by Steve Vaitones

Insurance - you don't want to have it, but you're glad you do. There have not been many occurrences of lawsuits stemming from road races in New England (knock on wood), but those sanctioned events - and the sport in general - have reaped the benefits of having been a sanctioned event.

USA Track & Field (USATF) does not, per se, "sell insurance". It sanctions athletic events - road runs, track & field meets, cross country and ultra runs, and competitive racewalks.

The sanction approves and "licenses the staging of a competition which ensures that the event is properly conducted in regards to safety and medical precautions, and safeguarding athletes' eligibility status.

An event that is USATF sanctioned is covered by $2,000,000 of general liability insurance. This liability insurance is in case the race director is sued for an action pertaining to the event by a party. This doesn't prevent you from being sued, but does cover your legal costs and any settlement.

The insurance is effective when the sanction is approved, and includes pre-race activities beginning 30 days prior and post-race activities up to 10 days following the close of the event. The policy covers the organization staging the event including officers, directors and employees, volunteer workers, coaches, and officials. It does not cover stolen or damaged equipment. Accident insurance for competitors is provided by the sanction but only for individuals who have valid USATF membership.

A sanction application must be postmarked prior to the event date for the insurance to be valid - obviously! Some events may need a "certificate of insurance" which names a third party as an additional insured. But note: USATF is not out to "insure the world". The insurance does not take the place of sponsors' or other insurance. Such a certificate is proof that the organizers do in fact have liability insurance. The most common requests come from municipalities, schools, and colleges/universities. If you have not had these requests, consider yourself lucky. Cities and towns are getting tighter in requiring such certificates for any events run on their lands.

If certificates of insurance are required, the requests should accompany the sanction request and they must be in the hand of the association processing the application two to four weeks in advance of the event. Only a handful of USATF's local associations - including New England - can process insurance certificates in-house; others have to forward all materials to Indianapolis for approval, hence the required lead time.

Sanctions do not cover duathlons or triathlons (though the running race portion of the multi event may be covered). They also do not cover charity/fitness walkathons which are non-competitive in nature.

Do not assume that the insurance of your sponsor, or a charity you are involved with, or supporting groups such as a YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, or fraternal organization, will cover your road race. This assumption often causes late panic, as policies of the aforementioned groups do not cover activities off of their own property.

Initially, some feel that USATF fees are expensive, but independent reports back to the USATF-NE office from directors and from an independent insurer note that getting insurance independently could be 4 to 6 times as expensive and does not offer the same level of coverage.

There is a national fee covering the insurance, and a local fee which varies by association. The total fee is based on the number of entrants in the event, and needs to be paid up front based on an estimate of the number of entrants. The fee will be refunded if numbers are lower, and must be paid up if initial estimates were low. As an example, the fees in New England are 1-100 entrants: $45; 101-250: $75; 251-500: $150; 501-1000: $300; and on up. These fees have been in effect for several years, a tribute to the management of the plan. The above simply gives an overview of the USATF liability insurance for sanctioned events. The USATF insurance program is summed up in a 12 page pamphlet available from local associations.

RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) race sanctions provide insurance, but there are strict guidelines for races to be covered. Foremost, the event must be primarily managed and organized by a member club of RRCA. Having a club simply supply volunteers or do the timing and scoring does not meet this requirement. Clubs should be careful on "reading the fine print" in the RRCA guidelines. Independent race directors should not try to give a paper connection to an RRCA club to obtain the insurance, as this can jeopardize the club's RRCA privileges. There are also some other restrictions and types of events which are strongly discouraged.

Note that either of the above sanctions and insurance, the following apply: Competitive Wheelchair divisions are covered. Some items which are not covered are the following: Baby strollers or "baby-joggers", in-line skating, dogs on leashes, and bicycles. While you cannot completely guard against the above taking to the starting line in your event, you should clearly state on you entry form that these are prohibited, note this in the race waiver, and personally tell the individual that they are not legally competing in your event. The
biggest outcry will certainly come from the pushers of "baby joggers", but the need is two-fold: for the occupant of that carriage, and for the runners around them (the author is one who was knocked off stride by the wheel that protrudes 6 feet, and then told to watch where I was going).

Risk management is a key phrase in insurance. This means that an event manager needs to reduce potentially dangerous or risky situations prior to them occurring, for their own event's sake and to keep the sanction premiums low. Risk management includes the following:

- Have all athletes - and volunteers - sign a waiver form.
- Request that your vendors provide you with Certificates of Insurance (especially important for those distributing food).
- Carefully review all rental and lease agreements to see that others are not assigning their risk to you
- Report all incidents that result in bodily injury to participants or workers, regardless if there was on-site treatment or hospitalization.
- Do not make promises to injured parties.
- Restrict novelty events associated with your race.
- Provide adequate on-site medical care and emergency evacuation
- Think about what could go wrong and do your best to prevent it.

Ending with a real life example: A small road race fun run series ran over city streets. For several weeks, there was construction on the course. Before the run started, the race director noted the location of the construction and that there was rough footing. A volunteer was posted just before this stretch and announced that there was rough footing ahead. An individual and spouse sued the club and the city for negligence, lost wages, anguish, etc. The race was sanctioned and legal fees were covered. It was revealed that the runner had run the course before and was aware of the road construction. Case dismissed.

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