Skate Safe! - The Gear Up! Program

The IISA Gear Up! Program strives to ensure that inline skating remains a fun & safe activity for skaters of all levels through attention to the three components of safe inline skating:

  • Proper equipment, including quality, well-maintained inline skates, helmet, wrist protection, knee & elbow pads

  • Skill development, including a program of qualified instruction

  • Using common sense by skating in a safe environment, always skating under control & remembering the IISA "Rules of the Road"

Gear Up!
The various pieces of equipment work best when used in conjunction with each other. For instance, if you are not wearing knee pads & you happen to go down, you could increase the impact on your wrists as a result of trying to protect your knees. Full protective gear allows you to control a fall so as to emerge unscathed.

Take A Lesson
Wearing the gear is only half of the equation. By taking a lesson with a qualified instructor, you will learn a hands-on approach to skating which will improve your technique, confidence & fun. For more on how to wear the gear, or to find a qualified instructor in your area, click here


Helmets, wrist guards, knee & elbow pads are all pieces of the
same puzzle.To get the the big picture, wear ALL the gear.

HELMETS
Helmets help prevent injury to all areas of the head. To be effective, the helmet must fit securely & must be buckled, with the front of the helmet coming down to just a finger's width above the eyebrows. Helmets should be approved by nationally recognized standard. Head injuries are the least common inline skating injuries, but they can be the most severe.

KNEE PADS
Knee pads should be used as the first point of impact dispersion in the event of a fall. Pads should be securely fastened around the leg so that they do not come off during a slide. By redistributing the force of a fall, knee pads also minimize the risk to elbows & wrists.

ELBOW PADS
Elbow pads give incremental protection during a sideways fall. The National Centre for Injury Prevention & Control found that failure to wear elbow pads accounted for 82% of reported elbow injuries.

WRIST PROTECTION
Wrist protection should incorporate hard plastic which allows the skater to slide on the pavement during a fall. The sliding action reduces the force of impact. The wrist is the most commonly affected body part in inline skating falls, but 87% of reported wrist injuries could have been prevented had proper protective equipment been worn.