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HEALTH AND SAFETY
COMMISSION
ADVENTURE
ACTIVITIES INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (AAIAC)
STATEMENT ON RISK
PERCEPTION IN ADVENTURE AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
BENEFITS
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Adventure
and outdoor activities offer educational and recreational opportunities as
well as personal and social development to participants, regardless of their
background. These activities can help to foster a spirit of adventure in
which the participants can learn to work with others and cope with an
element of the unknown and so develop the ability to deal with changing
circumstances and the management of risk.
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The
public are willing to accept a certain level of risk in order to secure
these benefits, so long as they can be confident that the risk is worth
taking and that it is being properly controlled. This does not extend to the
elimination of all risks or the establishment of standards that are so high
as to reduce the potential benefits.
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The
balance between challenge and safety is therefore an important consideration
for all adventure activity providers. The best facilities, environments and
experiences are those that, through thoughtful design, management and
maintenance, offer participants the maximum developmental value while
ensuring that their safety is effectively managed.
BALANCE
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This
means that the provider of the activity needs to identify, and make informed
judgements about, the hazards to which participants and leaders are exposed.
The provider should then take steps to ensure that the risks are managed and
controlled so far as is reasonably practicable while allowing the potential
benefits to be delivered
This process needs to include:
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Ensuring that the activity is managed by
people whose competence and experience are appropriate to the task and the
hazards it presents and whose judgement can be relied upon |
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Ensuring that participants, especially young
people, are properly prepared to undertake the activity and that the
activity is appropriate to their levels of physical and mental maturity |
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Ensuring that management systems are in place
to set the boundaries of acceptability of the risk and control mechanisms
through risk assessments |
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Ensuring that the equipment to be used is fit
for purpose in terms of its initial specification and subsequent
maintenance |
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Ensuring that authoritative, relevant good
practice is followed |
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Ensuring that statutory obligations are
met |
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Activities
or conditions that involve higher levels of hazard will require more
detailed judgements to be made and higher levels of experience and
competence on behalf of the leaders to ensure that these factors are
recognised and managed
RISK
EDUCATION
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Activities
or conditions that involve higher levels of hazard will require more
detailed judgements to be made and Properly managed outdoor and adventure
activities can help participants understand and risk awareness, risk
assessment and risk management and the control measures that are necessary,
and thereby help to equip them to deal with the risks inherent in life.
Achieving this depends on the identification of the hazards and risks and
the development of the skills and experience necessary to overcome them with
appropriate levels of supervision.
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