Special Events
January 17th, 2012
The Ball is In Your Court:
Katharine M. Nohr, Esq.
Nohr Sports Risk Management, LLC
Does your organization provide reasonable accessibility to medical care during recreational activities? A recent Federal Court case addressed this issue, with the Court denying the Defendant’s motion to dismiss the case and so the matter will proceed to trial unless the parties are able to enter into a settlement agreement. See: Estate of Newton v. Grandstaff, 2011 WL 2678933 (July 8, 2011).
The facts of the case are that De Shawn Newton was participating in a basketball tournament involving 128 teams at a YMCA facility in Dallas, Texas. Newton apparently played well in the first half of the game and was seated on the bench, when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest. The coach attempted CPR, but no one else came to his aid. Newton apparently had a congenital respiratory condition and heart defect. Emergency medical personnel were ultimately dispatched, but allegedly could not enter the facility and so no professional care was available for 30 minutes. The Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants failed to “hire or arrange for any medical personnel, or trainers certified in administering CPR, to provide first aid to injured players in need of medical attention; provide for any emergency medical equipment, such as a defibrillator to be available in the event of a medical emergency; and provide effective ingress and egress to the facility that would have allowed emergency medical personnel to access quickly the premises and render immediate and necessary medical aid.” Plaintiffs alleged that Newton would not have died if the proper safety measures had been taken. Defendants took the position that they had no duty owed to Newton.
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November 23rd, 2011
Kate Durant
Club Sports Program Coordinator
Student Activities
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut has made it a requirement for student organizations planning special events, and Club Sports organizations to have risk management pre-planning meetings. This initiative was brought forth by our department ‘Risk Management Committee’ and through conversations with the university risk manager. Student Clubs’ events were getting bigger and more organized and students were coming forth to their advisors with more questions.
In these planning meetings with student officers, we define ‘Risk’ as an activity or event that can be a hazard or source of danger; something that may ultimately affect the outcome of their event. We talk about how Risk Management is the process of considering the potential and perceived risks involved in student organizations. It includes monitoring organization activities and taking both corrective action and proactive steps to minimize accidental injury and/or loss. We encourage Clubs to play out possible situations and discuss what controls can be taken to avoid or manage those risks at their events.
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November 23rd, 2011
A New Online Course
Joe Risser CPCU, ARM-P
Risk Management Design
San Luis Obispo
Over the past few years, Special Events have transformed into a big issue for many Campus Recreation Administrators. Due to budget challenges, more and more departments are capitalizing on the potential to lease their multiple and diverse facilities – by renting to outside groups and/or staging or hosting their own events. This expansion in operations has been accompanied by the realization that running a large concert in the gym is quite different from organizing the Intramural Basketball Championship game!
Events can be ‘special’ based upon the content, participants, sponsors, venue, funding or other factors. These events may involve renting multiple fields to the city for a soccer tournament, hosting the University Graduation Ceremonies in the fieldhouse, or running a large fundraising dance in the arena. Special events are often beyond the scope of the University’s “day-to-day” activities, requiring exceptional efforts and resources. Critical to the management of events and the risks involved is ownership of the event and/or the venue.
Impacts on the normal operations of the Campus Recreation department, the outside community, and immediate ‘neighbors’ may be significant (or benign) and range from cancellation of gym space displacing regular user groups (e.g. Intramurals), to issues such as overflow parking onto neighborhood streets, amplified sound during outdoor events, and maybe even a surprise fireworks finale.
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July 17th, 2011
Katie Helms
Assistant Director, Intramural/Recreational Sports
University of Arkansas
Road and trail racing events have surged in number and participation in the last few decades, and their popularity is certainly understandable. Running and walking are easily accessible forms of exercise, and race events provide structured opportunities to test performance goals, interact with other enthusiasts, and celebrate physical accomplishment. Races are great components of campus recreation programs, either as stand-alone events or in coordination with other program efforts such as homecomings or campus health initiatives.
Despite the appropriateness of road racing within campus recreation programs, many program managers find the task of administering a race event to be daunting. Dramatic incidents and deaths in several high-profile race events have understandably contributed to misgivings regarding the safety of such events as well as reluctance in undertaking their administration. While race administration entails some specific risk management considerations, race directors can ensure that their race is as safe and well-managed as possible by utilizing some basic risk management principles.
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