The aim of this study was to determine if wearing a wrist guard in snowsports impacted on fracture site in the wrist. Participants presenting to two Australian resort medical centres with wrist fractures for one month in peak season 2010 were invited to participate. Differences between the mean distance ratio of the fracture site in the wrist were determined between the guard wearing and non-guard wearing populations using analysis of variance. The mean distance of the wrist fracture sites in the forearm from the wrist joint was 2.8 (SD 1.8) times the radius diameter in individuals who reported using guards and in non-guard wearers was 2 (SD 1.3) times the radius diameter. No significant difference was found in the distance of fracture from the wrist joint between these two groups (F=62.8 p>0.08). (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University