After
two recent deaths, state lawmakers and safety officials in the
Carolinas are starting to take notice of the need for regulation – or at
least the study of the need for regulation – for the wildly popular
“aerial amusement devices” such as ropes courses, pendulum swings and
ziplines.
Neither South Carolina nor North Carolina has any regulations regarding ziplines, pendulum swings or ropes courses.
The attention in both states comes after two recent deaths from aerial amusement devices – one in which a 16-year-old girl attending a Brevard Christian camp in North Carolina fell to her death from a pendulum swing Monday on Sassafras Mountain in Pickens County, South Carolina; and another on June 11, where a 12-year-old girl died after falling from a zipline at Camp Cheerio, a YMCA camp in Alleghany County, North Carolina.
The pendulum swing that Olivia Paige Grimes, 16, of Lakeland, Florida, was riding on Sassafras Mountain “does not appear to meet the definition of an amusement ride in South Carolina. It is not a device that has been inspected by the Office of Elevators and Amusement Rides,” Lesia Kudelka, spokeswoman for the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said. “However, that office is sending inspectors to the scene to find out more about the device.”
Dolores Quesenberry, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Labor, said the zipline at Camp Cheerio does not fall under the category of amusement rides or elevators, which are regulated and monitored by the department.
Both states’ labor offices, and the Pickens County Sheriff’s office, made clear that the accident on Monday was on a pendulum swing - something akin to a Tarzan rope - and did not involve a zipline. A zipline is a series of steel cables attached to trees or towers. Riders glide over the cables while strapped in a harness. Some ziplines have brakes, while some require riders to stop themselves.
Tuesday, the North Carolina House unanimously passed House Bill 39, which increases penalties for the illegal operation of amusement devices and directs the N.C. Department of Labor to study the regulation of zipline operations, which are exempt from state regulation. The bill, introduced by Rep. Ted Davis Jr., R-New Hanover, will go to Gov. McCrory for his signature.
Young Life Camps, a national organization that runs 32 camps across the country, has closed the 13 swings at the camps that have them, said Aleesha Mathis, marketing coordinator.
Two trade organizations – the Association for Challenge Course Technology and the Professional Ropes Course Association – have published standards for ziplines, along with challenge courses, for their memberships. The association has more than 26,000 members, said James Borishade, executive director.
He said while he’s still waiting to hear the inspection report and complete details about the accident on Monday, he doesn’t feel that having regulations in place would have changed or avoided the tragedy.
“For us, our heart goes out to the family who lost the child. As an industry leader, the ACCT is committed to the safety of every single patron or employee who gets on a ropes course or aerial adventure course, and is committed to ensuring that the industry continues to educate,” said Borishade, who is based in Chicago. “This industry continues to be a very safe industry.
The organization set the standard for the industry when it comes to ziplines and ropes courses, certifies inspectors, and accredits the builders. Ropes or challenge courses, have been around since the 1950s and ‘60s, he said, and ziplines started becoming popular in the United States in the early 2000s. The ACCT was established in the early 1990s. In that time, Borishade said, there have been “very few” deaths from zipline accidents.
“There is no industry that is above an accident, but it is imperative that every industry learn from an accident,” he said.
Rep. Davis, who was related to Bonnie Sanders Burney, the girl who died in the zipline fall at Camp Cheerio, said he first introduced the bill as a result of a 2013 accident at the N.C. State Fair where five people were injured on a ride called “The Vortex,” to increase penalties for illegal operations of amusement park rides.
The bill had easily passed both the House and Senate earlier this year, but after Burney was killed in June by falling from a zipline, Davis said he talked to his colleagues about adding a provision to study the need for zipline regulation.
“Sanders Burney was my fourth cousin. I would have done it regardless. I saw the pain and suffering her parents were going through, and it compelled me to go forward,” Davis said.
The bill calls for a six-month study of 13 criteria, including the number of ziplines in the state, whether any counties or cities regulate ziplines, the reasons that ziplines are excluded from state laws that regulate “amusement devices,” the number of reported accidents, an analysis of other states’ laws, and others. The deadline for the Department of Labor to file the report is Feb. 1.
“This is not a knee-jerk reaction, it will not be helter-skelter. It will be a well-thought-out, well planned endeavor, so we will come out with real good legislation to ensure the safety of those who ride ziplines,” he said. “I’m glad we have this legislation to get this done quickly. I’m fully confident the governor will sign it.”
There is no such pending legislation in South Carolina. Those loose-gooshy southerners.
Neither South Carolina nor North Carolina has any regulations regarding ziplines, pendulum swings or ropes courses.
The attention in both states comes after two recent deaths from aerial amusement devices – one in which a 16-year-old girl attending a Brevard Christian camp in North Carolina fell to her death from a pendulum swing Monday on Sassafras Mountain in Pickens County, South Carolina; and another on June 11, where a 12-year-old girl died after falling from a zipline at Camp Cheerio, a YMCA camp in Alleghany County, North Carolina.
The pendulum swing that Olivia Paige Grimes, 16, of Lakeland, Florida, was riding on Sassafras Mountain “does not appear to meet the definition of an amusement ride in South Carolina. It is not a device that has been inspected by the Office of Elevators and Amusement Rides,” Lesia Kudelka, spokeswoman for the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said. “However, that office is sending inspectors to the scene to find out more about the device.”
Dolores Quesenberry, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Labor, said the zipline at Camp Cheerio does not fall under the category of amusement rides or elevators, which are regulated and monitored by the department.
Both states’ labor offices, and the Pickens County Sheriff’s office, made clear that the accident on Monday was on a pendulum swing - something akin to a Tarzan rope - and did not involve a zipline. A zipline is a series of steel cables attached to trees or towers. Riders glide over the cables while strapped in a harness. Some ziplines have brakes, while some require riders to stop themselves.
Tuesday, the North Carolina House unanimously passed House Bill 39, which increases penalties for the illegal operation of amusement devices and directs the N.C. Department of Labor to study the regulation of zipline operations, which are exempt from state regulation. The bill, introduced by Rep. Ted Davis Jr., R-New Hanover, will go to Gov. McCrory for his signature.
Young Life Camps, a national organization that runs 32 camps across the country, has closed the 13 swings at the camps that have them, said Aleesha Mathis, marketing coordinator.
Two trade organizations – the Association for Challenge Course Technology and the Professional Ropes Course Association – have published standards for ziplines, along with challenge courses, for their memberships. The association has more than 26,000 members, said James Borishade, executive director.
He said while he’s still waiting to hear the inspection report and complete details about the accident on Monday, he doesn’t feel that having regulations in place would have changed or avoided the tragedy.
“For us, our heart goes out to the family who lost the child. As an industry leader, the ACCT is committed to the safety of every single patron or employee who gets on a ropes course or aerial adventure course, and is committed to ensuring that the industry continues to educate,” said Borishade, who is based in Chicago. “This industry continues to be a very safe industry.
The organization set the standard for the industry when it comes to ziplines and ropes courses, certifies inspectors, and accredits the builders. Ropes or challenge courses, have been around since the 1950s and ‘60s, he said, and ziplines started becoming popular in the United States in the early 2000s. The ACCT was established in the early 1990s. In that time, Borishade said, there have been “very few” deaths from zipline accidents.
“There is no industry that is above an accident, but it is imperative that every industry learn from an accident,” he said.
Rep. Davis, who was related to Bonnie Sanders Burney, the girl who died in the zipline fall at Camp Cheerio, said he first introduced the bill as a result of a 2013 accident at the N.C. State Fair where five people were injured on a ride called “The Vortex,” to increase penalties for illegal operations of amusement park rides.
The bill had easily passed both the House and Senate earlier this year, but after Burney was killed in June by falling from a zipline, Davis said he talked to his colleagues about adding a provision to study the need for zipline regulation.
“Sanders Burney was my fourth cousin. I would have done it regardless. I saw the pain and suffering her parents were going through, and it compelled me to go forward,” Davis said.
The bill calls for a six-month study of 13 criteria, including the number of ziplines in the state, whether any counties or cities regulate ziplines, the reasons that ziplines are excluded from state laws that regulate “amusement devices,” the number of reported accidents, an analysis of other states’ laws, and others. The deadline for the Department of Labor to file the report is Feb. 1.
“This is not a knee-jerk reaction, it will not be helter-skelter. It will be a well-thought-out, well planned endeavor, so we will come out with real good legislation to ensure the safety of those who ride ziplines,” he said. “I’m glad we have this legislation to get this done quickly. I’m fully confident the governor will sign it.”
There is no such pending legislation in South Carolina. Those loose-gooshy southerners.