Bungee Jumping Safety Standards: Setting the Bar High for Adventure Events

Throwing yourself off a 160-foot crane might sound insane, and it kind of is. But at UK Bungee Club, we take this ultimate adrenaline rush and back it with some of the most rigorous safety standards in the world. It’s wild fun, but it’s not reckless. It’s controlled chaos, engineered by experts.

A Wild Beginning

Bungee jumping’s roots go deep (literally), all the way to the vine jumpers of Pentecost Island, where young men would hurl themselves from towering wooden platforms as a rite of passage.

Fast forward to the modern era, and bungee’s true birthplace isn’t the lush landscapes of New Zealand, as many think, it’s actually the rolling hills of the UK. On April 1st, 1979, four students from Oxford University’s notorious Dangerous Sports Club decided that climbing, rowing, and the usual collegiate thrills weren’t quite enough. They rigged up elastic ropes and jumped off the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and were promptly arrested. However, this was more out of confusion than criminality, the police didn’t even know what crime had been committed. There were no laws about jumping off bridges for fun. So, unsure of what else to do, they locked the students in a cell… and shared a bottle of red wine with them before letting them go.

That chaotic, brilliant spirit lives on in every jump, but today, it's paired with world-class safety.

Setting the Standard

When bungee jumping first took off, it was the Wild West, no rules, no oversight, just guts and elastic. That’s when UK Bungee Club (UKBC) stepped in. More than 30 years ago, we decided that if bungee was going to survive and thrive, it needed real safety standards.

To formalise these efforts, UKBC assisted with developing the BERSA (British Elastic Rope Sports Association) Code, and went on to follow and refine it over the next 30 years. While the BERSA organisation has since dissolved, UKBC continues to build on that foundation with its own up-to-date code of safe practice, as well as consulting with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to develop the HSE Guide to Bungee Jumping. 

Our new code retains the core principles of the original BERSA Code while introducing additional, more up-to-date practices to ensure the highest bungee jumping safety standards.

The thrill is real. But so is the professionalism.

Our Core Principles: Competence, Redundancy, Informed Participation

Every jump you take with us is built on three rock-solid pillars:

Competence

When you take that leap, you’re trusting your life to more than a bungee cord, you’re trusting it to the crew. That’s why every single member of our team is highly trained, deeply experienced, and absolutely obsessed with safety. Only the most qualified professionals make it onto the jump line.

Redundancy

Our systems are designed with multiple layers of protection. Every critical piece of equipment has a backup of equal or great strenght that the original. Even our checks are checked: at least two separate crew members inspect your harness, your ropes, and your connections. It’s double or nothing, every time.

Informed Participation

Before you jump, you’ll get a full briefing. Not just the thrilling bits, but the real risks too. We believe you should jump into the unknown knowing everything. You'll read a tailored Health Warning Notice, ask questions, and make an informed decision about whether to take the leap.

Beyond the Basics

Our safety standards go even further, covering every variable, age, weight, health, harness fit, and even weather conditions. If it’s not perfect, you don’t jump. Simple as that.

In Short

Bungee jumping might feel like madness, but underneath that madness is 30 years of method, thousands of hours of training, and an unshakable commitment to doing it the right way.

Because at the end of the day, the only thing crazier than throwing yourself off a crane is doing it without a team like ours behind you.