HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"EN
29.7.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
197/13
COMMISSION DECISION
of 27 July 2011
on the safety requirements to be met by European standards for gymnastic equipment pursuant to
Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2011/479/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
(6) The
seven
European
standards
on
the
safety
of
gymnastic
equipment concerned by Decision 2005/718/EC are not
supported by a Commission mandate adopted in
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
accordance with Article 4(1) of Directive 2001/95/EC.
Union,
Having regard to Directive 2001/95/EC of the European
(7) One
of
those
standards,
EN
913:1996,
has
been
replaced
Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on
by a new version, EN 913:2008. This new version was
general product safety (
adopted after the entry into force of the Directive

1 ), and in particular Article 4(1)(a)
thereof,
2001/95/EC and its reference cannot, as a consequence,
be published in the Official Journal of the European Union
in the absence of a Commission mandate including
Whereas:
specific safety requirements.
(1) Directive
2001/95/EC
provides
for
European
standards
to (8) In order to assess the conformity of the new version and
be established by the European standardisation bodies.
of any subsequent versions of the European standards for
Such standards should ensure that products satisfy the
gymnastic equipment with the general safety requirement
general safety requirement of that Directive.
of Directive 2001/95/EC, it is necessary to re-establish
the procedure laid down in Article 4 of that Directive.
(2) Under
Directive
2001/95/EC,
a
product
is
to
be
presumed safe when it conforms to voluntary national
standards transposing the European standards, the
(9) The
Commission
should
therefore
determine
specific
references of which have been published by the
safety requirements for gymnastic equipment with a
Commission in the Official Journal of the European Union.
view to mandating the European standardisation bodies
to develop relevant European standards for gymnastic
equipment on the basis of those requirements.
(3) Article
4
of
Directive
2001/95/EC
lays
down
the
procedure for drawing up the European standards.
Under that procedure, the Commission is to determine
(10) Once
the
relevant
standards
are
available,
and
provided
the specific safety requirements which the European
that the Commission decides to publish their references
standards should satisfy and, subsequently, on the basis
in the Official Journal of the European Union, according to
of those requirements, to give mandates to the European
the procedure laid down in Article 4(2) of Directive
standardisation bodies to draw up those standards.
2001/95/EC, gymnastic equipment is to be presumed
to conform to the general safety requirements of that
Directive, as far as the safety requirements covered by
(4) The
Commission
is
to
publish
the
references
of
the
European standards adopted in that way in the Official
the standards are concerned.
Journal of the European Union. Under the second
subparagraph of Article 4(2) of Directive 2001/95/EC,
the references to the European standards which have
(11) The
measures provided for in this Decision are in
been adopted by the European standardisation bodies
accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up
before the entry into force of that Directive may be
under Article 15 of Directive 2001/95/EC,
published in the Official Journal of the European Union
even in the absence of a Commission mandate, if those
standards ensure compliance with the general safety
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
requirement laid down in that Directive.
Article 1
(5) By
its
Decision
2005/718/EC
( 2 ) the Commission
published the references of seven European standards
For the purposes of this Decision ‘gymnastic equipment’ means
concerning the safety of gymnastic equipment in the
equipment used for training, exercising or competition
Official Journal of the European Union
purposes, involving group and individual exercise. This
equipment either stands on the floor or is fixed to the ceiling
( 1 ) OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4.
or a wall or other fixed structure. It is either permanently
( 2 ) OJ L 271, 15.10.2005, p. 51.
installed or able to be moved and modified for use.

---

L 197/14
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
29.7.2011
Article 2
The specific safety requirements for the products referred to in Article 1 to be met by European standards
pursuant to Article 4 of Directive 2001/95/EC are set out in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 3
This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.
Done at Brussels, 27 July 2011.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel BARROSO

---

EN
29.7.2011 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
197/15
ANNEX
SPECIFIC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR GYMNASTIC EQUIPMENT
Part I
Product and product definition
The gymnastic equipment covered by this mandate is equipment used for training, exercising or competition purposes,
involving group and individual exercise. This equipment either stands on the floor or is fixed to the ceiling or a wall or
other fixed structure. It is either permanently installed or able to be moved and modified for use.
For some specific gymnastic equipment, general requirements are complemented by additional safety requirements.
Part II
A. General safety requirements
The products shall comply with the general safety requirement referred to in Directive 2001/95/EC and be ‘safe’ within
the meaning of Article 2(b) thereof. In particular, the product shall be safe under normal and reasonable foreseeable
conditions of use, including storage, safe transport to the storage space, installation and maintenance, dismantling, and
throughout the duration of its use. The product shall be safe also for professional users (e.g. trainers, teachers).
During normal and reasonable foreseeable conditions of use of gymnastic equipment, the risk of injury or damage to
health and safety shall be minimised. No parts that are accessible to the user during normal or intended use shall cause
physical injuries or affect the health of the user.
A common foreseeable use of these products is to train children (e.g. at school, in sports clubs) who in general have a
perception of risk lower than that of adults. Where hazards cannot be sufficiently minimised by design or safeguards, the
residual risk should be addressed by product-related information directed at supervisors.
Users shall be informed of the risks and dangers likely to occur and how to prevent them.
B. Specific safety requirements
In application of the general safety requirements referred to in Directive 2001/95/EC, the following shall be taken into
account, as a minimum:
(a) Surface finish;
(b) Gaps and shearing/crushing/pinching points;
(c) Unintentional dropping;
(d) Falling from height;
(e) Stability and strength;
(f) Adjustment devices;
(g) Shock absorption of top padding;
(h) Marking. More specifically, all gymnastic equipment shall bear the following information:
(1) number of the relevant European standard;
(2) name, trademark or other means of identification of the manufacturer, retailer or importer;
(3) year of production;
(4) maximum number of users at a time for which the equipment is intended;
(5) instructions for use;
(i) Entrapment and strangulation;
(j) Collision;
(k) Durability;
(l) Electric shocks;

---

L 197/16
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
29.7.2011
In addition, the following risks shall be taken into account:
(a) risks resulting from insufficient load bearing capacity of the equipment, taking into account the strength, stiffness and
elasticity of the materials used;
(b) risks resulting from loss of stability of the equipment, taking into account the support of the equipment and the floor,
as well as possible loads on the equipment;
(c) risks resulting from the use of electrical energy and from operating circuits;
(d) risks resulting from applied mechanical, or water energy;
(e) risks resulting from the use of the equipment, including falls, cuts, entrapment, suffocation, collisions and overloading
of the body;
(f) risks resulting from the accessibility of the equipment, including accessibility in case of defects and emergency
situations;
(g) risks resulting from possible interactions of the equipment and occasional bystanders (e.g. public audience);
(h) risks resulting from insufficient maintenance;
(i) risks resulting from assembly, disassembly and handling of the equipment;
(j) risks resulting from exposure to chemical substances.
In application of the general safety requirements referred to in Directive 2001/95/EC, the following tests shall be taken
into account, as a minimum:
(a) Determination of entrapment;
(b) Mechanical loading for determination of stability and strength;
(c) Determination of shock absorption of padding;
(d) Test report.
C. Examples of gymnastic equipment
In application of the general safety requirements referred to in Directive 2001/95/EC, the following list, which is not
exhaustive, gives examples of the different kinds of gymnastic equipment:
(a) Parallel bars and combination asymmetric/parallel bars;
(b) Asymmetric bars;
(c) Vaulting boxes;
(d) Horses and bucks;
(e) Horizontal bars;
(f) Wall bars, lattice ladders and climbing frames;
(g) Balancing beams;
(h) Hanging rings;
(i) Trampolines;
(j) Vaulting tables.

---