Maintaining leisure values in adventure recreation events: the role of trust

New Zealand’s adventure recreation culture is well recognized in leisure research. In organized adventure events, the leisure value of freedom can be preserved through relationships of trust between recreation organizers and participants, yet there is little research on trust as a two-way relationship, trust in recreational settings and in voluntary risk-taking contexts. This paper responds to these knowledge gaps by reporting qualitative data from a study of trust relationships between outdoor adventure recreation event organizers and participants. The data confirms the trust relationship, finding it to be two-way and unequal. Leisure values are maintained by a combination of risk management, trust, participant competence and judgement and the force of law represented by disclaimers. Implications for event organization, outdoor recreation policy and the application of law to recreation settings are discussed.