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Reacting to a number of injuries at the administrative region’s trampoline arenas, the Hong Kong Consumer Council (HKCC) is seeking to regulate safety under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance.

With trampoline arenas growing in popularity in Hong Kong, as in many other locations in Asia, the HKCC is concerned that, unregulated under the Public Entertainment License law, some operators are using disclaimers to evade liability in case of injury to their customers.

The Council recently cited examples of complaints it received about trampoline parks in Hong Kong.

In one case, a local mother said her son hurt his head and had to be rushed to hospital after he lost his balance and crashed into the rim of a trampoline.

The park failed to ensure the safety of the players as the facility was overcrowded and understaffed, the mother complained.

She claimed that the park escaped responsibility by resorting to a disclaimer clause which unwary people are forced to sign up.

After receiving the complaint, the Consumer Council contacted the Food and Environment Hygiene Department for further information. The latter responded that trampoline was not a regulated ‘entertainment’ activity under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance.

It was deemed to be just a sports facility for which there were already standards and guidelines in place on proper use, set up by relevant international sports associations for reference of operators, management or premises owners.

Given the loopholes, the Council has recommended that authorities should consider making amendments to the Ordinance.

Ryze set up its first Asian trampoline park in a highrise building in Hong Kong’s North Point in June 2014 – rapidly proving polpular with in attracting over 100 customers per hour through its doors to try out its different challenges.

The US-based operator reportedly planning to use Hong Kong as a springboard for other Asian destinations, such as the Chinese mainland, Singapore and Japan.

However, Ryze had eight customers hospitalized in the first two months of its operation, according to a Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital report in a recent issue of the Hong Kong Medical Journal.

Images; Ryze Hong Kong (top) and Bounce (below). Images used for illustrative purposes only.

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