2018 Change Memo Safety Activity Checkpoints (SAC) Important Changes to 2018 Edition

Transcription

1 2018 Change Memo Safety Activity Checkpoints (SAC) Important Changes to 2018 Edition The 2018 edition has been reformatted, edited and expanded to better serve councils and troops. Please thoroughly review the 2018 SAC to familiarize yourself with the new format and all content. This memo captures the significant changes and briefly describes the following enhancements: - Format - Activity Categories - Activities-at- a-glance Chart - Miscellaneous Activities - Introduction (Chapter 1) - Understanding What Activities Are Not Permitted (Chapter 1) - Understanding Higher Risk Activities (Chapter 1) - New Activities (Added) - Existing Activities - Changes to specific activity or activity category Format The SAC has been completely re-formatted to provide quick and easy reference to key pieces of information based on council feedback and suggestions on what they would find the most helpful. Activity pages are displayed with three sections: 1- About; 2- Inclusion; 3-Safety Activity Checkpoints. Inclusion is a reminder to include girls with disabilities; and the Safety Activity Checkpoints also include safety gear, the gear required to actually perform the activity and recommended additional gear to make the trip more enjoyable. Each individual Activity page now includes a heading to clearly highlight: - Grade level participation - Activity Permitted For - Prior council approval requirements Council Approval Council Approval will indicate Required when troops must get prior council approval due to risk factors concerning the actual sport (higher risk activities) or if local accommodations, facilities, or terrain play a role in activity risk. For example: target sports, swimming, skiing and all overnight trips will require council prior approval.

2 Council Approval will indicate May Be Required when council preferences regarding prior notice often vary, or the activity itself can vary greatly in terms of intensity or risk. For example, bicycling, backpacking and amusement park rides may require council prior approval. Please follow your council s individual guidelines, policies, protocols with respect to these activities. Councils Approval will indicate Not Required when the activity has traditionally and historically been accepted and successfully performed without incident and the risk is considered very low or predictable. For example, STEM projects, computer on-line use, crafting or the arts. Activity Categories Certain Activities that are similar to each other have been categorized such as - Climbing & Rappelling - Paddling & Rowing - Target Sports For these categorized activities, there is a Master Progression chart as an overall guide to grade level and age minimums for participation; additional safety tips and guidelines and instructor to participant ratios when these differ from general adult to girl ratios. Activities-at-a-Glance This is quick reference chart for ALL activities to show categories, provide grade level requirements, indicate council approval requirements, and clarify instructor credentialing. It s intended to be an abbreviated summary to help navigate the SAC. Miscellaneous Activities The Miscellaneous Activities chart provides additional approved activities that are popular but have far less complicated safety checkpoints to follow, or not enough for an entire activity page. The chart provides: grade level participation, needed gear or supplies, safety checkpoints, and references. The types of activities included with Miscellaneous Activities are: - Arts & Crafts - Land Sports - Laser Tag - Parades & Large Gatherings - Segway - Skateboards - Skating (Ice & Roller) Introduction to Safety Activity Checkpoints Chapter 1 Chapter 1 provides an introduction, overview and some general Safety Standards & Activity Guidelines to be used in ALL activities.

3 Important: Please read the Introduction and use the Safety Standards & Activity Guidelines as outlined in Chapter 1 together with the individual Safety Activity checkpoint when planning your activity. Prior safety activity checkpoints that were listed and repeated under every activity in past editions are pulled together here under Safety Standards & Activity Guidelines. The Standards & Guidelines include important things like Prepare for the Activity, Adult Supervision, using the Buddy System, Respect the Environment, Prepare for Emergencies and more. Also included in these Safety Standards & Activity Guidelines are new topics that both councils and troops have asked for, such as: - Safety Gear and Required Gear versus Additional or Recommended Gear - Instructor Credibility - General Insurance - Activity Accident Insurance - Health History and Health Exam forms - Ticks and Lyme s Disease Prevention - Vaccination & Immunization - Permission Slips - Transportation & Overnight Trips (addresses the use of Uber, AirBnBs) Understanding Activities That Are Not Permitted Located in Chapter 1, this section provides an explanation as to what activities are not permitted or approved by GSUSA, and also why they are not permitted or approved. This list has been revised so that Tethered Hot Air Ballooning is now permitted (Untethered is still not permitted). Paintball tag has been added to the Not Permitted list, however target paintball has been approved under target sports. Understanding Higher Risk Activities Located in Chapter 1, this section clarifies and explains that certain activities that are permitted carry a higher or unique risk for various reasons. These higher risk activities will definitely require council pre-approval each time you plan the activity. Your council may prohibit these activities (as with all activities) if a local situation calls for that type of policy, for any reason. These activities include: - Small commercially chartered aircraft rides or excursions (privately owned is not permitted) - Target Sports (which now permits younger girls to learn with air or BB guns) - Indoor Skydiving - Tethered Hot Air Ballooning - Tomahawk / Ax Throwing

4 New Activities Added Activities Several new activities were added. Some new activities added this year include: - Tethered Hot Air Ballooning (Untethered is still not permitted) - Laser tag - Target Paintball - Snowboarding - 3-D archery - Tomahawk / Knife throwing - Animal Interaction o Wildlife (including swimming with dolphins) o Rescue animals o Therapy dogs - Inflatables o Aquatic Inflatable climbing walls o Bubble soccer o Bounce houses - Off Shore Larger Water Vessels o Whale Watching o Cruise Ships and Ferries o Chartered Fishing Boats Existing Activities Certain components to existing activities have been added or expanded upon to address varying difficulty levels, such as rapids classification for paddle sports and high/low elements for climbing & adventure sports. Existing activities may have been re-categorized. Certain age requirements based on grade level participation may have been revised. Please thoroughly read through your activity ahead of time to determine if anything has changed. This list is not all-inclusive as most activities have been significantly rewritten to eliminate overly restrictive language or redundancies, focus more clearly on safety and highlight what is needed to safely perform the activity. Some examples or highlights of changes are: - Amusement Parks: Go-karts are permitted on controlled track; now includes water parks - Arts & Crafts: now shown under Miscellaneous Activities - Archery: added 3-D archery; added additional link for girls with disabilities - Camping: focused on safety and recommended gear as opposed to required gear - Downhill skiing and Snowboarding: Daisies are permitted to snowboard - Hayrides: additional safety tips and links added

5 - Hiking: added REI and other suggested trails beyond just Appalachian Mountains - Horseback riding: updated/added links; tailored more to focus on learning and safety - Ice skating/roller skating: combined into skating under Miscellaneous activities - Indoor Skydiving: explains zero gravity a little more - Orienteering: Daisies and Brownies learn geocaching before graduating to orienteering - Outdoor cooking: added hose and water bucket under safety gear - Paddle & Rowing Sports: to include council approved equivalent certification requirements - Parades: now included under Miscellaneous Activities - Recreational Tree Climbing: utilizing belays, now included under Climbing and Rappelling - Sailing: added avoid bridges, rocks, hazards in water; lightening master rigging warning - Scuba: clarified safety and recommended gear from the gear required to perform scuba - Segway: added to Miscellaneous Activities - Skateboarding: added to Miscellaneous Activities - Sledding: includes tobogganing and snow tubing - Stand-up Paddle Boarding: beginners develop skills in flat water before taking on oceans - Surfing: ocean lifeguard certifications required; developed this activity further - Swimming: added progression table with certification levels for each body of water type - Tubing: water tubing addresses age levels and progression - Travel/Trip: includes 2018 State Dept. International Travel Alert levels and guidance Revision History - Based on Council 5/18/2018 Activity Accident Insurance (p.8) Involve three or more overnights Take place outside U.S. territory Include non-members, such as siblings and friends Introduction (p. 10) replaced 15 passenger vans: Transportation. Keep in mind that 15-passenger model vans have historically been flagged as a safety concern by the National Highway

6 Traffic Safety Administration and are therefore not recommended. There are state specific laws which may regulate the use of 15 passenger vans for public transport. These vehicles may or may not be permitted to transport children in your state; or specific driver age and commercial driver license requirements may apply to operate 15 passenger vans. Prior council level approval is required to determine if the vehicle is statutorily permitted and meets safety criteria. Always consult your council for prior approval before opting to use these vehicles. Canoeing (p. 100 the chart) add: Daisy Canoeing Instructor added: or demonstrated equitable experience to chart. Canoeing (p. 102) add: Last statement in the first About Canoeing section, add: Camps that are ACA accredited camp always adhere to the current ACA standards for canoeing with Girl Scouts and flat water canoeing with Daisies. Revision History - Based on Council 5/18/2018 Cross Country Skiing (p. 61) revised: Replaced Not Permitted for Daisies with Not Advised and stated the reason(s) why this activity is not advised for Daisies in the About Cross Country Skiing section.