See Harbor Heights climbing walls - if your building is looking at purchasing a climbing wall, it must include the pads & cover just exactly like Harbor Hts.  - if you have further questions - you can direct those to David Rucci at RucciD@peninsula.wednet.edu

 

Buildings are required to Install locks on the mat covering so that the climbing wall cannot be used when there is no supervision or after school hours by people who lease gymnasium.  Mats also prevents injuries if someone accidentally runs into wall during basketball or similar game.   These must be purchased and installed with the wall.

 

Post a permanent sign that the climbing wall, climbing ropes and other gymnasium equipment cannot be used after hours, in addition to notifying all after-school users that the wall is off-limits.

PE Teacher must be trained & provide supervision - no other person is allowed to use wall without proper training from PE Teacher (or similar positoin).  

Improve fall protection for the climbing walls. Obtain 6-inch pads for the wall or use double mats instead of a single 2-inch mat.

 

Keep an inspection log including a thorough inspection of all hand grips and keep a record at least once a month. Daily inspection for loose grips.

 

Laminate rules and post them on the wall.

 

DO NOT have children play high-risk or age-inappropriate games.

 

For any new walls to be planned, please follow the above recommendations and those in Bulletin 70 below, including having a structural engineer to determine safety installation, obtaining proper building permits, and having it installed by a contractor with adequate liability, naming the district as an additional insured by endorsement on their policy, to protect the district from liability for defective installation work. Be sure to include adequate funds for proper mats. I think the 6-inch mat would be much better than using double layers of tumbling mats.

 

 

Traverse Climbing Walls & Bouldering Walls

The Pool has been asked by several school districts to comment on the risk exposures of indoor traverse climbing walls and bouldering walls. The Pool usually does not give opinions on equipment and products without a review of injury statistics. Since traverse climbing walls are relatively new in school districts, such statistics are not presently available.

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (USCPSC) and the America Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) published guidelines for the construction and placement of playground equipment. Athletic equipment used in interscholastic sports also has to meet recognized national standards. The Climbing Wall Industry Group (CWIG) is a trade association that sets the standard for manufacturers of outdoor climbing walls that require ropes and lanyards. There are no known recognized standards for indoor traversing and bouldering walls. We talked with a manufacturer of bouldering equipment and learned that its climbing walls are not certified by the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA), the trade organization that certifies playground equipment. The nature of the climbing wall system places it in the sports-climbing equipment category and not playground equipment. It is prudent for equipment used in an educational setting to meet USCPSC and ASTM standards for protrusion and fall protection.

We cannot provide statistical proof that traverse climbing walls are dangerous playground or physical education equipment, but we must consider the element of foreseeabilty before selecting a piece of equipment. Pool staff has inspected an indoor traverse climbing wall and an outdoor bouldering wall. We took measurements of protrusions of the handholds and footholds and found that some protrusions do not meet standards accepted by USCPSC and ASTM. Such protrusions can cause a scraping injury, break a jaw, knock out teeth or gouge an eye. Based on playground injury statistics, we consider such injuries highly foreseeable and probable.

Fall protection is a must. The district must maintain at all times the type and depth of fall surfacing protection that meets ASTM standards for the maximum height of the climbing equipment. The burden of proof lies with the district to make sure that surfacing protection is adequate. Note that tumbling mats are not rated by ASTM to cushion falls from a height and may not satisfy fall protection requirements. Fall protection must also extend to at least six feet from the wall. Additionally, inspection and maintenance must be constant to provide tight grips, adequate matting and good general condition of equipment.

If your district installs a climbing wall system, the system can constitute an attractive nuisance when not supervised by your P.E. staff. The wall must be secured when not supervised. Install a foolproof barrier (such as a lockable enclosure or fence) to deter non-supervised or after-school hour trespassers from playing on the wall. Signs alone are not adequate.

Some manufacturers of handholds advertise that a climbing wall can be constructed by the purchaser. We strongly recommend against school districts doing this. The CWIG standards for climbing walls will be used as the standard of care in a court of law. This group has worked with ASTM to create an enforceable standard to be used by individuals building artificial climbing walls. The CWIG also requires professional structural engineers to design the structural support for the climbing wall. Engineers and architects are required to determine the materials and construction of the wall as well as design of the entire facility.

If your district still wants to build a climbing wall, we recommend you do the following:

• Consult a structural engineer to determine structural safety and proper design.
• Check building permit requirements from your local building official prior to constriction.
• Require the contractor to have a minimum of $3 million general liability and completed operations insurance coverage to do the job. The contractor must provide the district with a certificate of insurance, naming the district as an additional insured by endorsement on the contractor's policy.
• Develop standard of care and safety rules.
• Provide adequate student training and document skills progression.
• Provide adequate fall protection meeting USCPSC and ASTM standards.
• Inspect the equipment daily for loose grips and document the inspections.
• Provide for protection against unauthorized use when the wall is not under the direct supervision of a P.E. teacher.
• Train P.E. teachers on wall climbing techniques, physical requirements and proper supervision.
• Select exercises that are age appropriate for students.
• Do not invent games that are inherently dangerous, such as climbing blindfolded, changing places, climbing for time, doing 360-degree rotations, or racing.
• Check building permit requirements with the local jurisdiction prior to construction.

Climbing walls are highly attractive to children, and the coordination development and exercise can be beneficial to them, but before you build a wall, ask yourself if there is a safer way to achieve the physical and educational objective.