Risk Management at Camp Summit
At Camp Summit, our paramount concern is in the management of risks. Camp Summit operates under the premise of minimizing real risks (those that can do actual damage) while carefully manipulating perceived risks (those that have no real threat, but appear risky) to allow maximum growth within participants. For example, rock climbing may be perceived to be incredibly risky, but through staff expertise, high quality equipment and maintenance, and educational tools geared specifically to the age of the learner, real risk is reduced and students can gain new competencies and confidences through overcoming a seemingly impossible challenge. This is the tenant of what we do at Summit.
At Summit, our top priority is managing risks through the hiring of high quality experienced staff, detailed risk management protocols and procedures, the use of top quality, well maintained equipment, and constant evaluation. We are actively involved in the Association for Experiential Education and Wilderness Risk Managers Society to ensure that we are on top of all new industry trends in regards to risk management. Our first priority at Summit is the safety of your son or daughter. We could not operate a successful business, with so many returning school and campers, if this was not the case.
Having worked with thousands of students and most of the major schools in the lower mainland, we feel confident in stating that the benefits of your son or daughter’s participation in their outdoor education camp far outweighs the risks. We hope you will agree with us and allow your child the personal growth and community development that will come from their time at Summit. In order to do this we will need you to complete the Summit Acknowledgement of Risk form. This form is not designed to scare you or to suggest that we will be cavalier in our attention to your child’s safety. It asks you, as a parent, to acknowledge that there are inherent risks in the activities we do at Summit. Such forms are an unfortunate reality in our society today and you have likely filled out similar forms for your children’s ski lessons, gymnastics lessons and soccer camps. The most inherent risk that any of your children will do is be driven up to Summit, yet this is rarely a concern parents voice, as driving is something we as a society are comfortable with and therefore accepting of, as a risk. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call us.
