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How safety first culture takes risk out of adventure sports
The idea is to test the body and mind against the harshest of conditions, to give everything in the attempt to cross the finishing line but also to have the guts to call it a day when the going gets too tough. However, at a time when adventure sports are booming, enthusiasts say they face an even tougher test of their resolve - over-regulation, bureaucracy and public suspicion. It emerged this week that the venerable 280-mile North Sea yacht race from Scotland to Norway had been cancelled because not enough crews could afford the safety certificates. Fell-running clubs, which have never been busier, are taking a long look at how they organise their events after the outcry over the Lake District Original Mountain Marathon that went ahead in awful weather a fortnight ago. The North Sea race between Macduff in north-east Scotland and Stavanger in Norway was introduced 25 years ago to give experienced coastal and fjord sailors a chance to race in difficult ocean conditions. The organiser, Tony Brown, said safety was paramount but crews were now balking at paying up to &amppound;200 for an international offshore safety certificate. Only 10 crews entered this summer. Brown said: "Twenty years ago all you needed was insurance and away you went." This weekend hundreds of fell runners will line up in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and north Wales to compete in races rejoicing in names such as the Shepherds' Skyline, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, and the Leg It Around Lathkill in the Peak District. The Fell Runners Association boasts 6,000 members and the number is rising, but its secretary, Alan Brentnall, said there was concern that after the ill-fated Original Mountain Marathon health and safety officials would be taking a closer look at the sport and that landowners might hesitate to give permission for races. "That would be worrying," he said.Richard Asquith, a fell runner and author of the admired book on the sport Feet in the Clouds, said organisers were under pressure to tone down their events to fit the "risk assessment culture". He added: "The whole onus of society is on safety first. Who would be an organiser"Martin Stone, who runs a marathon called the LAMM in the Scottish Highlands, said: "It's so important for people who are so regimented in everyday life to have a way of escaping. We've got to fight the regulation and the dumbing down." The premise of events such as the Lakeland race is that competitors, not the organisers, assess the conditions and decide if they should go ahead. David Munn, 39, who has taken part in 19 Original Mountain Marathons, said competitors did not expect someone else to take responsibility for their actions. "This is a hugely refreshing view in a world where everything always seems to have to be someone else's fault," he said. The charge levelled at the competitors that they are a burden on the emergency services, including the voluntary mountain rescue service, are roundly rejected. Mike Park, who took part in the race and is also team leader of Cockermouth Mountain Rescue, said that mountain marathon runners were almost always better prepared than normal hikers. Mike Parsons, the organiser of the Lakeside marathon, pointed out that out of the 1,427 people who entered only 14 were injured, none seriously.But some events have already changed. Youngsters who compete in the army-organised Ten Tors expedition on Dartmoor in Devon every summer can carry mobile phones for an emergency after the death of a 14-year-old girl while training for the challenge. The event spokesman David Harris said: "Ten Tors is all about risk, but acceptable risk." Other sports are feeling the pressure. Sand yacht enthusiasts have found it harder to stage events since a woman was killed after being hit by a sand yacht while walking on a beach in Lancashire. Families who went canoeing on the River Wye in south Wales this summer found hire companies on tenterhooks about health and safety after the death of a nine-year-old girl. Caving bodies, gliding clubs, even rollerskating groups have reported that they have struggled to cope with increased insurance premiums. Ian Anderson, chairman of the International Coasteering Association - whose bag is climbing, scrambling and leaping around sea cliffs - said some landowners saw enthusiasts as irresponsible risk-takers. "Is it going to get to the point where we have to wear a helmet to walk to the shops" he asked. Julian Brazier MP, the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on adventure and recreation in society, called for Britain to follow the example of the US and Australia and make it harder for organisers of sport and leisure pursuits to be sued. He said: "Society needs to accept that accidents happen without it always being someone's fault."Case studyAnne Jago, retired teacher, 64, veteran of 30 mountain marathonsIt's not just a physical challenge, it's a mental challenge as well. It can be very hard. You go up and up. Your lungs are bursting, your calves are burning but you don't give up. When I finish the event I'm glowing with pride because you've tested your self-sufficiency in the wild - and I am very proud of beating men who are a lot younger than me. It's really all about self-reliance. You are away from civilisation and you are self-sufficient in the wilderness. You've got everything you need in your rucksack. I had an accident one year. I fell forward on slippery rock. I was slightly concussed, there was blood everywhere. What was amazing was that immediately there were people all around. I was wrapped in a space blanket. I was given Ibuprofen and jelly babies. I didn't want to retire so I carried on. It's so important. There's so many people who would rather I just drove to the shopping centre and home. But it's such a healthy pastime. You have to keep your weight down and do all the things the government wants you to do. I feel much more in danger when I'm driving down the motorway. If one car goes everyone goes.I'm determined to go on and on as long as I can. At the end of an event I always think I can do another one.guardian.co.uk &ampcopy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
2008-11-08 02:26:40
Home, life insurance is not 'wealth'
The strategic portfolio should be tinkered with only once in two or three years. Ideally, the trading part should not be more than 5-10 per cent of your total portfolio.
2008-10-26 11:49:47
Asian, European Stocks Plummet
TOKYO, Sept. 10 -- Punctuating its worst week in history, Japan's main stock index plummeted nearly 10 percent Friday, as a mid-size Japanese life insurance company went bankrupt and fear-driven selling drove markets down across Asia.
2008-10-26 09:00:00
Woman spends 10,000 pounds to hear her cat miaow again
INT43International/Health/SocietyWoman spends 10,000 pounds to hear her cat miaow againLondon, Oct 6 IANS A pet owner in southeast Britain has spent a whopping 10,000 pounds to hear her moggy miaow again after the cat suffered a rare throat condition, the Daily Telegraph reported.Jean Kelly, 40, first noticed her 13-year-old pet Cadbury suddenly lost his voice. She did not take any time to visit a vet who diagnosed that Cadbury was suffering from a paralysed larynx, a rare condition that needed immediate surgery.Cadbury required two operations to fix the condition - at a cost of 5,000 pounds. And after a stint in intensive care, six days in an oxygen tent, four months nursing care and regular check-ups, Kelly ended up paying 10,000 pounds.Kelly’s insurance company Petplan paid 6,000 pounds of the costs, but she has been left to fork out the remaining. Kelly, who lives in Olney, Buckinghamshire, had to put on hold a planned holiday to Namibia to pay for Cadbury's treatment.Despite the cost, she says the procedure and ongoing nursing treatment were worth it. “It was never about me - it was about Cadbury and his quality of life. I know he’s not a young cat but I wanted to give him a fighting chance,” she said. Cadbury is now back at home and on the road to recovery, she added.--Indo-Asian News Service skp/dg244 Words06101522
2008-10-06 06:00:00
R.S. Lodha's body to be flown to India Monday
INT33International/BusinessR.S. Lodha's body to be flown to India MondayLondon, Oct 4 IANS The body of Birla Corporation Chairman Rajendra Singh Lodha, who died here Friday, is likely to be flown back to India Monday, family and company sources said. Little is known about the circumstances of Lodha's sudden death, although his younger son Harsh Lodha has spoken of the possibility of a heart attack. Lodha, 66, was said to have been in London for business meetings along with Harsh Lodha and other members of his family. Indian diplomats in London said they were expecting the Lodha family to get in touch with them in order to facilitate the release of the body. “Nobody has approached us yet and nothing much moves at the weekend. The body may leave on Monday,” an official said.Lodha got embroiled in a major controversy when former chairperson of the Birla Corporation Priyamvada Birla bequeathed the entire assets of the M.P. Birla Group to him. Priyamvada Birla's demise in July 2004 was followed by intense litigation after Lodha applied for the probate of a purported will which itself became a matter of dispute. Senior members of the Birla clan had filed appeals in the Calcutta High Court. However, Lodha took over as chairman of the Birla Corporation. He was also serving on the boards of the National Securities Depository, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation, SBI Life Insurance and Henkel India. He was a trustee of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Britain.--Indo-Asian News Servicedds/sh/vm269 Words*04101617
2008-10-04 07:04:12
Chennai, Oct 1 IANS Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd plans to invest around Rs.8 billion $174 million in its used car business, being done by Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd MFCS under the brand of CarXSpace, a top group official said here Wednesday.
BUS12BusinessMahindra to invest Rs.8 bn in used car businessChennai, Oct 1 IANS Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd plans to invest around Rs.8 billion $174 million in its used car business, being done by Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd MFCS under the brand of CarXSpace, a top group official said here Wednesday."In five years time, we will open around 300 outlets across the country," Rajeev Dubey, Mahindra group management board member, told reporters.A subsidiary of the $6.7-billion Mahindra and Mahindra, MFCS is in the space of servicing and sales of used cars and also spare part sales.Inaugurating the company's first CarXSpace outlet here, Dubey said the turnover of MFCS will reach Rs.65 billion by 2015.MFCS may get into e-commerce mode by setting up a common platform for buyers and sellers, he added.According to Dubey, in India around one million used cars were sold last year."The sales of car spares at the retail end is estimated to be around Rs.200 billion," he added.MFCS is also in talks with non-life insurance companies to offer cashless damage claims settlement for car owners.--Indo-Asian News Servicevj/sj/dg202 Words01101615
2008-10-01 07:03:10
MFs can sell ULIPs, says IRDA
Insurance regulator IRDA said mutual funds would continue to sell group insurance products even as the life insurance association decided against it.
2008-09-30 15:41:08
Poverty, unemployment driving Afghanistan towards instability
INT2International/Society/Terrorism/EconomyPoverty, unemployment driving Afghanistan towards instabilityBy Abdul HaleemKabul, Sep 29 Xinhua War-torn Afghanistan has experienced its deadliest year in 2008 since the collapse of the Taliban regime in late 2001. The high rate of unemployment and poverty in the war-wracked country is driving young men to join the Taliban - not so much for the ideology as the handsome monthly stipend they offer.More than 4,000 people, including 1,445 civilians, have been killed so far this year.Many of the fighters joining Taliban insurgents are illiterate tribal people, young seminarians and low educated jobless youths who easily get influenced by the Taliban recruiters."If I fail to find a job I would have no choice except to join Taliban or leave for Iran as I heard they Taliban pay more stipend than the government," said a jobless youth who was waiting for a customer at a square in west of Kabul.The Taliban outfit, according to him, pay $400 while a government soldier receives some $200 a month.Hundreds of jobless Afghans are seen waiting from dawn to dusk at Chawk Kota Sangi square west of Kabul to be hired.If anyone calls for a labourer, dozens would surround him.The job-seeking man who introduced himself Faiz Ali emphasized that "no one would commit suicide unless he or she is fed up with the miserable life".Though there is no exact statistics about the rate of unemployment in Afghanistan, it is said that some 40 percent of the country's 25 million population are jobless and some five million Afghans live below the poverty line in the country.War-torn and landlocked Afghanistan is largely dependent on the international community's assistance to recover from over three decades of war and civil strife.Since the collapse of the Taliban regime in late 2001, the international community has contributed more than $35 billion for rebuilding of the war-battered nation.In the post-Taliban Afghanistan, the per capita income has increased from $70 in 2001 to $300 in 2008, according to Aziz Shams, an official at the ministry of finance. Afghanistan, though it has made tremendous achievements in the fields of communication and road building, needs to go a long way to recover from war devastation and stand on its own feet.Majority of Afghans have little access to clean water, jobs, job insurance and regular income to run their daily life smoothly.Increasing Taliban-led militancy, poor living conditions, particularly in the countryside, and the sway of warlords coupled with corruption and poppy cultivation have enabled militants to challenge the government and exploit the situation for their benefit."Taliban militants come to our village almost every night and ask people to support them either by giving money or men," said a man from Barakibarak district of Logar province who did not want to be identified.He also said the government has to protect the lives and properties of the citizens by eliminating Taliban insurgents from each corner of the country.Mostly proclaimed offenders and those at large have gathered under the umbrella of Taliban to hide their identities and escape punishment, a person from southern Uruzgan province said.The 48-year old man who refused to be identified said the Taliban outfit pays 500,000 Afghanis about $10,000 as reward for any group or individuals who attack a district headquarters.Many of those who carry out suicide bombings, according to him, besides receiving money from their masters have been brainwashed."The high rate of unemployment has driven thousands of Afghan youth to the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran to seek jobs or go to the Taliban rank to fight the government and international troops based in Afghanistan," the man stressed.He also emphasized that the daily long queue of visa seekers behind the embassies of Iran and Pakistan speak of the living condition of the people in Afghanistan. "The Taliban would further benefit from the situation if the status quo goes unchecked," he said.--Xinhuaskp/rn708 Words29090752
2008-09-29 00:05:08
AIG's Singapore life insurance unit head resigns
The Singapore head of AIA, the life insurance unit of American International Group , quit, the city-state's central bank said.
2008-09-19 06:15:53
IRDA seeks report from Tata AIG
The IRDA has asked for reports from Tata AIG Life and Tata AIG General Insurance in the backdrop of concerns over the financial problems plaguing their American partner.
2008-09-16 11:00:00

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How safety first culture takes risk out of adventure sports

Home, life insurance is not 'wealth'

Asian, European Stocks Plummet

Woman spends 10,000 pounds to hear her cat miaow again

R.S. Lodha's body to be flown to India Monday

Chennai, Oct 1 IANS Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd plans to invest around Rs.8 billion $174 million in its used car business, being done by Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd MFCS under the brand of CarXSpace, a top group official said here Wednesday.

MFs can sell ULIPs, says IRDA

Poverty, unemployment driving Afghanistan towards instability

AIG's Singapore life insurance unit head resigns

IRDA seeks report from Tata AIG