Ropes Course

A Ropes Course is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity that is usually composed of both low and high elements. Low elements are usually on the ground or less than a meter off the ground, while high elements take place on utility poles that are usually more than 10 meters high and require a beeline for safety. A full description of Ropes Courses can be found on Wikipedia.

One of the organizations that is most associated with Ropes Courses is Project Adventure. PA builds Ropes Courses and other adventure courses and elements, as well as provides a range of activities and instruction aids for getting the most out of PA facilities and activities.

There are many kinds of experiential learning programs, but the Ropes Course is one that I find to be a very interesting and productive challenge. However, it is an activity that requires a lot of preparation and staff skill in order to provide the requisite safety and quality experience. It cannot be taken lightly.

One of the places in Japan that has a Ropes Course is an educational facility in West Tokyo, Tamagawa K-12 and University and the Tamagawa Adventure Program (TAP). The center is run by Katsumi Namba, a friend and one of Japan’s most well-known adventure program leaders and facilitators.

The City Board of Education of Yamaguchi City in Yamaguchi Prefecture owns and operates two different camp facilities, each of which has a Ropes Course. The Project Adventure site in Japan currently lists 44 Ropes Courses in Japan.