Edition
1/2000
IEA is pleased to present the first edition of the IEA Sport Monthly Update. This monthly publication will address topical
issues specific to the management of sport. For
free subscription to this newsletter please join our mailing list (refer home page of website, www.ieasport.com.au). The newsletter will be delivered via Email only.
We welcome questions from subscribers which will be addressed in future editions
of the Monthly Update.
Perfect Practice Or Pay The Price
Most who have been actively involved in
playing sport would agree that competitive sport is a great teacher of life skills. Well before “best practice” became a
buzz term in the business world I recall a football coach saying “it isn’t
practice that makes perfect, it’s perfect practice that makes perfect”. What he was emphasising was that just turning up
to training and going through the motions was not going to improve skills or make better
players, but by really concentrating on things such as correct technique and attention to
detail the players had some chance of excelling.
Now of course, best practice is a phrase we hear constantly. Organisations strive to achieve best practice
standards of performance as anything less results in mediocrity at best or more likely
failure. In some areas government legislation
ensures that certain product and safety
standards are adhered to or penalties are imposed, but even if there is no legislative or
common law penalty poor business practice always comes with a price attached. |
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For many years there has been a trend of increasing litigation, and there is no
sign of this trend slowing; rather the opposite. As
specialist sport risk managers and insurance brokers we are witnessing as never before the
impact of this litigation culture on the placement of insurance and the premiums being
demanded by insurance companies - particularly for the various types of liability
insurance.
One of the necessary criteria for a successful negligence claim is injury or
damage, and the fact is that by the very nature of sport (particularly contact sport)
there is constant potential for injury, therefore sport is always going to be susceptible
to litigious matters.
Controlling bodies for sport are particularly prone to litigation. Where legal actions take place the usual scenario
is that all parties who could be alleged to have contributed to the negligent action in
even the remotest way are included. The
controlling body, as the keeper of the game, including responsibility for the rules, are
often included in the action even though the particular incident which has brought about
the litigation is far removed from their direct involvement. Even if no compensation is awarded, legal costs to
defend the action can be horrendous.
Perhaps not surprisingly, few insurance companies wish to underwrite insurance
for sport, and those that do are charging significantly higher premiums to provide for the
increasing cost of claims.
....Continued page 2 |
