Flying fox or a trip to the dairy - the risk to life and limb could be the same, new research on mishaps at outdoor education centres shows.
Grant Davidson, director of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, said his doctoral work, based on incident records from 1996 to 2000
provided by 12 centres, showed there were about 1000 injuries ranging from fractures, spinal damage, concussion and burns to splinters, stings and toe-stubs during activities supervised by instructors.
The research showed rope courses, traditionally regarded as a low-risk activity, kayaking, rock climbing and driving to activities, as having the highest incidence of, or potential for, serious injury.
Supervised flying foxes, artificial rock walls and caving were at the middle-to-low end.
The accident rates were lower than he had expected and the serious injury rate recorded in the study of professional outdoor education centres was equal to comparable ACC claims rates.
"It seems then that outdoor education in New Zealand is no more dangerous than living a normal life in New Zealand," he said.
"The whole thing about outdoor education, especially in New Zealand, is the fact that we take part in activities that have real adventure in them, rather than some kind of plastic adventure.
"For many kids, it's their first real taste of success," he said.
Male instructors took greater risks than female instructors, with men having a higher ratio of serious injuries than minor ones in their groups, Davidson said.
Accidents were more likely between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, which seemed to be related to a drop in blood-sugar levels, resulting in fatigue and concentration lapses.
- NZPA
