There are two types of climbing facilities; those that have had an accident and those that will have an accident. After an accident managers often make changes to reduce the risk of another accident, either by updating their policies, reconfiguring equipment, improving staff training or modifying how they instruct members. These changes are valuable improvements to the climbing industry as a whole, but unfortunately there has not been an effective way to share these best practices. Until now.
Climbing Business Journal has just released the first ever Accident Report Form for indoor climbing facilities. The primary purpose of the Accident Report Form is to learn how an accident occurred and what changes could be made to prevent it from happening again. These lessons can then be shared with the indoor climbing community so that all facilities can learn how to prevent a similar incident.
The information from these forms may be shared on the Climbing Business Journal website and through the Climbing Business Journal’s Annual Report of Accidents. The goal of these reports is to help indoor climbing facilities improve the safety and of their facilities and reduce their risk and liability.
This accident form was inspired by the American Alpine Club’s annual Accidents in North American Mountaineering report. For years the AAC has been gathering and compiling mountaineering injuries and sharing the lessons learned with the mountaineering community. Their goal is “to help you learn from the mistakes of others so you can come home safely and climb tomorrow.” ��We think this is great resource and aim to replicate this tool for the indoor climbing community.
CBJ’s indoor climbing facility Accident Report Form is intended for reporting accidents at an indoor climbing facility that required emergency medical attention: injuries that resulted in an ambulance taking the injured parties to a hospital or the injured parties taking themselves to a medical facility immediately following the accident. The form is not for minor injuries that did not require medical treatment, such as a sprained ankle or skinned knee, or for chronic pain associated with the sport.
We understand that dealing with an accident can be a trying time. That is why we designed the form to be a simple one-page report of just the facts. The names of the people involved in the accident will not be collected, and disclosing the name of the gym is optional. What we care about is helping to find, and share, best practices that will improve the safety and viability of indoor climbing facilities.
Whether you run a large commercial climbing gym, a university wall or recreation center wall this form is for you. When you fill out the form your information will be compiled into a database that will be used to create a one-of-a-kind annual report for the indoor climbing industry. This annual report will give a snap-shot of the safety record of our industry and help all climbing facilities become safer facilities.
Climbing Business Journal is an independent news outlet dedicated to covering the indoor climbing industry. Here you will find the latest coverage of climbing industry news, gym developments, industry best practices, risk management, climbing competitions, youth coaching and routesetting. Have an article idea? CBJ loves to hear from readers like you!
