Sports Safety

Protective Sports Eyewear are eyeglass frames or goggle specifically designed and manufacture red to meet or exceed the appropriate US impact protection standards. All protective sports eyewear must also have polycarbonate lenses designed to withstand impact.

Two important US standards are:

AST M F803
The American society for testing and Materials published protective eyewear standards for various sports. F803 is the most strict standard for protective eyewear.

ANSI 787.1
The American National Standards Institute published standards for protective eyewear for occupational safety.

School-Aged Competitors

The impact of a ball or other equipment as well as an opponent's hands and elbows pose a threat to an athlete's visual safety. According to a 2001 report by Prevent Blindness of America, there are over 38,000 sports-related eye injuries requiring costly emergency room care.

This number could potentially skyrocket when you consider the treatment of eye injuries in a private practitioner's office. As sports participation statistics continue to climb, and newly identified "extreme" sports gain in popularity, the number of athletes who fall victim to eye injuries has the potential to grow at alarming rates.

School-aged competitors are particularly prone to eye injuries since their athletic skills (hand-eye coordination, balance, reaction time and speed) are still being developed. However, regardless of an individual's age or skill level, every athlete's eyes are targets for injury. Under most circumstances, at least 90% of sports-related eye injuries are preventable with the proper use of protective sports eyewear.