Richard Kinar of West Vancouver is the 2009 recipient of the Dr. Tom Pashby Award given to a Canadian who has contributed significantly to the prevention of catastrophic injuries in sport and recreations.
Mr. Kinar, a former Canadian Freestyle Champion and professional skier, has spent the past decade as an Outdoor Safety Advocate. He has developed educational elementary school safety programs and has lobbied all levels of politicians for support in making helmets for alpine sports mandatory. He is on the Canadian Standards Association committee that recently set standards for a CSA approved ski-helmet.
He was the driving force behind the movie 'Wipeout' featuring three brain-injured athletes and how they cope with life today which is part of the grade nine school curriculum in West Vancouver .
He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of Canada and is chair of its Helmet Safety Committee.
Highlights of his career:
The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association Award of
Excellence for Innovation for the Mountain Risk and Safety Program.
Wipeout' a movie that is now part of the West Vancouver curriculum for grade nine students.
The development of a CSA Standard for Skiing, and Recreational Alpine Sport Helmets
The five previous award winners are: Pat Bishop, professor emeritus in Kinesiology at University of Waterloo; neurosurgeon Dr. Karen Johnston; Dr. Mark Aubry, chief medical officer of the International Ice Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada; and Kevin Stubbington, a grass roots hockey volunteer who developed the STOP sign (Safety Toward Other Players) that is seen on the backs of many hockey jerseys across Canada, Randy Starkman, Sport Writer.
Bob McKenzie: His personal experiences with concussions in sports
Bob McKenzie (known as the TSN Hockey Insider) comments on concussions, return to play, and what should be considered at all levels of sport.
"My personal expereinces with head trauma have re-enforce just how serious this issue is and how it can affect people and family on so many levels.
"It has hightened my awareness of just how common these stories are. I can't tell you how many minor hockey games I've been at where I've seen players concussed on one shift and back out on the next shift.
"the players themselves, the coaches, the parents, are willfully ignorant, thinking that if they don't acknowledge the conccusion problem, there is no problem."
"...there are still many that still do not understand concussions, how to identify, and how to treat them..."
Monday, June 7 2010: Deer Creek Golf and Banquet, Ajax 
Updated:
November 12, 2009
Richard Kinar of West Vancouver is the 2009 recipient of the Dr. Tom Pashby Award given to a Canadian who has contributed significantly to the prevention of catastrophic injuries in sport and recreations.