Ice hockey players, goalkeepers and referees risk head and face injuries every time they step onto the ice. According to the CSA (Canadian Standards Association), sports of all kinds carry a risk of serious eye injury or blindness, but with proper protection, virtually all sports eye injuries are preventable. For example, in the 1974-1975 season - before minor ice hockey players were required to wear facemasks - there were 258 eye injuries, including 43 blinded eyes, whereas in the 2001-2002 season, only four eye injuries, including two blinded eyes were reported.