N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:55-9.9 - Ropes initiatives and rock climbing

(a) The facility shall ensure that staff members:

1. State the objectives of the ropes course or climbing trip to the children;

2. Emphasize the importance of safety procedures of each initiative to the children before starting the activity;

3. Allow each child to decide whether or not to participate in a ropes course;

4. Inspect the ropes before each group of children uses them; and

5. Demonstrate effective observation ("spotting") and how one is secured by a rope ("belayed").

(b) The facility shall prohibit:

1. Smoking near the ropes;

2. The wearing of jewelry, loose clothing and hair, and eyeglasses that are not secured that may be hazardous to participants or spotters;

3. Unsafe practices including, but not limited to, solo climbing, hanging upside down, throwing people or over-straining; and

4. The activity known as the "electric fence," in which a rope is attached to trees or poles and suspended four feet from the ground in a circle, and children standing inside the rope are expected to get out without touching the rope or passing under the rope.

(c) The facility shall ensure that persons on high ropes or rock climbing activities:

1. Are individually secured with an approved rope, or "belayed"; and

2. Wear helmets that are fastened under the chin.

(d) The facility shall document and maintain on file at the site of the ropes course or at the administrative office that all belay ropes are:

1. Approved by the Union of International Alpine Association (UIAA);

2. Visually inspected by staff members before use and discarded if the rope appears frayed or damaged; and

3. Incorporated into a system developed by the facility for measuring the rope's usable life. This system shall include a log for each rope as well as a standard (that is, logged for use and retired at four years from the date of purchase, or in a rock climbing element, retired after the rope has sustained the number of falls the manufacturer's label indicates the rope can sustain).

(e) The facility shall ensure that all carbiners that are used to secure belay ropes are constructed of steel or a metal of equal strength and hardness, and have a locking gate.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:55-9.9

Administrative Change, 49 N.J.R. 98a.