(Revised July 1993)
This Joint Statement of Understanding is intended to define the relative positions of general ski area management, through the auspices of the National Ski Areas Association (hereafter NSAA), and the National Ski Patrol System, Inc. (hereafter NSP) and its local NSP registration units. It is recognized that matters which may not be covered in this Joint Statement may develop from time to time in the future, and that such matters may, by mutual agreement, be the subject of a further expansion of this Joint Statement of Understanding, if necessary and agreed upon.
It is recognized between the parties to this Joint Statement or Agreement that individual groups of volunteer patrollers may form and/or belong to a local NSP registration unit. However, any NSP patroller or group of patrollers performing ski patrol services at a ski area in the United States is subject to the following:
1. A patrol, once established at a given ski area, is under the supervision of the ski area management and must abide by the policies and procedures established by that management.
2. The NSP Patrol Representative of any NSP registration unit shall, if required by area management, certify that all patrollers at that area have completed the training and educational requirements set forth by the National Ski Patrol Board of Directors and have met all Winter Emergency Care (WEC) requirements. The NSAA encourages its member areas to require patrollers at each area to meet the current NSP training and educational criteria or their equivalent.
3. Management shall, at all times, have the right to approve the selection of the NSP patrol representative. Management shall likewise have the right to dismiss the NSP patrol representative or any patroller at any time. If requested by area management, the NSP division director shall confirm management's decision in this regard.
4. NSP and NSAA recognize the importance of educating lift evacuation participants as to appropriate lift evacuation techniques and the specific implementation details in the ski area lift evacuation plan. The establishment of necessary policies and procedures for lift evacuation, lift evacuation training, and the selection of equipment to be used in conjunction with such evacuation or training is the sole responsibility of ski area management. Patrollers will participate in lift evacuation and lift evacuation training only as ski area management shall direct.
5. Both the NSP and ski area management agree that incident investigation and documentation is an important element of patrol activity. To that end, ski area management shall establish a procedure for accurate compilation, safe retention, authorized disclosure of and controlled access to information and documentation relating to any incident. As such, no patroller shall make any statement regarding any incident to anyone (other than to proper authorities having rightful jurisdiction). Any such inquiry shall, in any event, and in the first instance, be referred to area management or its appointed representative.
6. It is recognized that ski area management ultimately supervises and controls many of the patrolling activities of individual NSP members and NSP registration units at each ski area. As such, it may be asserted that the ski area bear legal responsibility for such acts of its patrollers. It is also understood and agreed that there are services provided by individual NSP members based upon their training received from NSP. To the extent that claims are made against individual ski areas relating to activities over which ski area management has ultimate supervision or control, it is agreed that the ski area should make no claim or demand or suit against NSP or its directors, officers, and employees. Likewise, to the extent that the basis for any such claim relates to areas of specialty training of individual patrollers by NSP, NSP should not make any claim against individual ski areas, regardless of any claim made against them.
7. It is specifically understood between the parties to this Agreement that nothing herein, and nothing contained in any individual agreement between the NSP and individual ski areas based on the Joint Statement of Understanding, shall in any way vary the clear, non-employee status of individual volunteer patrollers. In fact, it is expressly understood between the NSP and the NSAA, as well as the membership of both organizations, that the volunteer patrollers are not and have not been employees, but agents when acting within the scope of their assigned duties, in view of the voluntary nature of their patrolling services.
NATIONAL SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL SKI PATROL SYSTEM, INC.