Sports & Activities Coverage for Extreme Adventure Travel

Who doesn’t like to have a little adventure when it comes to travel? We recognize that most travellers do! That’s why Visitors to Canada and Emergency Medical Insurance for Canadians cover many of the activities you love to do while away, like skiing, parasailing or ziplining. That said, if you’re a more daring traveller who really likes to have an adventure, we’ve also got you covered.

Our Sports & Activities Optional Coverage makes it easy to customize your travel insurance to plan your next adventure trip—and take it to the next level.  

Sports & activities to add to your bucket list

By adding Sports & Activities Coverage to your Emergency Medical Insurance, you’ll be able to enjoy:  

• Backcountry skiing/snowboarding

• BASE jumping

• Boxing

• Downhill freestyle skiing/snowboarding in organized competitions

• Downhill mountain biking

• Hang gliding/paragliding

• High-risk snowmobiling

• Ice climbing

• Mixed martial arts

• Motorized speed contests

• Mountaineering

• Organized team sports* includes:

  • American and Canadian football

  • Ice hockey

  • Rugby

• Parachuting/skydiving/tandem skydiving

• Rock climbing (includes canyoneering but does not include indoor rock climbing)

• Scuba diving or free diving over 40 metres

• White water sports (Class VI)

• Wingsuit flying

*Not required if you’re aged 20 years old or younger.

Which sports & activities aren’t covered?

All sports and activities not included in the list above are covered under the Emergency Medical Insurance plan, meaning you don’t have to buy the Sports & Activities Coverage.  

However, there are a few exceptions that aren’t covered, even with the Sports & Activities Coverage added: 

• Barrel racing

• Bronc riding

• Bull riding

• Chariot racing

• Chuckwagon racing

• Harness racing

• Rodeo bareback riding

• Rodeo clowning

• Rodeo team roping

• Steer wrestling /chute dogging

• Trick riding

  Avoid any areas closed off to public access by safety authorities

  If you’re participating, training or practicing in any areas that have been closed off to public access by safety authorities (or areas that can typically only be accessed by crossing a fenced, gated or roped-off area marked as off-limits), you won’t be covered for: 

  • Backcountry skiing / snowboarding

  • Downhill freestyle skiing / snowboarding in organized competitions

  • High-risk snowmobiling

  • Ice climbing

  • Mountaineering

  • Rock climbing

  While we’ve always encouraged travellers to have fun exploring the world, we recognize that travel has changed with COVID-19. Please always put your health and safety first; and before you go, be sure to peruse our comprehensive guide “Understanding Your Travel Insurance Policy”. 

  Safe adventures,
  Melissa 

  Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in December 2020 and has been updated for freshness and/or accuracy. 

Backcountry Explained

Slackcountry and Backcountry are OK but “Out of Bounds” or “Closed” is simply off limits.

The biggest question these days with travel insurance is whether backcountry skiing and snowboarding is covered. With TuGo insurance, the Adventure Sports Rider will cover you for both Slackcountry and Backcountry but never for “Out of Bounds” usually marked by “Temporary or Permanently Closed” signs due to unsafe conditions such as avalanche danger and cliffs.

Slackcountry is defined as easy to reach, off-piste riding within the Ski Area Boundary or slightly beyond but may have ropes and warnings for expert riders only and is not closed or “Out of Bounds”

Backcountry is defined as intently touring outside the “Ski Area Boundary” and requires avalanche training, safety and survival equipment such as a beacon, probe, shovel and ideally a partner. Backcountry is further defined as a “mountain area that is not marked, not patrolled and/or not cleared for avalanche dangers, but where public access is permitted.”

“Out of Bounds” or “Closed” areas on the other hand are NOT covered and can further be defined as: “any mountain area that:  Has been closed off to public access; or, has been identified as “Out-of-bounds” and/or can typically only be accessed by crossing a fenced, gated or roped-off area that has been marked as “Closed” according to recommendations of safety authorities in the area”  Usually these area are clearly marked in red signage with the attached risk of losing your pass privileges.

Whether your planning to slack million-dollar ridge or go well beyond the “Ski Area Boundary” and tour Decker Lake, you’re safest best is to READ the signs, be prepared and play safe!

Courtesy of Jody Wright, Owner of BC & Whistler Travel Insurance

Facts about backcountry skiing and travel insurance: it’s not about ‘out-of-bounds’

Many travellers who backcountry ski have a hard time getting a straight answer from other insurers when they ask: “Do you cover backcountry skiing?” Technically speaking, it’s not illegal to ski out of bounds in Canada, but for most travel insurance providers, the defining line between out-of-bounds and off-piste or backcountry can be rather grey.

At TuGo, we define backcountry as a “mountain area that is not marked, not patrolled and/or not cleared for avalanche dangers, but where public access is permitted.” We don’t cover “out-of-bounds”, defined as: “any mountain area that:  Has been closed off to public access; or,  Has been identified as “out-of-bounds” and/or can typically only be accessed by crossing a fenced, gated or roped-off area that has been marked as off limits according to recommendations of safety authorities in the area”.

In essence, backcountry skiers know that looking for travel insurance coverage for backcountry skiing shouldn’t evoke a discussion about ‘rope-ducking’. Too often insurers get things confused. The main difference between backcountry skiing and rope ducking is the amount of preparedness and safety precautions taken.

Backcountry skiers must have avalanche training, a high level of competence using self-rescue equipment (beacon or avalanche transceiver, shovel, probe), knowledge of the terrain and weather reports, and ski companions with the same safety knowledge and procedures.

Rope duckers have none of that: they ignore warning signs and venture unprepared into unpatrolled terrain that’s likely “un-skiable”, dangerous, or impossible to access in rescue situations.

Backcountry skiers knowingly accept the calculated risks, (and the majority return home safely), while rope duckers are simply ill-prepared for the risks. Trained backcountry recreationalists know rope-ducking without the proper avalanche safety training and equipment is just plain dangerous and unwise.

Although Search and Rescue will rescue any injured or lost victim, SAR or the resort’s ski-patrol might charge irresponsible out-of-bound skiers for a costly rescue, like these rope duckers on Grouse Mountain in 2009. They were billed for their rescue costs and banned from the resort for life. Needless to say, travel insurance doesn’t cover this kind of thing.