Viristar is launching a two-day, 16-hour classroom-based Foundations of Adventure Safety training, designed to provide skills and knowledge vital for appropriately managing risks arising from adventure activities.
The course has been developed to support leaders of outdoor, adventure, experiential, wilderness and travel-based programs in creating an effective safety management system for their operation.
Viristar has been offering a similar two-day, face-to-face training since 2018. Earlier versions of this classroom-based course referenced the term ‘Risk Management for Outdoor Programs,’ which now describes Viristar’s 40-hour online outdoor risk management training.
This in-person Foundations of Adventure Safety course covers similar topics to those covered in the online training, but has a curriculum adapted for a 16-hour timeframe and classroom-based format.
Viristar is currently offering the class on an open enrollment basis May 1-2, 2026 in Guangzhou, China, as well as offering a class for experiential learning trip leaders May 29-30 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Additional course dates are expected to be added to the schedule soon.
Foundations of Adventure Safety course curriculum
The Foundations of Adventure Safety training is designed to provide adventure program managers—or persons who wish to be adventure program managers—with essential knowledge and skills for implementing effective safety practices in their organization.
The course introduces general concepts in risk management, and discusses a theoretical model of incident causation and prevention that organizations providing adventure activities can use as a reference when designing their safety management system.
The course addresses multiple “risk domains,” or areas in an organization where risks reside, such as Safety Culture, Participants, Staff, Equipment, Transportation, Subcontractors (Third-Party Providers), and Activities and Program Areas. Participants learn about assessing risks in these risk domains, and how to institute policies, procedures, values and systems to eliminate and reduce those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
The course also covers risk management instruments, which are broadly effective tools that can reduce risks across multiple risk domains at once. These risk management instruments include liability waivers, insurance, emergency planning, incident reporting, medical screening, risk management reviews, documentation, and systems thinking. Participants have the opportunity to explore how to use these tools to reduce risks in their organization.
The training also addresses published good practice safety standards for the adventure travel, outdoor recreation, adventure tourism and related sectors, as well as those providing adventurous journey and experiential adventure programs. The course also covers basic legal considerations, such as negligence and duty of care.
The class is interactive, intensive and engaging. No prior knowledge or experience is required. Course activities include:
- Lecture presentations
- Role plays
- Case study scenarios
- Small-group discussion
- Organizational self-assessment regarding adventure safety standards
Participants are provided with a paperback copy of the course textbook, Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure. Access to an online, view-only e-book version of the textbook is also provided.
Course audience
The course is designed to be applicable to a global audience of adventure professionals in any country or territory worldwide.
The course topics focus on administrative aspects of safety management, such as developing standard operating procedures, writing effective emergency plans, staff training, risk communications with participants, equipment management, and the like.
Because of this, the principal audience for the course is persons with managerial, executive leadership, governance, or administrative responsibilities over adventure programs.
However, activity leaders such as adventure tourism guides and outdoor educators may also find the course valuable.
Participants must be available for the full 16 hours of the course, and, independently or with assistance,
be able to read, write and speak in the language of instruction (normally English), work constructively with others, perform necessary self-care, and manage personal mobility.
The Course Host model
The Foundations of Adventure Safety course is offered in collaboration with Course Hosts, who work with Viristar to put on the classroom-based training.
This is different from the arrangements with Viristar’s online Risk Management for Outdoor Programs training, where participants can register for any of Viristar’s regularly scheduled open-enrollment courses, which are offered approximately once a month throughout the year. (Organizations can also arrange to hold a non-public course only open to their staff.)
With this collaborative model involving Course Hosts, Viristar provides:
- Instruction
- Curriculum
- Course textbook
- Certification
The Course Host is responsible for:
- Marketing the Foundations of Adventure Safety course
- Enrolling course participants and collecting tuition
- Providing adequate classroom space
- Providing certain equipment such as LCD projector & screen
- Handling certain administrative and customer service details
A minimum of 16 participants are normally required to run the Foundations of Adventure Safety course.
Participants can be employees, volunteers or members of the Course Host organization; adventure professionals in the Course Host’s network, or any adventure professional interested in and eligible to participate in the training.
The Course Host must be an organized entity such as a company, government agency, or charitable organization, with a sufficient network and administrative capacity to promote the training and coordinate course logistics.
Foundations of Adventure Safety courses are currently offered in English language only, but Viristar expects to offer the Foundations of Adventure Safety training in other languages in the future.
Once a prospective Course Host reaches out to Viristar to inquire about hosting a Foundations of Adventure Safety training, Viristar and Course Host will work together to establish details such as the course dates and location. The Course Host establishes the cost for the specific training they plan to offer, which should cover Viristar’s fee as well as administrative expenses the Course Host occurs, such as arranging for a classroom space and handling customer service inquiries. The two organizations formalize a course agreement, and the Course Host begins recruiting participants. If the course is open to the public, Viristar also promotes the training through its website, social media and other channels. After the training is completed, Viristar invoices the Course Host.
To learn more or to host a Foundations of Adventure Safety course
Organizations interested to offer the Foundations of Adventure Safety training to their community or network should contact Viristar for additional details, including pricing and curriculum details.
To learn more or be a Course Host, contact Viristar at viristar.com/host-a-course.
To see a schedule of currently offered Foundations of Adventure Safety trainings, visit viristar.com/education/find-a-course.
