Ropes Course Manual 2018
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Ropes Course Procedural Manual Camp Ho Mita Koda Ropes Course Manual 2018 Ropes Course Procedural Manual Ropes Course Procedural Manual Ropes Course Procedural Manual Table of Contents General Safety Spotting Lifting Climbing Gear • Rope • Webbing • Manufactured Seat Harnesses • Carabiners • Helmets Care of Climbing Gear • Polyester/Nylon Climbing Materials • Carabiners • Ropes Terminology of Climbing Belaying Systems Emergency • General Considerations • Conscious Participant Recovery • Unconscious Participant Rescue What If Knots • About the Use of Knots • Terminology Used in Knot Tying • Glossary of Rope & Knot Terms • Names of Knots (used in construction or activities) Staff Preparation Check List High Course Operations • Check List Low Course Operations • Check List Opening and Closure Processing Ropes Course Educational Models • The Team Concept • Staff Role - The Quiet Authority • The Action Reflection Model Listening for Feeling Decision Making No Discount Contract Useful Beliefs About People on the Ropes Course The Art & Science of Processing Experience FOOTNOTES Ropes Course Procedural Manual General Safety Guidelines PD.4.1 5 Ropes Course Procedural Manual General Safety Guidelines PD.4.1 General Safety In the Beginning… Set the Stage for Safety It is important to set the stage for safety from the very first interaction with participants. You will have begun this by contracting with the group to agree to all Goals and Standards at the preparation meeting and then at the beginning of each day on the course. Staff who start out with a clear contract will prepare the way for a smooth and safe day. This cannot be emphasized enough! Take your time in going over these rules, and make sure that they are understood. Deal Promptly with Violations Stop the action if necessary, and deal with violations with the entire group if appropriate, so that peer reaction and feedback work for you. Deal in a straight manner, pointing to the breach of trust, but not placing guilt on particular individuals. You are the authority who enforces course standards, so remind people of their contracted goals if problems develop. You can call an end to the day at any time. You are the boss! Spotting and Safe Problem Solving Require Critical Focus Keeping your senses focused sharply on the action and its surrounding environment will attune you to potential and actual dangers. Your job is to anticipate potential accidents and to halt the action before they occur. Make your reasons for halting the action clear, and then demonstrate the proper way to perform the activity. Proceed only when they understand, and have shown renewed commitment. Use a Methodical Approach Wait to put people on the high beams, until they’ve completed several activities on the low beams. Spotting and trusting must be mastered first. Be aware of how some of the simpler exercises lead towards others. You Are Responsible for Taking Care of Any Accident that Occurs. Therefore, halt the action at anytime to correct dangerous practices. Remember, you are also liable if an accident does occur. The majority of accidents occur on low elements or games due to poor spotting, or from tripping over roots or holes, while walking from one event to another. Be sure that trails and walking areas on course are well groomed. All Staff Should Be Trained in Standard First Aid and CPR. Have a complete first aid kit available on the course at all times of operation. If an injury should occur, stop the activity immediately. Keep the victim calm and still. Have staff members keep the other participants at a distance unless they are needed. Evacuate, if necessary. (See “EMERGENCY PROCEDURES"). 6 Ropes Course Procedural Manual General Safety Guidelines PD.4.1 Emotional breakdowns are not uncommon. Staff should be ready to offer a hand or shoulder to lean on, when appropriate. Comfort and positive words are keys here. Let the group help you to give support before continuing. Double Check all games and Elements Before Use You are responsible for testing the safety and fitness of all activities before they are used by participants. You are considered legally negligent if you don't check permanent game structures regularly. Instruct with a Relaxed, Competitive Attitude You should also demonstrate all games, where feasible, to participants. Demonstrate techniques, positions of rest, and precarious positions that spotters should be aware of. Underline the importance of clear verbal commands, and of requesting assistance from your spotters. If there is any doubt about knots, have participants retie them. 7 Ropes Course Procedural Manual General Safety Guidelines Spotting & Lifting Spotting What Does Spotting Mean? Spotting means actively safeguarding the movements of another participant. Spotting usually involves several participants or "spotters" protecting a a climber," who may be one to five feet off the ground. The primary duty of a spotter is to support and protect the head and upper body area should a fall occur. Rules of Spotting Two basic rules of correct spotting are: 1. Attention: The spotter watches the climber constantly. 2. Anticipation: The spotters' hands extend toward, often almost touch, the climber, anticipating a fall. Beyond these, spotting varies considerably according to the event, and positions of the climber. Spotters must be instructed to anticipate the next movement of the climber at all times. Generally, the spotter should be very close to the climber. When Attention and Anticipation are kept in mind, most situations will be easily handled. It is important that the climber trust his/her spotters. It's also important for spotters to be confident and comfortable with their skills. Spotting techniques must be taught and practiced at the beginning of Day One, after warm-ups, and reviewed after warm-ups on Day Two. This practice will insure confidence and trust on both sides, as each participant takes their turns at climbing and spotting. Spotting Enhances Team Building Appreciate the fact that good spotting is one of the most useful team-building aspects of course use. Each participant in turn assumes responsibility for the well-being of another during the event. This develops a good measure of trust between group members. Individual confidence is also heightened in this supportive atmosphere. Spotting is an essential aspect of any ropes course. It is as useful, safe, and productive as you, the facilitator, take the time to make it Number and Placement of Spotters As a facilitator, you must know the optimum number and placement of spotters for each event. You may encourage your group to figure this out for themselves, while assisting with your observations and hints. It is however, your responsibility to finally maneuver the group into this optimum placement, prior to the climber's ascent; and to see to it that the group maintains placement, and adapts properly during the event. Know the best spotting technique to be used for each event, and for the various positions required. Understand why these techniques and positions are better than others, and insist that your 8 Ropes Course Procedural Manual General Safety Guidelines Spotting & Lifting group use them. Never settle for poor spotting Most events are best safeguarded with four spotters. This means five or six members are actively involved at any given time, out of a group of perhaps twelve. As a facilitator, you should encourage the spotting crew" to change around, perhaps with each new climber. Otherwise you can expect the non- spotters to soon feel uninvolved, and/or the spotters to feel tired and over-used, and the quality of their efforts to diminish. Don't let your "first to volunteer" spotters burn out their energies while following half a dozen climbers. Often, twenty minutes of good spotting will leave the upraised arms drained of blood, shoulders aching, and nerves a little frayed. Remember this: get the group to devise its own "rotation system." Keep everyone involved. The challenge to you as a facilitator is to ascertain optimum spotting by "fresh troops" at all times, without becoming a "drill sergeant". Allow the group opportunities to grow together, through exploring experiences, feelings and ideas. Facilitator's Responsibility As a facilitator, it is generally best that you devote your attention to making certain that your clients spot well, rather than becoming a spotter yourself. You will better facilitate a safe event by observing and supporting the group, and thus devoting full attention to the climber, than by spotting yourself. Exceptions to this are during times of demonstration. Ropes Course Procedural Manual General Safety Procedures and Equipment 9 Lifting After teaching spotting, have the group use their newly-acquired spotting skills to create a "safety-net" for the lifting instruction. Lifting is the acceptable means of assisting a climber in gaining two or three feet of additional height to perform an event (such as the Wall). It employs a "climber," a "lifter," and three spotters. The lifter stands erect, back straight, with knees locked straight, fingers interlocked, palms up, and arms straight. The climber now steps up into the lifter's clasped hands, grasping his shoulders firmly. Now the climber moves onto the event. Meanwhile, two spotters stand behind the climber as he moves, with arms outstretched to his shoulder blades. A third spotter is back-to-back with the lifter, steadying him— unless, of course, the lifter is backed against a tree, the Wall, or other fixture. It is very important that lifting be done with the skeletal system, rather than the muscles, or a sprain may result. Of primary importance is the back—it must be straight. A bent- over lifter tends to raise the climber with his back muscles (a mistake that can result in back injury). The erect lifter should not move during the lift. 9 Ropes Course Procedural Manual General Safety Guidelines Spotting & Lifting Remember that the greater risk in lifting, is to the lifter.