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Grounder at SICG 26-Oct-2009 At 12:43:56 PM hangdog

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>. Unlike some gyms in Vic, the staff at
>SICG actually seem to be
>'climbers' as opposed to random uni students needing a weekend job with
>no understanding of rock
>climbing.
Its interesting to note that certain gyms in Vic. apparently have staff that are not
climbers. I would expect that at the very least they would have had experience as a
climber whether it be indoor or outdoor. Other posters have talked about "Duty of Care"
in relation to the responsibility a centre to its customers.That centre also has the same
Duty of Care to its employees and i believe that taking inexperienced non climbers and
putting them in a situation where they are required to supervise others could well be
neglect of this Duty of Care.
I have on several occasions in the past few years been asked to give my opinion after
an accident and whether a company or individual instructor was negligent.(all outdoors)
One of the first areas looked at is the relevant qualifications and experience of the
individual and whether they and or the organisation followed accepted best practice. It
would be generally accepted that at the very least the person put in a position to
supervise would have had experience as a climber. This would be the minimum. How
could a person who has never climbed at any level be able to supervise a room full of
people climbing and belaying. It would also be very easy to show that a person put into
this position by an employer would also be in neglect of the Duty of Care owed to that
employee. I very recently had to fight a decision made by managers at the organisation
that i work for when they wanted to put a person in the climbing centre to assist with
supervision who had never seen a climbing centre until he walked in the door. I had to
argue very strongly with them and provide documentation from various sources
to show that if an accident occurred with this person supervising then the organisation
would be liable to a higher degree.