Legal Document
Youth Parental Consent
& Activity Waiver
Version 1.0 · Last updated: 1 May 2026
Required Once
Per youth participant — stored on the parent account for the life of membership
Retention Period
Until participant's 25th birthday or 7 years post-membership — whichever is later
Signed By
Parent or legal guardian only — not the young person themselves
RSJ members complete this consent form digitally — signatures are stored securely on your account, timestamped, and legally binding under the Electronic Communications Act 2000. This page is a reference overview.
Legal Notice: This waiver has been prepared in accordance with UK law, including the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and the Children Act 1989. It does not purport to exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by RSJ's negligence. It constitutes an acknowledgment of the inherent risks of surfing and parental consent to the activities described. Retained in accordance with the Limitation Act 1980 s.28 and RSJ's data retention policy.
Section 1 — About This Document
This Parental Consent and Activity Waiver ("Waiver") must be completed by a parent or legal guardian before any young person aged under 18 participates in any RSJ Surf Academy coaching session, programme, camp, or experience — including single sessions, the 8-Week Improvement Programme, Youth Summer Camps, and the High Performance Youth Programme.
This Waiver is completed once and remains on file for the duration of the young person's active membership with RSJ, and for the period required by law thereafter (see retention notice above). You will be notified if a material change to services or law requires you to re-sign.
By signing, you confirm that you are the parent or legal guardian of the young person named, that you hold parental responsibility for them under the Children Act 1989, and that all information provided is accurate and complete.
Section 2 — Information Collected in the Digital Form
The portal waiver form will collect the following information for both the young person and the signing parent/guardian.
Young Person
Parent / Guardian
Note on Parental Responsibility: The RSJ account holder is the primary point of contact for all RSJ communications. If more than one person holds parental responsibility, the other parent/guardian should be listed as an emergency contact.
Section 3 — Medical Declaration
This section is essential for your child's safety. Medical information is treated as special category data under UK GDPR and is accessed only by RSJ's coaching and safeguarding team on a need-to-know basis.
The form asks whether any of the following apply to the young person (currently or in the past 12 months):
- —Asthma or other respiratory condition
- —Epilepsy or seizure disorder
- —Diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2)
- —Heart condition or cardiac history
- —Ear, nose, or throat conditions (including grommets)
- —Skin conditions (including eczema or sun sensitivity)
- —Motion sickness
- —History of concussion or head injury
- —Mental health conditions (anxiety, ADHD, autism spectrum, etc.)
- —Any condition requiring regular medication during activities
- —Fear of water or open ocean anxiety
- —Any other condition that may affect safe participation
You will also be asked to list any medications the young person carries and may need to self-administer (e.g. EpiPen, inhaler), and to provide specific instructions for the coaching team if applicable.
Section 4 — Swimming Ability
For the safety of all participants, the form asks you to assess the young person's swimming ability. RSJ coaches operate within SurfingGB ocean safety guidelines.
You'll select from the following options:
- —Strong swimmer — 200m+ unaided
- —Competent swimmer — comfortable in pools
- —Weak or non-swimmer — will inform coach before every session
- —Experienced — regular ocean surfer
- —Moderate — some ocean experience
- —Novice — limited or no ocean experience
Participants who cannot swim 50 metres unassisted may be restricted to certain activities at the coaching team's discretion. Being a weak swimmer does not automatically preclude participation.
Section 5 — Risk Acknowledgment
UK Law Notice: Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, RSJ Surf Academy cannot exclude or limit liability for death or personal injury caused by its own negligence. This section constitutes an informed acknowledgment of the inherent risks of surfing — not a waiver of any rights your child may have in respect of negligence by RSJ or its coaches.
By signing the waiver you acknowledge that surfing and all RSJ coaching activities involve inherent risks that cannot be entirely eliminated. These include:
- —Drowning or near-drowning, including in circumstances where a leash or wetsuit may impair movement
- —Collision with surfboards — the participant's own, those of other surfers, or of coaching team members
- —Impact with the seabed, rocks, reef, or other submerged or surface hazards
- —Strong rip currents, tidal changes, wave sets, and other unpredictable ocean conditions
- —Marine animals including jellyfish, weever fish, and in rare cases larger marine wildlife
- —Cuts, abrasions, and lacerations from contact with fins, rails, the sea bed, or rocks
- —Musculoskeletal injuries including sprains, strains, and fractures
- —Spinal injuries, concussion, and head trauma (rare but possible)
- —Sunburn, hypothermia, dehydration, and other environmental exposures
- —Exhaustion and the risk of reduced judgment or physical capacity in the ocean
RSJ takes all reasonable precautions to minimise these risks — including appropriate coach-to-participant ratios, pre-session safety briefings, assessment of conditions, and maintenance of current first aid and lifeguarding qualifications.
Section 6 — Parental Consent Declarations
Signing the waiver confirms your consent to each of the following (as indicated in the digital form):
Risk Acknowledgment — You understand the inherent dangers of surfing described above and give informed consent to your child's participation. You confirm the young person is physically able to participate.
Coaching Activities — You consent to the young person participating in RSJ coached ocean surf sessions, land-based coaching, wave pool sessions, and any other scheduled RSJ activities.
Emergency Medical Treatment — In the event of an emergency where you cannot be reached, you consent to RSJ seeking appropriate emergency medical treatment on your child's behalf. You confirm there are no medical or religious grounds on which you would object to emergency treatment.
Coaching Video (required for full service) — You consent to the young person being filmed during sessions for coaching analysis and technique feedback. This footage is stored on your RSJ account and accessible only to you and named coaches — never publicly published without separate consent.
Data Protection — You consent to RSJ holding the young person's personal data (name, date of birth, medical information, and coaching records) for the duration of their membership and as required by law.
(Optional) Promotional Content — Consent to RSJ using footage or images of the young person in promotional materials, social media, and marketing content. Withdrawable at any time by emailing surf@rsjsurfacademy.com.
(Optional) Watch App & Health Data — Explicit parental consent for health and biometric data collection via the RSJ Watch App. See Section 7 below. Required only if you wish to use Watch App features.
Section 7 — Health & Biometric Data — RSJ Watch App & Mobile App
The RSJ Apple Watch App and Mobile App collect health and biometric data — including heart rate, GPS location, wave count, speed metrics, distance, and calorie estimates. Under UK GDPR Article 9(1) and the ICO Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code), this is special category health data belonging to a child, which requires explicit parental consent.
RSJ uses this data solely to track your young person's athletic performance and inform coaching. It is never sold, shared commercially, or used for any purpose other than their development. Data is retained only for the duration of the coaching relationship and deleted on account closure or consent withdrawal.
Giving consent to health data collection is optional and separate from all other sections of this waiver. Declining does not affect access to any other RSJ coaching service. Consent can be provided or withdrawn at any time via the Waivers section of your member portal.
Watch App and health tracking features are available on Youth Elite membership and as part of the HP Programme.
Section 8 — Video, Photography & Media Consent
8A — Coaching Video Analysis
RSJ records video of coaching sessions for biomechanical analysis and performance feedback. Footage is stored securely in your RSJ member portal (Kaizen Lab), accessible only to you, your child (where appropriate), and named RSJ coaches. It is never shared publicly or used for marketing. Consent to coaching video is required for full participation.
8B — Promotional Photography and Video (Optional)
RSJ may wish to use photographs or video for promotional purposes. This is entirely optional and does not affect your child's ability to participate in or benefit from RSJ's services. Promotional consent can be withdrawn at any time by contacting surf@rsjsurfacademy.com. RSJ will remove content from active use on receipt of a withdrawal request.
Section 9 — Data Protection
RSJ Surf Academy processes personal data about you and your child in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our full Privacy Policy is at rsjsurfacademy.com/privacy.
This Waiver and the personal data it contains will be retained until the young person's 25th birthday or for 7 years following the end of their RSJ membership, whichever is later, in accordance with the Limitation Act 1980 s.28 and RSJ's data retention policy. Health and medical information is processed as special category data solely to ensure safe participation.
RSJ will not add you or your child to any marketing list without separate opt-in consent.
Section 10 — What You're Confirming by Signing
By signing this document, you confirm that:
- —You are the parent or legal guardian of the young person named and hold parental responsibility for them under the Children Act 1989.
- —All information provided is accurate, complete, and up to date to the best of your knowledge.
- —You understand the inherent risks of surfing described in Section 5 and give informed consent to your child's participation.
- —You accept RSJ Surf Academy's Terms and Conditions on your child's behalf.
- —You understand it is your responsibility to inform RSJ of any change to the information provided before your child's next session.
- —You understand that RSJ Surf Academy cannot lawfully exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by its own negligence, and that nothing in this document constitutes such exclusion.
- —You have had the opportunity to read this document carefully and ask questions before signing.
- —Your typed name in the digital portal, or handwritten signature on a printed copy, constitutes a legally binding signature under the Electronic Communications Act 2000 (UK).
Paper copies may be handed to your RSJ coach or returned to surf@rsjsurfacademy.com before the first session. A countersigned copy will be returned to you for your records.