Adventure programming: keeping it safe.

Not long ago most camp programs were similar in nature. There were campfires, swimming lessons, craft sessions, campcraft skills, and a hodge-podge of other camp-wide or cabin group opportunities. Equipment needs were fairly basic, and it was easy for camp directors to know who to hire for what job.

Today's camps function in a complex open market, competing with a myriad of other camps and recreation programs and services. Camps have attempted to make a significant contribution to the needs and demands of society by creating new and more demanding programs and services. In many cases, adventure programming has provided a focus for new program development.

Adventure recreation

Adventure recreation includes outdoor pursuits characterized by a particular level of challenge and risk. Images of climbing Mount Everest or paddling the Nahani may come to mind. However, challenge and risk is context specific and a matter of personal experience. What is perceived as challenging and risky by one person, may not be so for another. Adventure may differ across physical, social, and psychological domains, or it may differ in one physical setting as compared to another. Therefore, canoeing on a calm lake may not be adventuresome for an experienced paddler, while planning a weekend camping trip may be an adventure for someone who has never lived outside a major city.

Miles and Priest (1990) suggest that adventure programs are those programs that allow a participant to venture into the unknown, to undertake an activity that has an uncertain outcome for the adventurer and may be risky or dangerous. Hanna (1991) characterizes adventure education as emphasizing engagement in outdoor activities and utilizing progressive challenge situations and uncertainty of outcome to enhance an individual's intrapersonal (self-knowledge) and interpersonal (social) skills.

The basic assumption in adventure programming is that change, such as better self concept or confidence, may take place in groups and in individuals as a result of direct exposure to the elements of adventure. This means that elements such as risk, danger, and challenge, appropriately facilitated, comprise a deliberate educative process to bring about awareness and personal growth. Adventure recreation is essentially adventure education that takes place in a recreation context such as a camp. Both seek personal growth, both utilize higher risk out-door pursuits as the vehicle, and both require competent leadership to attend to the emotional, physical, and social safety of the participant.

Thus, there appears to be two types of adventure programs and services a camp may wish to offer. One distinguishes a set of outdoor pursuits characterized by challenge and risk and motivated by recreation objectives. The other is a set of similarly characterized activities motivated by educational objectives. From a programmatic perspective, one person may be instructed in the technical skills necessary to rock climb in order to pursue the activity at their leisure or in other aspects of the camp program, and another person may be similarly instructed as part of a program that aims to address a personal issue like substance abuse. Both types of program require unique leadership competency and appropriate program sequence to ensure safe, effective, and environmentally sound participation.

Liability

Few camps are not aware of liability issues involved with adventure programming. Most often, the camp director or owner owes a duty to the camper to provide a safe experience. When a parent registers a child for camp there is automatically a legal duty owed because an agreement for services has been made.

Most recreation-related court cases are classified as tort actions. A tort, intentional or unintentional, is a breach of duty owed to another person. Examples of intentional torts are assault, battery, slander, and invasion of privacy. Most torts are unintentional, for example, failure to provide adequate supervision, failure to adequately conduct an activity, or failure to protect the participant from dangerous environmental conditions.

The best defense against negligence (unintentional breach) is to:

* make sure the participant is aware of and agrees to specific standards of behavior

* choose a staff person well-equipped to lead in a particular adventure activity, and

* make it the business of the director or owner to actually supervise employees.

Through a common concern for risk management and participant safety, a variety of general support organizations, such as the American or Canadian Camping Associations and the Association of Experiential Education, and activity specific organizations, such as Project Adventure and The American or Canadian Canoe Associations, provide guidelines and standards for safe programming. Resources such as these can help camps answer important questions about adventure program delivery such as:

* Where can I get accurate information about current safety procedures?

* What constitutes competent leadership for adventure programs?

* How can I determine what equipment I need to deliver a safe adventure program and how do I maintain that equipment?

* Is my setting appropriate for the adventure program I intend to implement?

Staffing adventure programs

* Determine appropriate training requirements for the job.

Staff selected to instruct and/or lead adventure programs must be right for the job. The adventure program leader legally acknowledges a duty of care by accepting responsibility for teaching skills and leading programs. It is important for the camp to clearly define the terms of agreement for any staff position to ensure the program leader understands his or her responsibilities and constraints.

* Identify acceptable training organizations.

There are many accredited and credible organizations able to provide guidance to camps seeking to hire adventure program staff.

* Develop hiring procedures.

Hiring becomes a process of determining what is needed and matching those needs to a potential employee's training and experience.

* Provide supplemental training.

Whatever training the adventure program leader has, it is important that it be current and appropriate, that the camp supplement it if necessary, and that it is negotiated at the time of hiring.

Conducting safe activities

* Utilize accepted peer practice.

An adventure program leader must teach an activity or skill according to accepted peer practice. Safety Practices in Adventure Programming, available through the Association of Experiential Education, is a fundamental resource for camps to determine what is accepted practice for a variety of adventure activities. This document, together with a knowledge of activity-specific instructional techniques and other safety standards for the field, should be used to judge the conduct of all aspects of an adventure program.

* Communicate and enforce safety standards.

There are some fundamental guidelines for conducting adventure activities that are important to recognize. First, there should be a deliberate effort to ensure campers are aware of and understand safety procedures and inherent risks associated with an activity. Second, safety regulations and appropriate behavior should be clearly communicated and the participant should be asked to state, or in some other way acknowledge, agreement. Sometimes this means a simple review and nod of the head. Other times it means participants (or parents) acknowledge safety regulations by signing an informed consent or waiver. Third, the leader must enforce these standards in a consistent manner throughout the adventure program.

* Include safety in the instructional/leadership plan.

Throughout a skill lesson, a problem solving activity, or a trip planning session, the leader must teach safety. The instructional plan must be deliberate, and evidence that it was implemented is fundamental to any defense against negligence. Leaders should have sufficient training and experience to foresee a potential accident or hazard, and provide adequate warning to the camper about what to do, or not do, in a hazardous situation.

* Respond to individual and group diversity.

The adventure program leader needs to consider campers' previous knowledge and experience, any relevant medical information, and particular physical, emotional, or social abilities.

In many camp programs instruction is standardized and sometimes neglects individual needs and conditions. Checklists, skill progression report cards, and a myriad of other devices are often used to ensure consistency and conformity. This approach to skill development can be dangerous in adventure programs. The leader must be flexible and adapt to the individual needs and conditions within the group.

Supervising safe adventure programs

* Determine appropriate levels of supervision.

There are two levels of supervision to ensure a safe and effective adventure. General supervision is when the program leader works with or supervises an entire group. For example, when a canoe instructor supervises a group of campers practicing something they have just learned, or a counselor supervises a cabin group during rest hour or meal time, it is general supervision. Supervision becomes specific when the leader's attention is turned to a particular individual.

* Develop instructional plans that include supervisory requirements.

Identifying appropriate levels of supervision and the ability to make a transition from general to specific supervision is critical in the adventure program, particularly when the failure to provide appropriate supervision could cause an accident. Decisions about the level of supervision need to take place at both the program planning and implementation phases.

* Implement staff supervision procedures.

The camp must also provide appropriate supervision to staff. Hiring qualified staff and providing pre-camp training is just the beginning. Each camp is unique and will have a specific set of adventure program safety issues. These must be identified and interpreted to ensure staff are informed and able to carry out responsibilities.

Adventure facilities and equipment

Some adventure programs take place at camp, others at appropriate sites outside camp, on out-trip routes, on government or private land, at satellite camp-owned locations, or some combination of these. The requirements of the adventure activity, facility or site, and equipment cannot be considered separately, especially with regards to safety:

* Adhere to industry standards and manufacturer specifications.

* Inspect facilities and equipment prior to program use.

* Develop a maintenance, repair, and replacement plan.

* Include care and use of facilities and equipment in the instructional plan.

* Store and transport equipment wisely.

Administering adventure programs

* Keep accurate and complete records.

Camps should adopt suitable procedures for supplying accurate and appropriate information to staff and evaluate information on an ongoing basis. Procedures for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information about accidents or near misses, equipment malfunctions, vandalism, and camper assessments should be implemented. Accurate records can be a strong defense against a litigation.

* Post information about potentially hazardous sites and activities.

It may be appropriate, outside the normal instructional sequence, to inform campers and the general public about potential hazards associated with aspects of the adventure program. For example, no trespassing signs should be clearly posted on ropes courses and climbing walls.

* Develop and practice inclusive adventure program emergency procedures.

Support staff, such as wellness staff and senior staff, should be familiar with and practice relevant wilderness first aid and emergency procedures. While most camps define and practice waterfront emergency procedures, few do so for other types of programs. Develop a specialized emergency plan for the adventure program and communicate it to everyone.

* Carry adequate insurance coverage.

Adequate insurance coverage is essential. Consider a group or personal liability policy for staff or a special rider on current coverage.

* Implement a risk management plan and establish a safety committee.

Finally, develop and implement a risk management plan that encompasses the unique and special requirements of an adventure program. If the camp has a risk management plan, review it for adventure inclusion. Establish a safety committee to review the program and related safety issues and to recommend safety policy.

References

Brox, A. (1986, Dec.). Liability insurance, putting the lid on premiums. Club Industry, 33-44.

Frakt, A. (1978, April). Adventure programming and legal liability. Leisure Today, 25-77.

Hanna, G. (1991). Outdoor Pursuits Programming: legal liability and risk management. Edmonton, Alta.: University of Alberta Press.

Meier, J. (1985, April). Injury countermeasures in outdoor adventure programs. Parks and Recreation, 70-74.

Miles, J. C. & Priest, S.(1990). Adventure Education. State College: Venture Publishing, inc.

Priest, S. & Dixon, T. (1990). Safety Practices in Adventure Programming. Boulder, CO: Association for Experiential Education.

Rankin, J. S. (1978, April). The legal system as a proponent of adventure programming. Leisure Today, 28-29.

Robertson, B. J. & Robertson, B. W. (1988). Sport and Recreation Liability and You! North Vancouver, B.C.: Self-Counsel Press Ltd.

Ronke, K. (1989). Cowtails and Cobras II. Hamilton, MA: Project Adventure.

Webster, S. E. (1989). Ropes Coarse Safety Manual. Hamilton, MA: Project Adventure.

Williamson, J. E. (1993). A Manual of Accreditation Standards for Adventure Programs. Boulder, CO: Association for Experiential Education.

Roger J. Spacht, Ph.D. is the director of outdoor recreation programs in the College of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Delaware.

Jude Hirsch, Ph.D. is the coordinator of outdoor and environmental education in the School of Recreation and Physical Education at Acadia University.