Paralympian denied use of water slides at Gold Coast water park

Hey, if he's willing to pay to replace any slides he scratches up, I'm all for letting him ride.

Would this have been as big of news if the guy wasn't an athlete and was just rididing alone with a bunch of buddies?

He was offered a refund and the park gave a great response on their position, so what's the issue here?

The tricky thing about amusement rides is that safety restraints can only work if they have a predictable form factor to adhere to, and even them sometimes they get it wrong (see Intamin giant flumes). While I'm not an engineer, I think accommodating amputees is the single hardest thing to do, depending on what they've lost. The standard lap bar arrangement, especially those that elevate the knees higher than the butt, are an example where someone missing a leg absolutely couldn't be secured safely.

I'm guessing that water slide designers expect two legs as a stabilizing force to keep the body from flailing around, so regardless of possible damage, that to me sounds like a potential safety issue.

There are some unfortunate realities in these cases that leave people with hurt feelings (guests) and awkward positions (parks).

They were CARBON FIBER!!! legs.

What is your point?

While conductive, carbon fiber would not scratch the surface of the slide like metal would. But loss of the leg during the ride could be a problem

I would imagine that even if it were Carbon Fiber there were still some steel fasteners on the thing.

Okay, I seet your point about the "nuts & bolts) of the situation.

The question I have...

If the person were to remove the offending leg, would he then be able to use the water slide? I guess the leg is probably necessary to get to the top of the tower, and then an assistant might be needed to bring the leg back down...

But it seems to me that the whole issue is that the prosthetic would cause equipment damage, and that is certainly a valid concern. Heck, if it were me, I would be worried that impacting the pool at the bottom of the slide, or some action in the slide, would damage the prosthetic.

It might be logistically complicated, but removing the prosthesis might make it possible to offer some kind of "reasonable accommodation".

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The article addresses this IIRC. He was not allowed to send the prosthesis back down the stairs with someone else. (And, I agree---this should have been acceptable, provided that the slide manufacturer does not require riders have both legs.)

But does the design of the slide require that two legs are used to stabilize the body as it moves through the trough? I assume that things like this go into the design of the ride.

I feel bad for the guy but the park has a duty to protect people from themselves and the right to protect their property. I thought about what Jeff said and I tried to imagine going down a slide without legs. I think he's right that your legs stabilize you. Without them, or if this man lost his while riding, he way start to twist and flip over which could cause a serious injury or may even cause his to drown. Rules are their for a reason, just like the height rules. I was at Kalahari and watched kids clearly under the required height riding a couple of the slides. When they came out the tube at the end, they barley made it to the splash area and one was even backwards. This concerned me greatly and I told management who corrected the situation, or so I was told. The rules they set are for peoples safety. Not sure why the park in this case just didn't say that rather than the scratching the slide line. It can appear mean or for no reason but the parks have a duty to protect everyone.

I'm no engineer or doctor but I would guess that the legs (both of them) give you some leverage that keeps you from rolling laterally while heading down the tube.

Now, considering his abilities as a paralympian maybe this guy would have the upper body strength to take care of himself but is that something the amusement park or even the ride manufacturer can make the judgment on?