As the popularity of skateboarding grows, public entity decision-makers face several questions when considering whether to establish a park for skaters-both expert and novice-to perform their gravity-defying jumps and grinds.

Interestingly, there is no single approach to reducing skatepark liability that is right for all types of facilities in all types of communities nationwide, say several skatepark managers and insurance pools that cover such facilities. Some, for example, require skaters-and, in some cases, their parents-to sign liability waivers, while others have no such rule. In addition, skatepark managers disagree on whether staffing the parks reduces the potential for liability. These divergent opinions stem, in part, from the almost total lack of recent liability claims stemming from skatepark injuries.

Despite these differences of opinion, experts overwhelmingly agree about the importance of other loss control techniques that municipalities should follow to minimize the likelihood of skatepark liability. These approaches include using professionally designed facilities, posting warning signs and performing daily maintenance checks.

The sport of skateboarding, which began in the late 1950s in California as "sidewalk surfing," later used bowl- or pool-type structures, said Shawn Elliff, a senior risk control consultant in Lees Summit, Mo., with the St. Paul Cos. Inc.

Subsequently, the popularity of skateboarding waned, in part because deteriorating structures resulted in liability losses and were eventually shut down. The sport has since taken on new life and has evolved to include "street" skating, in which skaters perform their maneuvers on readily available-often public-structures such as steps, benches and railings.

As the popularity of street skating grew, so, too, did complaints from public and private property owners, including merchants, who were worried about skateboarders driving away customers and damaging property.

Determining how best to accommodate and regulate skateboarding "certainly is an issue," said Jim Hirt, executive director of the Public Risk Management Assn. in Arlington, Va. Public entity risk managers around the nation "are trying to be proactive" in striking a balance between providing recreational opportunities and protecting municipal property such as curbs and railings from damage caused by skateboarders, he said.

An important part of a community's planning process should be getting input from skateboarders and a cross-section of other community members, said Gary Balling, executive director of the park district in Oak Park, Ill. That community is currently considering replacing three tennis courts with a skatepark.

Skateboard proponents emphasize that the sport is safer than some other recreational choices available to youth, such as football and ice hockey.

Nevertheless, the American Academy of Pediatrics says that skateboard-related injuries each year account for an estimated 50,000 emergency room visits and 1,500 hospitalizations among U.S. children and adolescents. The most-common injuries are those to the ankle, wrist and face, and most hospitalizations stem from head injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"Skatepark areas, by their nature, pose a risk of serious injury to patrons," according to a statement by Brett Davis, risk management services manager for the Park District Risk Management Agency. The Lisle, Ill.-based park district insurance pool protects 141 independent park districts-including 20 skateparks-in Illinois.

Skateboarders also risk cervical spine injuries, including quadriplegia, according to PDRMA's liability waiver, which is used by some of its skateparks.

To help prevent such injuries-and resultant liability claims-nearly all public entities advocate several loss control techniques.

In terms of risk financing, most skateboard parks are included in overall policies for public sector entities and are not written on separate policies, according to spokesmen for St. Paul, PDRMA and some other public entity pools.

In addition, "skatepark risks can be managed with loss prevention controls prior to construction and during operation," Mr. Davis said.

A thorough approach to loss control is important because "possible liability claims could stem from allegations of negligence in design, supervision and maintenance," said Tracy Dahl-Webb, human resources and risk management director for the city of Brookings, S.D., which operates a skateboarding facility.

For example, parks should be professionally designed and should use commercially available ramps and jumps, which would be backed up by product liability insurance, said James R. Noonan, insurance/ risk manager for the City of White Plains, N.Y. That is particularly important for his city's skatepark, because it is reinstalled annually as a warm-weather alternative to the city's covered outdoor ice skating rink.

In addition, all public skatepark managers cite the need for extensive use of signs, including those that warn of the hazards of the sport, state the terms and conditions for using the facility and clarify that the park does not assume responsibility for injuries.

Unstaffed parks typically post signs that provide information about the location of the nearest telephone, so help can be summoned promptly in the event of an emergency.

And public skatepark operators encourage daily, documented safety inspections. Damaged ramps should be taken out of service and quickly repaired, park operators say.

Nearly all skateparks have signs strongly urging skateboarders to use proper protective gear, including helmets as well as pads to protect knee and wrist joints. But most unstaffed skateparks-including the eight parks insured by the Assn. of Washington Cities in Olympia, Wash.-stop short of requiring equipment use, because they can't enforce the rule.

In addition, many public entities urge that parks be fenced and locked during off hours, though unstaffed parks have less control over when the facilities are used.

Illinois' PDRMA pool permits each individual member to decide whether a given situation is risky enough that it should try to shield itself from liability claims by requiring a signed waiver from every participant and, for any skater under the age of 18, from the youth's parent or guardian.

Unstaffed skateparks, though, typically do not require liability waivers.

"In a public park setting, unmanned is the way to go to minimize the liability exposure," according to St. Paul consultant Mr. Elliff, who has provided advice for about 10 to 15 skateboard parks in the Midwest. Essentially, the skaters themselves assume more personal risk at an unstaffed facility, he explained.

Among the public entities that do not staff their facilities or require liability waivers are the Assn. of Washington Cities as well as the city of Brookings, which both tend to use less-elaborate equipment and which are located in areas of the country that are considered less litigious.

The 12 skateparks operated by members of the Assn. of Bay Area Governments Pooled Liability Assurance Network typically do not require waivers for all but a few portable parks, said Marcus Beverly, director of risk management in Oakland.

A California law that declares skateboarding a hazardous activity provides limited immunity for public entity skateboard parks from claims by anyone age 15 and over. Cities expect to replace that law, which sunsets Jan. 1, 2003.

Meanwhile, the city of White Plains staffs it skatepark, in part because it operates a complex facility that is used by both skateboarders and in-line skaters. It also makes use of extensive liability waivers.