How to start a company offering extreme sports business

3.1 Registering a business – general rules

No registration required

Registration applies to any activity – including companies engaged in bungee jumping and climbing.

First step – choosing the form of running a business

This can be a sole proprietorship or a partnership. Sole proprietorships and civil partnerships must be registered with the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG). Other partnerships (general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, or limited joint-stock partnership) must be registered with the National Court Register (KRS).

To register your own business, you must register it at your place of residence by submitting the CEIDG-1 form:

• in person at the city or commune office or
• electronically – via the Internet, using a secure qualified signature or using an appropriate application on the website of a given city or commune – ePUP trusted profile.

In the case of capital companies, registration takes place at the registry court (KRS) appropriate for the company’s registered office; online registration is also possible.

After submitting your application, you will be entered into the CEIDG (Central Registration and Information on Business), which will also provide you with a Tax Identification Number (NIP) and National Business Registry Number (REGON). This is free of charge.

PKD classification

When reporting an individual business activity (or, as appropriate, to define the subject of the activity in another legal form), the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD) should be used. For activities related to bungee jumping training, this is PKD 93.19.Z (other sports-related activities).

This section covers a wide range of cultural, entertainment and recreational activities, including live performances, museums, gambling, sports and recreational activities.

CEIDG

The CEIDG-1 application also involves choosing your taxation method. When choosing your income tax settlement method, consider your projected income and the costs that may arise. Depending on this, you can choose from:

• settlement according to the general tax scale – gives you the opportunity to take advantage of the tax-free amount, various tax reliefs and joint settlement with your spouse,
• settlement at a flat rate of 19%,
• lump sum tax on recorded income.

The last two cases exclude tax relief and shared costs.

Remember! Discussing the above matters in advance will save you time and help you complete your application quickly and accurately.

After submitting a complete and completed application for entry in the register, your company’s details should be entered into the CEIDG (Central Registration and Information on Business) by the end of one business day following the application submission date. From that day, i.e., the date of entry, you can conduct your business.

3.2 Start-up relief

Start-up relief for:

• for new entrepreneurs who are starting their business for the first time,
• people who resume business activities.

It can only be used by natural persons who:

• are starting a business for the first time;
• resume business activity – after at least 60 months from the date of its last suspension or termination;
• they will not perform activities for the benefit of a former employer for whom, before the date of commencement of business activity in the current or previous calendar year, they performed activities falling within the scope of the business activity undertaken under an employment relationship or cooperative employment relationship.

BENEFITS

• Thanks to the “start-up relief,” you can avoid paying ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) social insurance contributions (pension, retirement, accident, and sickness) for six months after starting your business. The start-up relief does not apply to health insurance contributions—you must pay contributions monthly.
• If you run a business, you can deduct health insurance contributions from your tax (not from your income).

Taking advantage of the start-up tax relief is a right, not an obligation. Therefore, using it is not mandatory. If you choose not to, you must apply for insurance with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) under the normal rules.

Waiving this relief means that it will only be possible to exercise this right again after 60 calendar months from the date of termination or suspension of business activity.

The so-called small ZUS

• It can be used after a full six calendar months of exemption. This relief allows for paying lower contributions for the next 24 months. The conditions for using the small ZUS allowance are the same as for the start-up relief.
• The small ZUS contribution is calculated over a full 24-month period. If the start-up relief is waived, for example, mid-month, the small ZUS contribution period will only begin from the following month.
• Suspending business activity does not interrupt the 24-month ZUS concession period. After six months of using the start-up concession, you must register for insurance with ZUS under standard or preferential terms (lower contributions for 24 months).
• Using the so-called small ZUS is also not mandatory.

It’s important to adhere to the deadline for completing the small ZUS contribution, and then re-register for full contributions. ZUS is not obligated to remind entrepreneurs of this.

 

3.3 Hiring employees

If you want to run a bungee jumping or climbing wall business, you don’t have to do all the work yourself.

It is worth considering employing qualified personnel (for required qualifications, see point 8 below).

Your staff includes instructors who ensure safety and proper execution of jumps/climbs, as well as administrative, support, accounting and cleaning staff.

3.4 Logo, name, internet domain – legal and protective aspects

If you’ve decided to open a business, you should consider professional promotion. A website is essential, showcasing the services you offer. A logo is also crucial, as it allows you to brand all your materials. These elements will help you establish a presence in the online world and make your company recognizable to customers.

Choosing a logo or name for your company or venture is a personal matter – it’s entirely up to you. You can create everything yourself or enlist the help of marketing specialists or graphic designers. They will prepare and present several versions of elements that characterize your service, and you can choose the most interesting and eye-catching one. Remember to prioritize individuality and uniqueness in the elements that distinguish your business from others. Your company name and logo must not infringe on the rights of other entities in the market.

1.5 How to protect your logo (a word-graphic symbol, the so-called logotype), name, and internet domain?

Protection of a word-graphic mark (hereinafter: logotype) may result from copyright law if the logo and name can be defined as works, and therefore as objects of copyright.

A copyrighted work must have:

• creative character (be a manifestation of human creative activity),
• individual character (unique),
• established and fixed form.

If a graphic designer creates a logo or related graphics for you, they are the creator. Make sure to include appropriate provisions regarding the transfer of copyrights in the logo design agreement.

It is also worth including a provision in the contract (or concluding a separate agreement):

• about non-exercise of author’s moral rights in relation to a given work,
• or on the transfer of the exercise of the author’s moral rights to the purchaser of the graphic work (logo), i.e. to you.

Additionally, you can indicate a contractual penalty in the event of failure to fulfill the contract by the author (e.g. a graphic designer or marketing agency preparing your logo).

1.6 Trademark registration

Another important way to protect your company’s logo and identity is to register a trademark. This applies to both the logo and name, as well as the internet domain, product, or service name. Your website’s domain name can be the same as the name of your company, product, or business. In this case, protection will also extend to the internet domain, provided it actually contains the trademark (name), which is not a generic, descriptive mark.

The Polish Patent Office is the authority responsible for granting protection rights for utility models, industrial designs, patents, and trademarks. Providing trademarks (logos) with appropriate legal protection primarily allows for:

• avoid infringements by third parties,
• to derive financial benefits from their use (profit, e.g. from franchising).

Entrepreneurs, remember! Trademarks are the foundation of building a company’s reputation and image. It’s worth ensuring this is addressed from the very beginning.

What exactly is a trademark?

This is any designation that can be represented graphically, in particular:

• word,
• drawing,
• ornament,
• color composition,
• spatial form, including the form of the product or packaging,
• a melody or other sound signal,

if this sign makes it possible to distinguish the goods (products) of one enterprise from the goods of another enterprise.

What do you need to do to register a trademark?

• Make sure and check whether the mark is already registered by another person or entity. A professional (e.g., a patent attorney or a lawyer specializing in industrial property law) will help you with this. This isn’t a difficult task. You can do it yourself using the databases available on the Patent Office website.
• Complete the application. Remember to pay the fee.
• From this point on, the Patent Office will review your case. First, it verifies the formal and legal aspects and publishes the application. This allows third parties to submit any comments or objections they may have grounds to oppose the registration of the trademark. The next step is the substantive evaluation of the application.
• If the Office finds no obstacles to registration, the announcement of the trademark application is published in the Bulletin of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland.
• From the date of publication, third parties may file an objection to the trademark application within three months. If this period expires without success or if the objection is dismissed, the Patent Office registers the trademark.

1.7 Bungee jumping – climbing – a type of extreme sport

Bungee jumping is a jump from a height on a rope.

• The most common height offered on the market is 90 meters. This is the maximum height for amateur jumpers.
• The jumper has a special rope attached to their leg, hip, or torso. The rope is made of rubber. This makes it flexible, durable, and provides excellent shock absorption.
  Before each jump, the rope’s condition should be checked. Climbing tape is often woven into the rope. This tape also serves to protect the jumper by preventing the rubber from overstretching.
• Typically, jumps are performed from a crane. Daredevils also attempt them from properly secured bridges, among other locations.

Climbing

It involves moving across terrain so steep that you need to use your hands to maintain balance. There are several types of climbing.

Types of climbing:

• Free climbing.
  The climber uses only their arms and legs. Equipment is used only passively – for belaying.
• Climbing with artificial aids
  is climbing with the active use of equipment. Hanging from a rope and established belay points is permitted. These are used as steps and holds. Special benches are suspended from them – small ladders with several rungs – on which the climber ascends and installs subsequent belay points.

Climbing can take place both in a natural mountain or rock environment and in artificially constructed halls – on specially prepared walls.

Bungee jumping and climbing are considered extreme sports.

In common sense, extreme sports are selected groups of sports that carry a higher risk than others.

Insurance companies provide a precise definition. Insurance for those practicing extreme sports is treated as a separate category. It’s crucial to purchase the appropriate insurance, one that will protect the entrepreneur from liability in the event of accidents while using the services they offer.

Among the definitions prepared by insurance companies, we can find, among others, the information that “extreme sports are high-risk sports – air, water, land, practiced to achieve maximum sensations, in particular: mountain and rock climbing, speleology, motor sports or motorboat sports, motocross, hunting, martial arts and defense sports, mountain biking, skiing off marked slopes, ski jumping, diving with the use of specialized equipment or apnea, canyoning, rafting, sea sailing, ballooning, bungee jumping, BASE jumping, surfing, kitesurfing, paragliding, parachuting, gliding, car rallies”.

1.8 Liability and Insurance

What do you need to take care of before allowing a participant to jump/climb?

• all necessary security measures must be ensured, including:
  – establishing regulations to be signed by customers,
  – enforcing the required declarations from customers,
  – providing the company with appropriate insurance,
• make sure that the person interested in the service is at least 18 years old or has parental consent,
• make sure that the potential client does not suffer from any health problems,
• in the case of rope belaying, each participant should be appropriately weighed before jumping or starting the climb,

The weight should be recorded (commonly written on the jumper’s forearm). The rope must be appropriate for the jumper’s weight—the correct thickness and length, stretching in controlled proportions.

Important !

Bungee jumping should not be performed by pregnant women and people exposed to:

• circulatory system diseases,
• severe diseases uncontrolled hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases, aortic aneurysm, condition after arterial surgery, large varicose veins of the lower limbs, ischemia of the lower limbs, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, etc.
• diseases of the central nervous system (epilepsy, depression, psychosis, paresis, post-stroke condition),
• eye diseases (retinal diseases, glaucoma, condition after surgery, vision defects above 3 diopters),
• diseases of the musculoskeletal system (after spinal injuries, severe fractures of the lower limbs and pelvis, spine diseases (discopathy, fractures, spondylolisthesis, osteoporosis, significant curvatures, congenital and acquired defects).

Very important! When it comes to extreme sports, safety should be paramount.

Your instructors should have:

• necessary qualifications,
• knowledge and experience,
• appropriate liability insurance.

Your equipment should be undamaged and safe.

When running a business of this type, if the life and health of participants are at risk, you may be held not only financially liable, but also criminally liable – if you are accused of causing bodily harm (permanent or temporary damage to health) or the death of a jumper due to negligence and failure to exercise due diligence in the selection of equipment and personnel.

1.9 Qualifications.

a) Climbing

Climbing instructor qualifications are required – without this you cannot provide climbing services.

How to become a climbing instructor?

You must submit an application to the Polish Mountaineering Association and complete a special course.

Requirements for people who want to enroll in a mountain climbing instructor course:

• completed higher education studies in physical education and obtained a very good grade in the final credit or exam for classes conducted in a given sport discipline, amounting to at least 60 hours, or completed instructor specialization, amounting to 60 hours in a given sport discipline, or
• completed higher education in tourism and recreation with a specialization
• instructor, for at least 80 hours in a given sport discipline or
• having at least secondary education and completing a specialized instructor course in a given sport discipline and passing the final exam.

The minister responsible for physical culture and sport may exempt an athlete from the education requirement referred to in paragraph 1. This applies to individuals who have achieved results of particular significance to Polish sport. The athlete must submit an appropriate application, along with an opinion from the relevant Polish sports association.

In addition, candidates should:

• Demonstrate good health, as evidenced by an entry in the athlete’s health card/booklet (specialization: any climbing sport). A medical certificate confirming there are no contraindications to climbing and participating in an instructor course may also be required.
• They cannot be convicted by a final court judgment.
• Present a moral and ethical attitude that raises no objections.
• Be characterized by: emotional maturity, calmness and self-control,
• the ability to quickly assess the situation and take appropriate action
• decisions, consistency in action, reliability, and also have
• pedagogical predispositions.
• Practice a given mountaineering discipline at an appropriately high level
• and have sufficient practical experience
• and comprehensive knowledge (theoretical and practical) in high-altitude mountain climbing.

Additional eligibility criteria:

• Climbing skills at level V+ in Tatra or Alpine terrain or VI in sports terrain, documented by a list of climbs from at least the last 3 years, indicating experience in climbing in V+ terrain as a team leader,
• very good knowledge of the topography of the Polish Tatra Mountains, with particular emphasis
• taking into account the Polish part of the High Tatras,
• ability to move and good orientation in the field without designated trails,
• knowledge of rope and belay techniques,
• good condition, passing the endurance test,
• membership of a club associated with the Polish Mountaineering Association,
• certificate of completion of a first aid course (not older than 3 years).

A comprehensive mountain experience will be particularly valued, including:

• climbing on rock walls over 500 meters high,
• winter climbing,
• climbing in glacial mountains on routes of great seriousness
• with particular emphasis on objective threats.
• Big wall, caving or ski touring experience, as well as training (rock climbing) experience are welcome.

Private companies offer the title of “climbing wall operator”.

To obtain a license, a climbing wall operator must complete a specialized course.

Selected course topics:

• Construction and types of artificial climbing walls
• Regulations related to the construction, installation, and operation of climbing walls – standards, approvals, insurance, technical inspections
• Artificial wall equipment – ​​ropes, harnesses, safety equipment, bolts, posts, first aid kit
• Technical maintenance of the wall. Use, storage, and maintenance of equipment – ​​logbook
• The responsibilities and rights of a climbing wall operator. Scope of responsibility – Polish law – new Sports Act (Liability: climbing instructor, wall owner).
• Health and safety regulations when working on an artificial wall. High-risk zones on a climbing wall. Artificial wall regulations.
• Climbing and belay equipment used on the wall – ropes, harnesses, helmets, belay devices, carabiners, certificates
• Rules of belaying with a fishing rod – various devices, belaying heavy people
• Principles of bottom belay climbing – learning how to catch a fall (dynamic and static belay, construction of bottom anchors)
• Rules of belaying when bouldering – spotting
• Emergency situations – types, procedures, exercises.

Remember!

The climbing wall operator is not authorized to conduct organized sports activities at a sports club participating in competitions organized by the Polish Sports Association. Such activities may only be conducted by individuals with a professional title of sports coach or instructor.

b) Bungee

There are no specific qualifications for instructors specializing in bungee jumping. However, due to the specific nature of the activities performed, climbing instructors licensed by the Polish Mountaineering Association (PZA) will have the greatest knowledge and practical skills in this field.

3.10 Requirements for a crane for people jumping from a height

The crane by which the jumper is transported to the top and from which he jumps should be checked and approved by the Office of Technical Inspection.

What should be done?

• You must submit an application to the Technical Inspection branch to carry out an examination of the device subject to technical inspection.

The application must be accompanied by two sets of device documentation (in Polish) for each submitted device. The appropriate UDT branch reviews the applications and, after collecting complete documentation/supplementing any gaps, an inspector appointed by the office conducts a technical inspection of the equipment. The inspector agrees on a suitable date and location for the inspection and provides instructions on how to prepare the device for the inspection.

• The next step is to conduct an acceptance test. Based on this test, the device can be safely released for operation. The acceptance test is performed by a UDT inspector in the presence of the operator of the technical device.
• A positive test result results in a decision authorizing the device’s operation. Based on this decision, an audit log for the device is created.

The crane should be operated by a person who holds a tower crane operator’s license, documented by a valid Office of Technical Inspection (UDT) ID. Anyone wishing to complete such a course must have a medical certificate confirming there are no contraindications. Courses in this area are offered by, among others, the National Center for Specialized Courses.

3.11 Requirements for a climbing wall

Requirements for climbing walls can be obtained from the relevant local city offices.

Requirements for manufacturers/suppliers of climbing walls:

• The construction of the wall must be in accordance with the design (declaration of conformity) and with the PN-EN 12572 standard and industry standards.
• The contractor must submit approvals (e.g. PZH), certificates, and declarations of conformity of the elements used and the materials incorporated.
• The contractor should perform the examinations and tests specified in the PN-EN 12572 standard (test report).
• The contractor must provide documentation for the use of the climbing wall, including rules for use, maintenance, service, etc.
• The panels must meet the requirements for at least flame-retardant material.
• The works must be carried out in accordance with the “Technical conditions for the execution and acceptance of construction and assembly works” and in accordance with occupational health and safety regulations, in particular those contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure on occupational health and safety during the performance of construction works.

3.12 Requirements for the managing entrepreneur

You don’t need to have all the qualifications listed below. It’s important to exercise due diligence when hiring qualified staff.

Remember!

You are responsible for the safety in your company!!!

YOU are responsible for:

• Developing (or commissioning the relevant persons to develop) appropriate regulations for the use of the facility (the regulations cannot be inconsistent with the manufacturer’s documentation for the use of climbing walls);
• Third party liability insurance for facility employees (or ensuring that the employees you employ have purchased insurance; you can indicate this as a necessary condition of employment);
• Competency and job-specific training for employees, improving their qualifications – which translates into the quality of services offered by your company;
• Use of equipment with valid certificates (crane, harnesses, ropes, belay devices, etc.);
• Compliance with the service documentation for equipment and facilities and the facility’s operating instructions (service, timely technical inspections).

3.13 Legal basis: