“Parents and young participants should be aware that outdoor activities potentially pose a danger of personal injury or death. Parents, and participants taking part in these and other similar activities, should be aware of, and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement. The above, though, must be seen in context, major accidents whilst engaged in an adventurous activity are relatively few and far between. All precautions have been taken to minimise risks.”
Adventurous activities are physically and mentally demanding as well as incredibly fulfilling. They can also lead to lifelong participation. This helps individuals keep fit throughout their lives and provides opportunities for long-term friendships to develop. People of all ages and abilities, from all backgrounds, cultures, races, orientations and religions can enjoy these activities. Disabilities should not be seen as barriers to participation. Additionally, those keen to learn often acquire a host of new life skills and quickly develop a sense of personal responsibility that can stand them in good stead throughout their lives. These benefits need to be balanced against the risks involved.
Adventure activities, especially amongst the young, can help to reduce the risk of illness or death from the big five killers, namely heart attacks, cancers, smoking, obesity-and-unfitness, and alcohol.
In the case of obesity-and-unfitness - which claims 30,000 lives a year in the UK - prevention and treatment are both linked to physical exercise. It is when obesity is coupled with chronic unfitness that it becomes so devastating. People are now dying in their mid-twenties as a result of this condition, and our current school leavers are presently most at risk. A generation has been sacrificed to fast food and the computer game. One in two obese children will become obese adults and we desperately need to help our young people to develop a fit and active life style.
If the social life of young people is centred on alcohol it should not be surprising if many of them die from the conditions caused by alcohol and smoking. These lives could be saved if we encouraged, or allowed, our young people to develop other interests with fitter and healthier outlooks.
It is well recognised that adventure activities improve self-confidence and self-esteem. Conversely, of approximately 1,000 suicides in people aged 15 – 25 years the main contributory factor (claim The Samaritans) was leaving school with a poor sense of self-worth. It is argued that an involvement in adventure activities could save a significant number of these lives.
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There is no getting away from the fact that adventurous activities involve a level of risk. Many people welcome this, feeling it adds a vital element to their lives.
Highland Council’s Youth Participation Statement is very clear and needs to be read carefully. It states:
“Parents and young participants should be aware that outdoor activities potentially pose a danger of personal injury or death. Parents, and participants taking part in these and other similar activities, should be aware of, and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement. The above, though, must be seen in context, major accidents whilst engaged in an adventurous activity are relatively few and far between. All precautions have been taken to minimise risks.”
All providers and excursion leaders will have assessed the hazards associated with participation and have put control measures into place to reduce the risk of injury to themselves, participants, leaders and 3rd parties.
There are probably three million school children who are involved in adventure activities throughout the UK each year, 7-10 million days of school visits and just one child a year dies taking part in an adventurous activity and on average three children a year die on a school visit whilst not involved in an adventurous activity.
For our 13million young people road traffic accidents represent the single biggest cause of accidental death.
By comparison, according to the Office of National Statistics, the leading causes of death amongst children from 28 days to 15 years are:
Injury and Poisoning 590
Congenital anomalies 460
Cancers, at least 430
Undiagnosed heart disease 400
Cot death and similar ill-defined conditions 375
Disease of the nervous system 315
Infections and parasitic diseases 265
All other conditions, up to 750
Set against these figures, The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme for example, has an accident rate of one serious accident (e.g. broken leg) per 1.5million overnight stays.
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It is clear that potentially by avoiding certain activities on the grounds that they are perceived as ‘dangerous’ we are inadvertently exposing our young people to much greater risks elsewhere, albeit ones which get less attention from the media.
In reality, tolerating a low level of risk whilst taking part in adventurous activities (in terms of lives lost) could be considered acceptable given that the safety benefits (in terms of lives saved elsewhere) are overwhelming.
Most fatal accidents to children result from them not having learned - or not being allowed to learn - how to look after themselves. Many of the road traffic deaths are a case in point. At outdoor centres and elsewhere it is observable that young people are clumsier and less aware of danger than young people were even 15 years ago. An involvement in adventure activities throughout childhood and adolescence would significantly increase their ability to look after themselves, particularly in unfamiliar circumstances, and thus reduce the number of fatal accidents.
The quality of life for the vast majority of participants in adventure activities is observably better as a result of that participation. We need to set that 'gain' against the loss of life quality for the few who are injured or disabled.
We must encourage young people to participate in active pursuits such as adventure activities which statistically cause them very little harm but which are likely to prolong their lives and radically enhance their expected quality of life.