Risk Management for Recreation Professionals Course Syllabus

Instructor and Course Designer: Ian McGregor, Ph.D.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Risk Management for Recreation Professionals, an online course which provides an understanding of negligence liability in the sport, leisure and recreation setting, and a firm grounding in the Risk Management planning process. Emphasis is placed on the process used in the courts for establishing negligence, and the practical application of Risk Management planning tools.

ONLINE LEARNING

For some of you, this online course will be a totally new and exciting experience. Learning ‘online’ as opposed to ‘onground’ poses some unique challenges and opportunities for the student and the teacher. It should be stressed that during this online course, technology is used to support and enhance the learning process, and not as a means to an end.

COURSE LENGTH

This is a 4 week course divided into two main sections:
(a) Negligence Liability and (b) Risk Management

  • In weeks 1-2, we’ll focus on negligence in the sport & recreation setting, and
  • In weeks 3-4, the focus will be on the risk management planning process

Course work and assignments should take approximately 5-8 hours per week.

A ‘Certificate of Completion’ will be awarded to participants upon successful completion of the course.

COURSE GOAL

The primary goal of this course is to provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed to reduce the risk of sport, leisure, and recreation related injuries and the potential of negligence litigation.

Hence this online course explores Negligence Liability and the Risk Management planning process. Students will learn the critical concept of Reasonable Standard of Care and how this impacts and guides all risk management planning efforts. By the end of the course, students will have a clear understanding of the concept of Negligence as it applies to the area of sport and recreation, and will acquire valuable risk management planning tools and the skills necessary to develop and implement a comprehensive risk management plan.

PREREQUISITES

Participants must have access to a computer and the Internet. You should be functional in word processing and comfortable using a web browser (e-mail, accessing web sites, etc.).

We’ll be conducting the course through Blackboard. You will be added to a group which has been created specifically for this course, and you’ll use this web site to retrieve all lectures, assignments, instructions. You will also use this site to respond to me and your fellow classmates.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

In addition to having access to a computer and the internet, you’ll also need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed (if you don’t have it already installed, go to www.adobe.com for a free download). All lectures will be stored in this format since it (a) guarantees a standard ‘clean’ copy on all types of computer and (b) makes it faster to download documents since it is sent as a compressed file.

TEXTBOOK

‘SportRisk: Risk Management Planning Resource‘ by Dr. Ian McGregor. This manual is included in your course fee, and will be sent to you upon course registration.

STUDENT PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Describe and explain the key negligence liability issues facing the Sports and Recreation field today
  2. Apply the ‘Reasonable Person’ test to a variety of real life scenarios, based on the concept of ‘Standard of Care’
  3. Recognize situations which have potential for injury (and litigation), and know what to do about it
  4. Use the risk management planning process to develop effective Risk Management plans
  5. Develop an audit checklist to use to assess the risks in your program and/or facility
  6. Develop a prioritized Risk Management Action Plan based on the risks identified in your audit

ONLINE COURSE OUTLINE

  1. Introduction - Negligence Liability - why such a big deal
  2. Understanding Negligence & Liability for Negligence
    • Establishing Negligence
      • duty of care - standard of care - proximate cause - damage
    • Establishing Liability for Negligence
      • personal and vicarious liability - products liability - premises liability
    • Defenses against Negligence
      • contributory negligence - assumption of risk - waivers
  3. Risk Management Action Planning
    • Risk management planning process
      • - What is high risk?
      • - Importance of risk assessment (the audit)
        use of risk matrix
        developing a risk assessment audit: focus on key risk areas
    • Risk management plan implementation
      • - Role of risk manager & risk management committee
      • - Addressing special policies (e.g. Transportation; Sport Clubs)
      • - Risk management resources

EVALUATION

This is a highly interactive course - in a totally different way to an ‘on-ground’ course. You are expected to interact with your fellow students - through ongoing feedback and working collaboratively in two group projects.

Evaluation will be based on:

Class Participation Assignments (quality and on-time submission):

Project #1 (quality and amount of collaboration)
Project #2 (quality)

Project #1: Mock Trial

Students will be split into three different teams (3-4 people per team) - lawyers for the plaintiff, lawyers for the defense and the jury. Based on a details of an actual sports accident, teams will prepare their respective cases for trial (written Statement of Claim and Statement of Defense required). Each team of lawyers presents its case before the jury. The jury then makes a decision based on the arguments set out in the Statements. All team members are expected to contribute.

Project #2: Risk Management Project

Students will work in pairs. Working collaboratively, each person will develop a Risk Management Plan for a specific facility (e.g. pool/arena) or an activity program (e.g. fitness program, Intramural program). Preferably the project selected is an actual work situation and planning efforts should build on previous assignments. Students will submit their proposed project for approval briefly outlining the project scope (restrictions may be applied based on size of project).