NEW ZEALAND, the
country that popularized
bungy jumping for daredev-
ils around the world, is
leading the way again in
establishing a stringent safe-
ty code to protect tourists
who simply can’t go home
before throwing themselves
off a scenic bridge some-
where.

Bungy operators and jump
masters have embraced the 70-
pase cede of practice, which’ has

m formally adopted by the
Standards Association of New -
Zealand. The code provides | for

the registration of jump staff and
the certification of jump sites, The
certification of an organization
providing a recreational activity,
rather than a manufactured pro-
duct, is believed to be a world-
first for a national standards
association.

While established bungy opera-
tors in Canada are aware of the
New Zealand safety rules, the
Standards Council of Canada says
it has no plans at present to de-
velop a compasable Canadian
code.

For now, it's a matter of
money. Greg Brown, manager of
the Bungy Zone, near Nanaimo,
B.C. —- Canada’s only year-round

Canada is debating bungy jumping standards

jump site — said it would cost the
industry about $43,060 to com-
mission the Standards Council to
come up with a Canadian code.
“There’s just no money for it —
until somebody gets killed. That's
the way it is.’’

Brown, a New Zealander, has a
copy of the New Zealand code.
The Nanaimo siis as its own dai-
ly inspection procedures and
replaces key equipment as re-
quired. But since there are no
formal rules for jump sites that
spring up across Canada in sum-
mer, it’s a case of jumpers
beware, he said.

The issue of safety has arisen in
British Columbia and across

: Americans see us as cultured

ws sie) DETERMINE the perceptions

. ‘and: **personality’’ of . Vancouver
in the Pacific U.S. coast area, the
’. Angus id Group, on behalf o!
: Tourisin - Vancouver, conducted a
_-Series- of three focus groups
“peéenthy. with a travellers
-, from Seattle,. Francisco and
-San Jose.
‘The respondents were selected
- Lon’ the - basis of their househo!d-
income : “($35,000 or. more) and

“Seaitle residents were more like-

‘ly to fink’Vancouver: with British. .
Theis most. °
alien “associations” were’ - “that”

‘cultural heritage. ;

ancouyer. was very European/

-British, ‘sophisticated and world- .

class,.with nice, friendly people,

ality. service, green space, : the .

r Seatfones are a hit

IR: CANADA recently’ installed
dian carrier. offering  Seatfones_

ts 6,000th: and ‘final Skytel Seat-
fone,- completing a nine-month
ideavor. .

Now, passengers on virtually all
flights, © except. Boeing. 747s,: can
“call ‘almost anywhere in the world

om the. comfort of their seats

hile: flying over North America, -

. Puerto Rico vand -the

line employees. began equipping

1 aircraft with Seatfenes. Since
“then, - the airborne’ phones ‘have °
become a hit with passengers.

* More than 135,000 Seatfone calls
“have been made to keep in touch ©
“ with. business asscciates, family
*_.. and friends.

“Author to visit N.

~ VANCOUVER. AUTHOR Nancy.

_Hundal wil! visit North Vancouver ~
", City Library Weédnesday.-to’ read
“from her award-winning
children’s book, I Heard My
Mother Cail My Name.

Hundal, who received the Sheila
Egoff 2 Award for her book, will be’

gutdoors and manicured lawns
and gardens.

San Francisco residents think of
Vancouver. as a highly
sophisticated, cosmopolitan and

cultural city, with historic build-

ings and manicured gardens.

San: Jose residents’ strongest
images were of Vancouver as a
beautiful, outdoorsy place. with
great people. They also felt Van-
couver to be a‘safe, friendiy, fam-
ily place to visit and reside. The

British. image. was also in their.
minds ‘but not to the degree of ©

Seattle. respondents.

Seattle residents used words like
“youthful,” “carefree: and active”
when describing: Vancouver's per-
sonality. They also focused on the
sophisticated “prim and proper’?
British persona.

Air Canada is the only ‘Cana-

within reach of every customer, in
every class of service.
FLOWER POWER
“When = Air Canada customers
reach ‘out.and touch someone us-
‘ing a Seatfone, they can also send

flowers_from as high up as 30,000 ~

ieet. The- airline and Teleflora
have: joined forces to offer pas-
_ Sengers a cirect line to the floral
wire service.

Customers ‘select a bouquet
from the catalogue and place their
orders by” dialing on the Skytel
phone... _

‘Payment is made at the time of
order with. a major credit card.
Within 24 hours, Teleflora will
deliver the fresh flowers anywhere
in Canada or the United States.

‘Van. City library

the first “author to take part in
the lidrary’s, fail PJ Storytime.
Her reading begins at 7 p.m.

The series continues for six
Wednesdays, with stories and

music for four- to cight-year-
olds.

is a valuable
resource

USE IT WISELY

San Francisco and San Jose
respondents also perceive Van-
couver’s personality to be that of
a combination of active and
sophisticated.

Canada in recent months as
thrill-seekers and entrepreneurs
scramble to add excitement and
novelty to the experience. Jump-
ing from towering cranes is now
commonplace in Canada and
some have even soared aloft in
hot-air balloons and hang-gliders
seeking new heights, or fears, to
conquer.

Brown advises jumpers to look
for established sites run by
businesses that have an investment
in the facilities that they must
safeguard by running a safety-
first operation. ‘‘Leased cranes on
leased land mean no money in-
vested —— and that means no risk
to the operator.””

The Bungy Zone, which has
spent about $1 million on land
and facilities, including building a
.14-storey-hi bridge over the
Nanaimo River, has staged more
than 20,000 accident-free jumps
since it opened in 1990. It had an
overflow crowd of more than 120
eager volunteers at its recent nude
jump for charity, waving the
nozmal jump fee but charging

admission for the spectators.
Specifically, the New Zealand
code requires that:
@ A rubber bungy cord, and the.
associated harness and ankle
strapping, must have a minimum
breaking load of 2,000 kg (about
as heavy as a full-sized pickup
truck).
© Cords must be destroyed (cut
into one metre lengths) when they
are six months old, or after being
exposed to sunlight for 250 hours.
Each cord must be carefully
checked for wear at least four
times a day, when in use.

© Jump masters must have — ;

first-aid training, be ‘“‘of good
character’’ and have a record of .
1,250 incident-free jumps, or at
least 250 hours of experience, to
be registered. Only registered
jump masters are allowed to train
other staff to prescribed minimum
standards. ;
@ Sump sites must receive quality, :
assurance inspection visits by the

Standards Associatien twice a year. °

and operators . must file. annual

Lenarduzzi. KickStarters is a fun, free soccer clinic coming toa community neal
you, courtesy of MicDonald’s. Join us for autographs and draws for prize
- posters, even free tickets. Fill out the form below and bring, it in 800! n to. pre-registe
. as space is limited. See you there! :

PRE-REGISTRY DRAW

Fill in this form and bring it to us here a the North
Shore News, 1189 Lonsdale Ave., V7M 2H4. Your

- CLINIC AGENDA

completed form noi only pre-registers your place
in the clinic, it also makes you eligible for our

KickStarters’ prize draw. Prizes will be awarded
at the clinic you attend. So bring in this pre-
registry form today. Space fs limited.

NAHE:
ADDRESS:
CITY/TOWN
Postal Code:
Age: 8-7

“noon.

DATE: Friday, September: us oo
LOCATION: Loutet Park,

(Off Grand nay oe

TIME: 6:00 p.m.

® Deadiine for entries is =
Thursday, ‘September 11: at t 12

° Approximate length of clini: eis em be
2 hours. :

° Autographs and prizes will be
awarded following clinic. ai

8-9

north’shore i