Risk Assessment for Tomahawk Activity - version July 2022 v2

Aug 26, 2026

Risk Assessment document for Tomahawk activities at Braggers Wood campsite and activity centre, version July 2022 v2. It defines hazards and specifies control measures for safe operation, including adherence to TSA and POR rules, appointment of an appropriately knowledgeable leader, first-aid arrangements, incident reporting, and authority to stop the activity. It covers equipment transport and storage, range and condition checks, participant eligibility and supervision, target and throwing-line restrictions, PPE requirements, safe throwing/removal techniques, and management of waiting participants to reduce injury risk.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Hazards and risk controls

TSA rules and general safety management

Transport, transfer and storage of equipment

Range conditions and setup checks

Equipment and activity restrictions

Age limits and in-range access control

Throwing procedures and targeting limits

Safe removal and carrying of throwing angels

Supervision and safety for waiting participants

Risk Assessment for Tomahawk Activity-version July 2022 v2 at Braggers Wood campsite and activity centre | Hazards and who is at risk | How will the risks be controlled? | | --- | --- | | TSA rules | 1. The activity must be run following all POR rules and TSA guidance. In particular, but not exclusively:
● The leader-in-charge will be the appropriately knowledgeable activity leader, or if two, one should be assigned. They must ensure all people in the range are briefed on the risk assessment and safety measures. They must do dynamic risk assessments throughout the activity.
● A ﬁrst aider, trained to First Response level should be in attendance and the location of a ﬁrst aid kit known.
● All faulty equipment , near misses, accidents and incidents must be reported to the Camp Warden without delay.
● Any Braggers Wood committee member or any senior member of Christchurch District may stop the activity or the use of the range if they deem it unsafe and their decision is ﬁnal. | | Risk of injury when transporting, transferring and storing equipment-All at risk | 2. The camp warden may only allow access to the range and the equipment box for an activity, to activity leaders.
3. The transport of the equipment to and from the range should be managed by the camp warden or his deputy, and the equipment box should remain locked.
4. Throwing angels must be returned to the locked equipment box , returned to the camp warden or his deputy, to take to the store and the store must be locked. | | Risk of injury due to issues with range and conditionsAll at risk | 5. The instructor should check the integrity of the fencing, the ability of the gate to lock, the stability and suitability of the targets and the throwing line, and that the throwing equipment is not faulty before starting an activity.
6. The activity leader should check the suitability of the weather before starting an activity. | | Risk of injury from equipment-All at risk | 7. Tomahawk throwing must only occur in the designated range onsite.
8. Only the site-provided throwing angels may be thrown, NOTHING ELSE.
9. This range requires a minimum of one appropriately knowledgeable activity leader AND a scout adult member to supervise those waiting.
10. The appropriate knowledgeable person must be as TSA guidance, Activity leaders from outside Christchurch District must show proof of their training to the Braggers Activity Coordinator or the Camp Warden.
11. The Scout adult member must hold a DBS and current safety training.
12. This range must only have 10 throwers per group, 5 per target. | Tomahawks risk assessment Version July 2022 v2 Page 1 of 4-content without the approval and revision history is on page 1-2 only | | 13. This range has a minimum age of 8 years and activity leaders must ensure that each thrower has the strength, physical ability and maturity to throw safely.
14. Only the instructors, the supervising adult and participants are allowed in the range. Any others must seek the permission of the instructor before entering.
15. The exit gate must be securely closed so no one can unexpectedly enter.
16. The throwing line must be used and must not be moved.
17. All people throwing must wear suitable footwear and clothing-walking boots or strong shoes, minimum trainers. | | --- | --- | | Risk of injury from throwing-All at risk | 18. Throwers should be instructed in safe throwing techniques.
19. On this range:
● Only one thrower at a time is to aim at each target-there are two targets, each with three different options at different heightsand challenges.
● Only one throwing angel should be thrown at a target at a time.
● Maximum of four throwing angels should be thrown at the target before being collected.
20. Participants deemed to be deliberately throwing too aggressively or not following safety rules should be managed appropriately by the activity leader to ensure their own and others safety. | | Ris

FAQs

What TSA/POR rule controls apply to running the Tomahawk activity?

The activity must follow all POR rules and TSA guidance, including briefing all people in the range, conducting dynamic risk assessments, and ensuring a First Response-trained first aider is present. Faulty equipment, near misses, accidents, and incidents must be reported to the Camp Warden without delay, and authorized committee/senior members may stop the activity if deemed unsafe.

How is equipment transport and storage managed to reduce injury risk?

The Camp Warden (or deputy) manages transport of the equipment to and from the range, and the equipment box remains locked. Throwing angels are returned to the locked equipment box and then to the locked store via the Camp Warden or deputy before resuming safe operations.

What rules govern safe throwing and interaction with the targets?

Tomahawk throwing must occur only in the designated onsite range, using only the site-provided throwing angels—nothing else. Only authorized personnel are allowed in the range, the throwing line must not be moved, and throwers follow safe techniques with limits on one thrower per target at a time and restricted numbers of angels thrown before collection. Waiting participants must stand in a waiting area and be supervised to avoid distracting throwers.

Aug 26, 2026

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