Coronavirus clause debuts in waiver forms for athletes

As boards, associations and academies look to protect themselves from legal ramifications in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, sports lawyers around the country are being employed to upgrade, and in some cases, draw up waiver forms.

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A liability waiver/indemnity form — signed by athletes prior to an event or signing up for a team — often covers accidental injuries and illnesses.

The legal declaration never did account for a pandemic, but now — much like sports insurances which include pandemic clauses (on demand) to protect every party involved — sports organisations are issuing waiver forms to ensure athletes are aware of the risks involved in practicing their sport and are willing to participate in this knowledge.

“As of now, a number of academies and local associations have had us write out waiver forms,” said Nandan Kamath, the founder of Law NK, a renowned law firm in handling sports in the country.

“It basically says that the athlete is aware of the risks involved and is partaking in the said sport despite that. It’s obvious that they stand a high risk of infection.”

Santosh Menon, secretary, Karnataka State Cricket Association, said they are in the process of drafting a form as part of the SOP.

J Arun Kumar, the former Karnataka captain and coach who started Cricket Beyond Technique a few years ago, said a number of children (through their parents) have already signed waiver forms prior the resumption of training at his centre in Sarjapur.

“It’s new but it’s essential,” says the former Ranji Trophy winner. “We don’t want to get into any legal trouble. Parents are obviously still apprehensive about sending their children to camps and academies, but they’re slowly coming to the realisation that this virus is here to stay and all they can do is take necessary precautions. These waiver forms are issued to all of them. We had our lawyers draw them up before we decided to resume.”

Irfan Sait, who runs the Karnataka Institute of Cricket, is yet to work on a form. “That’s something I didn’t consider until now, not even for our academy in California. We tell parents and children that it is a high-risk situation before every session but it’s wiser to put it on paper. I think I will get my legal team to work out an indemnity form.”

A well-placed source in the Board of Control for Cricket in India revealed that they too will be issuing waiver forms to athletes as and when they resume playing. “We sign off on insurances to all the athletes and in a similar vein, we’ll be issuing waiver forms,” he said.

“We know that no matter how safe a place or a bio-secure bubble, simply by stepping out and playing with people, you stand a higher chance of getting infected. It’s no different from the waiver forms non-sports organisations have their employees sign on.”