Adventure Activities
Appointing an Expert

Adventure Activities

Appointing An Expert

Planning the Acitivity

Liaising with Participants

Risk Assessment

Managing the Activity

Definitions

Common Questions

Key Points

Adventure activities / 'high risk' sports can be inherently hazardous activities, requiring a competent person / expert to arrange and supervise the activity safely. Competence means having the necessary skills, knowledge and/or experience to provide the activity whilst minimising the risk of injury / ill-health to participants, as demonstrated by:

Appropriate qualifications -These may be a statutory requirement (e.g. licensing of adventure centres by the Adventure Activity Licensing Authority), or have a quasi-legal basis (e.g. awards or certificates issued by the activity's governing body) before they are qualified to instruct or supervise others. The qualification or licence may be held by the individual or by the organisation / club. Details of these requirements must be checked by productions. Example qualifications for instructors of Climbing, Mountaineering, Hill-walking and Caving are given in the table below.
Membership of governing body - Most adventure/ 'high risk' sports activities in the the UK have a governing body (typically an association) membership of which entitles the organisation or individual to public and professional liability insurance; as well as providing the means by which its' members can be kept up to date with developments. Productions should check that the expert has relevant membership. A comprehensive list of Associations and governing bodies in the UK can be found on the Sport England website.

Table 1: Example Competent Person qualifications

Activity	Qualification	Notes
Climbing / Mountaineering	Single Pitch Award*	Qualified to instruct others using ropes on rock crags & climbing walls of no more than one rope length; to supervise simple abseils.
	Mountaineering Instructor Award** (MIA)	Qualified to instruct others in mountaineering, though not in winter conditions; to arrange and supervise more complex abseils.
	Mountaineering Instructor Certificate** (MIC)	Qualified to instruct in all forms of mountaineering; to arrange and supervise complex abseils.
Hill walking	Walking Group Leader Award* (WGL)	Qualified to lead hill-walking parties in the wild uplands of the UK & Ireland, though not in mountains or on steep terrain
	Mountain Leader Award (Summer)* (ML Summer)	Qualified to lead hill-walking parties in the mountains of the UK & Ireland, though not in winter conditions or on steep terrain
	Mountain Leader Award (Winter)** (ML Winter)	As for ML Summer, except also under winter conditions
Caving	Local Cave & Mine Leader Assessment (LCMLA)	Qualified to instruct others in caving techniques in defined caves / cave systems. Level 1 award non-vertical systems only Level 2 award vertical systems with pitches up to 18m only
	Cave Instructors Certificate (CIC)	Qualified to instruct others in caving techniques in a variety of types of caves and at different technical levels.

* Awarded by the Mountain Leader Training Board for England.

** Awarded by the Association of Moutaineering Instructors.

Adventure Activities Appointing an Expert

Adventure Activities
Appointing an Expert