Basic safety manual for aerial practice

This is the short version of the ACI safety standard for everyone in the room, not only the person who rigged it.

Before class

• Tell the teacher about pregnancy, recent surgery, glaucoma, blood pressure or vertigo.
• Arrive early enough to warm up wrists, shoulders and spine.
• Check that your hammock or silk hangs from two locked carabiners.

During class

• Never invert without a mat under you and a teacher watching.
• Learn to come down before you learn to go up: every wrap has an exit.
• Eight students per teacher is the maximum for beginners, six for silks and hoop.
• Stop at the first sign of dizziness. Hanging upside down while light-headed is how people fall.

If someone falls

• Do not move them if they hit the head, neck or back. Call the number on the wall.
• Keep the apparatus still and clear the space.
• Every studio following the standard has a written plan and practises it twice a year. Ask to see it.

For teachers

Log every rigging change, inspect daily, and keep the first aid kit and a phone in the room. The full checklist is in the standard.