:

• A shell that can withstand one ton of pressure applied to 2.5 sq. cm of surface area
• An expanded polypropylene liner that protects the most vulnerable areas of the head (the temple, the forehead and the back of the head) while at the same time dissipating the shock throughout the helmet rather than taking the full strength in a concentrated area
• Comfort plugs designed to protect against the more frequent low-energy impacts in the game
• The latch system on the helmet that secures at the back of the head to limit forward and backward helmet rotation during collisions

Chemical engineers develop a variety of new materials to make helmet components strong, safe, comfortable and compliant with safety standards. The materials they develop include the following:

• Tough yet flexible plastic of the outer shell that can withstand severe impact even at low temperatures
• Polypropylene liners that are not only comfortable and cool, but also able to absorb and distribute shock
• Nylon straps that hold the helmet securely in place without irritating the skin

And, of course, chemical engineers ensure these new materials can do their work over time, with the harsh conditions imposed by Canadian winters outdoors and hockey equipment bags indoors.

Biomechanical engineers work with medical experts to study how the body moves during hockey, to examine how the head responds to impact, and to determine how a helmet might reduce the seriousness of the injury. Their challenge is to understand how the human body moves during one of the fastest and most demanding sports on the planet and to design protective gear that takes all of these movements and stresses into account.

Throughout the entire process of designing and building a helmet, industrial engineers find the most efficient and safe use of machinery, the people who work on that machinery, and the raw materials used in making the helmets.

Want to know more about hockey helmet technology? Visit the CCM website at www.ccmsports.com