The risk of serious injury or death to sports participants involving the surf zone is notionally rare. However, any convening organisation that conducts activities in potentially extreme natural environments is expected to undertake risk management practices which prioritise participant safety.
This empirical study documents the development of the Surf Hazard Rating as a quantitative hazard assessment model to assist surf risk decision makers in real time, and to assuage the concerns of other stakeholders, including the loved ones of participants, regulators, corporate sponsors, and public donors. Model validity is confirmed using multivariate statistical techniques using a sample size of n=2118.