As debate continues over whether helmets should be mandatory for tobogganers, emergency officials in the Toronto area responded to more than a half dozen sledding injuries over the weekend.

While most victims were under the age of 10, one 23-year-old woman was seriously injured while tobogganing late Sunday night in Toronto.

The unidentified woman was taken to hospital in serious condition after she slammed into a concrete barrier at the bottom of Winston Churchill Park, at St. Clair Avenue and Spadina Road, at about 11 p.m. She sustained head injuries.

Another sledder was seriously injured in a toboggan accident over the weekend, while a number of young children were hurt on area hills.

The injuries underline a debate over a helmet law for tobogganers.

Seven people have been killed in Canada in sledding accidents since 2003, while thousands of injuries are reported each year.

Tobogganing caused 502 head injuries in Ontario between 2004 and 2005, according to the Ontario Injury Prevention Resource Centre.

Between 2004 and 2005, there were 1,731 visits to Ontario emergency rooms for tobogganing injuries, and 108 of those visits resulted in hospitalizations.

Medical experts believe many children have suffered serious head injuries from falls and crashes while enjoying the winter pastime. They say sled safety should be considered more seriously.

"It's bringing parents up to appreciate that putting your child on a toboggan is like putting your child on a small motorbike," said Dr. Andrew Howard, of the Hospital for Sick Children.

"Your child can be doing 35 km/h down an icy slope with very little in the way of control."

Howard said the two common types of head injury occurs when sledders crash into objects such as trees, poles and other tobogganers, while others slam their heads on the ground while landing after getting airborne.

"There's no doubt about it that helmets prevent injury," said Susan Bagley, a Toronto EMS worker. "Whether or not you can prevent all injury, they certainly reduce the seriousness of a lot of injuries."

Two councillors in Vaughan, north of Toronto, are considering a helmet law.

Some parents and officials, however, feel any such law would be difficult to enforce.

With a report from CTV's Austin Delaney