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Insight
RISK MANAGEMENT FOCUS:
Uncertain times make risk
assessment in sport paramount
The economic downturn and its ensuing
financial uncertainty have made risk
management in sport an essential part of
an event’s organisation process according
to Steve Griffiths, the Head of Technical
Services at the International Rugby Board
(IRB).
Budget cuts have forced corporations to
rethink their support of sporting events
which has had a negative effect on
sport globally. Golf already has had a
few tournaments cancelled. Counter to
this rising uncertainty, which may force
organisers to cancel, it is important for
both business and sport to manage risk
efficiently.
A decade after 21 people died while on
a canyoning trip in Switzerland, experts
say tougher safety measures have made
adventure sports less dangerous.
Despite the introduction of a set of safety
standards implemented under the Safety
in Adventures scheme following the
tragedy, an element of risk still remains.
In July two women were killed in a white
water rafting accident near Wilderswil, in
the Bernese Oberland. They were thrown
from their raft, along with five other
passengers and one guide, as it capsized
in rapids.
Ten years earlier, 18 tourists and three
guides drowned in a flash flood while
canyoning in Saxetenbach, Switzerland.
Managers of the company which
organised the trip were later found guilty
of negligent manslaughter. This tragedy
led to Switzerland bringing in the Safety
in Adventures measures. They require
outdoor sports companies to have well-
trained staff, quality equipment and
undergo a series of checks each year.
“In this sense, yes, the certification is a
guarantee of quality that seems sufficient
to us,” said Magali Dubois, spokeswoman
for the Swiss Council for Accident
Prevention. “Nevertheless it does not
prevent all risk, especially in activities that
are intrinsically potentially dangerous.”
The firm in charge of the latest fatal
trip bore the Safety in Adventures label.
“I think in general if you want to do
adventure sports like that you have to
know that there is a risk,” Hans Allemann
of the Swiss Outdoor Association said.
“But statistically we say the risk in
adventure sports, rafting and canyoning,
is more or less around the same as driving
a car.”
“There have been big changes in recent
years. For example there are Swiss-wide
training courses and also exams for guides
for canyoning and rafting. There are lots
of checks of how companies work, how
employees are trained, if insurance is
correct.”
The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention
also attributes the relatively low number
of deaths in recent years – just five
canyoning fatalities between 2000 and
May 2009 – to the higher standards.
In comparison, there are around 30
swimming related deaths in pools and
lakes each year.
Adventure sports in Switzerland safer
10 years after canyoning tragedy
Paintball verdict has
implications
for
leisure operators
A court case resulting from an accident
at a Scottish paintball centre has
implications across the world according to
risk management expert Steve Dymond.
Calvin Blyth damaged the sight of a
colleague while cleaning paintball guns
when he fired a gun he thought was
empty at colleague Alan Weir’s face. As a
result of this “moment of madness” Blyth
was found guilty of culpable and reckless
conduct and given 150 hours community
service at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The
incident occurred at the Ape Paintball
Centre in Edinburgh, in September 2008.
Blyth and Weir were working without
protective masks cleaning and carrying
out safety checks on guns. Blyth picked
up a weapon he believed was empty and
fired it towards Mr Weir, knocking him to
the ground.
Steve Dymond of Worldwide Sports
Insurance (WWSI) believes that this
incident highlights an important point for
amusement and leisure operators. “We
find that a lot of the risk management is
geared towards the safety of the public.
However, businesses really must focus
just as much on training and safety of
staff internally”, he said.
“Something like this could easily happen
anywhere in the world and it wouldn’t
be far-fetched for there to be a lawsuit
alleging that the business hadn’t provided
the right safety training which ultimately
led to this event.”
Dymond adds that paintball operators
should “review their current risk
management programmes or get their
insurance broker to assist them in doing
so. It doesn’t take a lot of effort and can
be an invaluable process.”
“I think risk management is essential and
needs to be looked at no matter what the
business whether something has a sport
element to it or not,” said Griffiths.
“Sporting events have huge investment
nowadays and with the kind of economic
instability the world is experiencing
right now, risk management should
be an important part of every event,”
said Griffiths, who presided over The
World Academy of Sport’s first executive
workshop in Dubai.
Organisers need to assess the risks
involved in staging an event to protect
themselves.