Registration for Riders Under 18

PALM encourages participation of riders under 18. Last year 168 riders under 18 (out of 757 total) rode PALM. It was the same the year before (168 riders out of 754 total). But there are a few extra signatures that are required. If you are taking someone with you who is under 18 and you are not the legal guardian or parent, you need the signed permission of a parent or guardian. There is a place on the application for this signature. Even if you are a grandparent or an uncle, you still need the signed permission of a parent or guardian.

All people on PALM who are under 18 and are not accompanied by a parent or guardian need a registered PALM participant as a sponsor. The sponsor must sign a statement accepting responsibility. In previous years we had the sponsor include a letter accepting responsibility with the application. This year we've included this acceptance as part of the application, right under where the parent or guardian signs.

So if you are taking someone on PALM who is under 18 and not your child, you need two other signatures besides the ride waiver signatures: the signature of a parent or guardian of the person under 18 granting permission to participate in PALM and your signature as a sponsor accepting responsibility for the young person.