AAIAC, the Adventure Activities Industry Advisory Committee, is the sector’s lead body for safety in adventure activities. It is representative of a wide range of stakeholders from the UK adventure activities sector and is supported by the Institute for Outdoor Learning.
Safety Accreditation:
Taking a coordinating role in safety accreditation of adventurous activity and managing, developing and growing Adventuremark.
Representation:
Being a single contact point for Government and other agencies in the areas of safety, risk management and good practice.
Guidance:
Being a single point of contact for all stakeholders, sharing good practice, developing standards and guidance.
AAIAC is the awarding body for Adventure Mark,
AAIAC is also appointed to provide The Learning Outside the Classroom LOtC Quality Badge Inspections for any organisaiton including one or more adventure activity in their work wtih schools. This also includes elements of the Adventure Mark, which can be achieved as a stand alone accreditaion via the direct route though AAIAC or via schemes run by govening bodies for those who only have a single activity on offer - or as part of any of the following more wide reaching accreditations: LOtC Qualty Badge, AHOEC Gold Standard, BAPA Membership.
The LOtC Quality Badge, overseen by Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, is a national award assessing both the quality of risk management and educational provision across all types of learning outside the classroom providers including adventurous activity providers.
To find out more about the whole scheme click here.
To find out how to apply as a provider of Adventurous Activities click here.
Adventuremark is a non statutory scheme for adventurous activities in the UK, supported by the AAIAC.
To find out more about Adventuremark click here.
AAIAC was restructured in 2019 to be accountable to Adventure UK, which meets annually to receive an annual report and to provide direction, guidance and support on its strategic plan.
Adventure UK is the body of representative organisations who oversee the election of AAIAC members and its work plan.
Suitable experts to join the commitee are sought from across the field as needed to ensure there appropriate skills and experience on the committee. Those selected by the Adventure UK (overseeing commitee representing the sector bodies) are expected to be avaialble for a minimum 4 year term.
Current Members:
Elspeth Mason - North England, Mere Mountains (Chair)
Steve Woods. - South England, Vertex (Secretary )
Phil Dale, - Wales (Treasurer)
Paul Kenwright - Midlands - PGL (co-ordinator of Assurnace Group)
Glen Probert - South England, Blackwell. (LOtC liason)
Peter White - Scotland, - UHI, Collective Knowledge Project
Tracey Evans - Wales
Will Close Ash - England
Leo Hoare. - England
Peter Catteral -
Coopeted
Jane Campbell Morrison - Scotland SAPOE Chair, Sailing
Jo Barnett - Midlands - IOL CEO
Observer Members:
John Cousins - MTUK
Paul Donovan - Adventure Smart
AHOEC (Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres)
BAPA (British Activity Providers Association)
BC (British Canoeing)
MT (Mountain Training)
MIAS (Mountain Biking Instructors Award Scheme)
BASI (British Association of Skiing Instructors)
Safety Management Reports from across the Sector, and from other Sectors where there is transferrable learning. The reports can be filtered by activity/topic or year of publication. Each report is dated and provides information on how this incident can inform future safety management and decision making. This section includes Adventure Activities Licensing Service reports from 1999 – 2022.
Adventure RMS are appointed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) inspectorate, we provide statutory inspection services for licensable adventure activities as defined by the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 2004.
A number of canyoning harnesses of unrelated makes and models were reported to have broken in the period between July 2017 and December 2018. In response to these failures, a UIAA Safety Commission working group carried out extensive studies on the long-term effects of canyoning harness performance in the aggressive environment of canyons.
Safe Sport International is a leading non-profit committed to ending all forms of inter-personal violence, abuse and harassment in sports environments globally. We are a network of safeguarding experts united by a desire to uphold human rights and put research and the voices of athletes at the heart of our vision: everyone, everywhere safe in sport.
MindEd is a free educational resource providing education about children and young people, adults and older people's mental health for all adults. The ‘Top Tips for Blue Light Staff’ helps those exposed to traumatic events to identify, better support each other and so to manage early distress and stress in its various forms. There is advice relevant for both Outdoor Learning Practitioners and Managers, and others who maybe affected by an incident.
Viristar, based in the United States, is a consulting and training company that provides risk management services to outdoor, environmental and other organizations world-wide. Here the CEO Jeff Baierlein gives an international perspective as he discusses the Collective Knowledge – Keeping People Safe in the Outdoors initiative.
Further Information
Any boat can capsize! That capsize can happen quickly before anyone has time to react. If using restraints, we therefore MUST consider how to manage the risks of a disabled participant capsizing while being strapped into their seat
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Although rare, accidents do happen. On the principle that prevention is better than cure, the following points are intended to assist leaders in avoiding accidents in the first place.
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When a serious incident has taken place during an activity or visit, whether in the UK or overseas, it is good practice for the employer to carry out an investigation.
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After a serious incident, which could include a fatality, injury, a near miss, or may have involved media or police involvement or following a complaint, there are basically six potential aims of an enquiry, says the OEAP NG document.
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Surviving a Career in Adventure Activities
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The UK Ropes Course and Off-Ground Adventure Activities Guide
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Adventure travel has grown rapidly in recent decades. Which has led to an increase in demand for professional adventure travel guides. Adventure travel guides are central to the delivery of professional, responsible and memorable adventure travel experiences. They manage safety and risk and ensure the overall quality of the participant experience. See this Code of Conduct to learn more.
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