BSA has instituted rigorous Youth Protection protocols to protect Scouting youth. Indeed, the Guide to Safe Scouting includes a section titled “Barriers to Abuse.” See, also, this BSA statement on Youth Protection. However, a unit leader must view the term
Class V rivers – no more!
Over the years, Scouts and their leaders have experienced white water activities which have included Class V rivers. Indeed, Scouts attending Bechtel Summit Base had the opportunity to raft on a Class V river. But, no more! Note the
BSA’s “Safety Moments” – Use them!
BSA has a health and safety page on its website that should be of interest to all Scouting volunteers – “Safety Moments“. BSA’s “Safety Moments“ are single page discussions of specific aspects of the Scouting program, intended to highlight significant
Risk management vs. defending against liability – which do you choose?
In a posting on the website Sportwaiver, the point is made that exercising sensible and competent risk management procedures has many benefits, including (1) avoiding involvement in costly litigation, which could drag on for years, (2) avoiding bad publicity and
BSA “Tour Plans” terminated – now what?
As of April 1, 2017, BSA terminated its Tour Plan trip planning resource. There is no stated replacement. Since either the Tour Plan or its predecessor Tour Permit procedure have been in place since the 1960s, this is a major
“Qualified Supervision” . . . do you have the skills?
The Sweet 16 of BSA Safety (replaced in 2021 by BSA’s S.A.F.E. activity assessment criteria) defined a “qualified superviser” as follows: “Every BSA activity should be supervised by a conscientious adult who understands and knowingly accepts responsibility for the well-being
Injuries and near misses – what are their causes, and can they be avoided by following BSA policies and procedures?
Goode et al, in their 2015 publication “Looking beyond people, equipment, and environment: Is a systems theory model of accident causation required to understand injuries and near misses during outdoor activities?“, Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 1125-1131 (available on-line at www.sciencedirect.com),
How many victims are there?
In the event of an unfortunate incident, involving one or more youth or adults, it may be simplistic to believe that the only victims are those directly involved – i.e., those who are injured, or worse. But, the list of
Wilderness first aid, CPR, BSA high adventure, and the standard of care
Being able to provide reasonable medical care during an outdoor activity is one aspect of meeting the standard of care toward the participants, Scouts or adults. BSA deals with this issue by requiring minimum medical certification standards for those attending
What causes accidents in the outdoors, and how can you avoid them?
There is a consensus among outdoor program commentators that accidents in the outdoors are the result of one or more of unsafe conditions, unsafe acts, and errors in judgment. Leemon et al, “Risk Management for Outdoor Leaders“, 2005, p.16., among others.
Unauthorized activities – don’t be tempted!
BSA‘s Guide to Safe Scouting states the following with regard to BSA‘s liability insurance coverage and activities conducted on behalf of youth: “The Boy Scouts of America’s general liability policy provides coverage for a bodily injury or property damage claim
Competent trip planning = risk management
Priest and Gass, in their book Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming, 2nd ed., 2005, conclude that competent planning for an outdoor activity includes the following items: Reason for the trip (what are the purposes, goals and objectives?) Activities involved (do
Learn it young, remember it forever . . .
“Learn it young, remember it forever” . . . a promotional slogan adopted by Scouts South Africa, as discussed and depicted in this video. This slogan has real implications with regard to risk management in Scouting, reinforcing the fact
The challenge of an activity . . . and adult volunteer decision-making
During a recent outdoor activity, the author requested that one of the activity stations be modified (by reducing the height at which the activity occurred) to provide a greater margin for safety, this despite the activity being within the guidelines
The unit must have a culture of risk management to safely “sail the boat”!
Each Scout unit must establish a culture of outdoor risk management in order to enhance the odds that a successful, safe, outcome is achieved. The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council in its book “Outdoor Safety – Risk Management for Outdoor
“Barrier analysis” . . . standard of care by another name?
“Barrier analysis” is a concept which originated decades ago with government and industrial accident investigations and accident prevention efforts. While the barrier analysis concept has not routinely been associated with risk management in the outdoor recreation field, extensive discussion of
Causes of accidents in the outdoors
The causes of accidents in the outdoors are many, but have generally been characterized as being related to one or more of GEAR, PEOPLE, and ENVIRONMENT. UNSAFE ACTS, UNSAFE CONDITIONS, and ERRORS IN JUDGMENT also contribute to the occurrence of
Risk vs. the mission of Scouting
The potential for significant risk during a Scouting activity is generally not something that a parent would find comforting, if not disagreeable, particularly if such potential is significant. There are several Scouting stories on the web which suggest that one
Are you meeting your “Standard of Care” toward your Scouts?
All units should recognize that they owe a “duty of care” to their youth. But the duty of care is accompanied by a “standard of care” – i.e., those steps taken by a unit to meet its duty of care.
What is ”Qualified Supervision”?
One of BSA’s Sweet Sixteen of BSA Safety is “Qualified Supervision”. The Sweet Sixteen’s ”Qualified Supervision” and “Discipline” form the bread of BSA’s “Safety Sandwich”, with the meat of the sandwich being the activity-specific rules for each activity (Safe Swim Defense,
Safe boating reminders
During approaching spring and summer boating seasons, here are some safe boating reminders. A kayak or canoe river trip may not normally seem to be a high risk event, but what if fast moving water due to heavy rains or