Today's non association sport activities are a severe challenge for any expert witness. Over the past decade many sports have spawned off-piste, non-regulation, street, freestyle. It looks like, it feels like, but isn’t what we think it is “sports”. 

The YouTube generation have reclaimed ancient, lost and forgotten activities and ignited new passions for all manner of doing anything, but what is says to do on the tin. They talk mystically about their elevation to nirvana, enlightened and being free from their earthly chains with no interest in the simple fact that what goes up must come down. 

Inevitably the faithful identify themselves and their tribe by making up rules of engagement and promote “gatherings” on public media. Their training manual is YouTube, flirting between the 5th Commandment and Jackass.

Inevitably people fight over the right to be their “official” governing body.  Olympic recognition in time for the next cycle? 

Inevitably entrepreneurs invent apparatus and local authorities try hard to accommodate the latest craze by providing official sociable places to land on your face. 

Inevitably for some it stops being fun and it becomes painful. 

Nobody told me now and it hurts. 

Someone must be to blame for my suffering.

Is there no win no fee in Nirvana? And that’s when the expert witness evidence starts to be needed. 

Parkour and its National Governing bodies worldwide are about to enter a contest with the World Governing body of Gymnastics at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Who owns the activity and who represents whatever it is? 

Trampoline Parks are claiming legitimacy and respectability behind a PAS, with total confusion of the difference between Standard and Specification or the fault lines in anything less than a British (EU or World) Standard. When calamity strikes, and it strikes very often in these activities,

 

who is the witness expert to sift through the many rules and the lack of ownership and stand before a judge and say….

The Institute of Expert Witnesses has been involved in a significant proportion of these type of activity disputes accepting a severe challenge to test the contract between the unwitting player and the opportunity provider or owner of the offending obstacle. Just because there are no rules does not mean that there is nothing to test against and that there is no need for expert witness support. 

Our best expert witnesses in education, sport, adventure, outdoor activities, GB, EU and World standards are in a unique position to collate opinion and apply a pathway of logic to advise the court on what is relevant, important and meaningful in determining where the responsibility and liability lie or is shared out. Often the barrier to an outcome is the Claimant themselves, how much protection are they entitled to, when is it reasonable to be excused understanding that what goes up always comes down again?

With 35 trampoline park injury investigations and 5 parkour cases, grass sledging and team building challenge injuries I find that neither my opinion nor the outcome is ever predictable. 

 

If you have any questions regarding sports or if you are involved in an injury case, please do not hesitate to contact an IEW Expert Witness on 0117 986 2194 or at enquiries@iew.org.uk.

An article signed by Trevor Low, President IEW.