While the fear of lawsuits has put a chill on sledding in a number of communities across the country, Capital Hills GC in Albany, N.Y. still takes pride in having “some of the best sledding hills in the [area],” its golf course superintendent says. Proper course grooming and advance preparation for how to handle accidents helps to minimize the risk, he adds.
While the fear of injury lawsuits is causing many communities across the country to curtail sledding activity in their parks and other municipal properties, reports television station WNYT of Albany, N.Y., New York’s capital city is still encouraging the use of Capital Hills Golf Course for that recreational purpose in the winter, and has successfully followed programs to help keep participants safe and minimize accidents.
“We have some of the best sledding hills in the Capital District,” Golf Course Superintendent Scott Gallup told WNYT, noting that sledders have been coming there for generations.
Just about every year, someone gets hurt while sledding, Gallup said—but if and when that happens, officials in the city and at the property are properly prepared.
“The fire department has a rescue vehicle, which they use to get people from the course when they’re injured,” Gallup noted. “They were out performing drills earlier this week.”
While the course doesn’t have many obstacles to begin with, Gallup said that he and his staff do whatever grooming is necessary to help prevent accidents.
“Every once in a while, we’ll go out and knock down jumps some of the kids like to build,” he said. “We try to limit people leaving the ground.”
Last year, WNYT reported, the city of Omaha, Neb. said it paid out $2.5 million in medical bills related to sledding accidents that occurred on its properties, and the city of Sioux City, Iowa said it paid upwards of $3 million for sledding-related injuries.
Emergency physicians at two hospitals in the Albany area told the station that they’ve seen an uptick in sledding-related injuries as snowfall began to build up in the region.
But the station’s report included on-site interviews at Capital Hill GC with parents such as Beth Joslin, who said they wouldn’t think to point fingers should any injury occur while using the property for sledding.
Joslin, who came to the course with her two kids and some of their friends, told WNYT that she felt safe at the course and had come knowing exactly what she was getting into.
“It’s something [for which] you’re taking the risk yourself,” she said. “Overall in society, people turn to legal recourse, [but] I don’t agree.”
The station’s interview with Gallup and footage of sledding activity at Capital Hills GC can be viewed at http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s3702256.shtml
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