A Matter of Perspective (What's Up, Chuck?)

Social functions can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the parties involved. Naturally, the majority of people I enjoy spending time with have an interest in running, swimming, cycling, the carefully-calculated intake of adult beverages, or combinations of the previously-mentioned pursuits. Of course, I NEVER really go off-duty, contrary to popular belief; I might ease up on the mandate & focus a little more closely on my adult beverage, but it's still teachable moment opportunity time for me.

This time, it was remediation because of a friend's commentary. We began talking about event sponsors, real & perceived, & the possible effect on a club. The friend told me a particular organization's logo was placed on an running event poster, but they did little more than host the ceremony where the running club's scholarships were awarded. This brought out one of those 'oh? Really?' responses from me. I asked whether the other group was liable for anything, say in the event the proverbial spit hit the fan.
My friend looked at me with a stare that said in so many words, 'huh?' So, I told him, 'say, for example, my wife decides to run in that particular race. She gets tripped up by some guy wearing headphones, or the finish archway suddenly gives way & injures her to the point she cannot work for three months; broken arm, fractured shoulder, collarbone, whatever. I'm going to call a good lawyer & sue you, that organization, the club hosting the post-party, every little group who has their name or logo attached to that race...and RRCA. Why? Because somebody in that pile is not going to have all of their bases covered.'

He said, 'that's crazy. I would never do that.'

I responded, 'hey, if my wife was badly injured I definitely would. If she were only a little dinged up it would be a different story. But you have people who won't hesitate for a second. I have had clubs who inadvertently leave themselves open to the chance of being sued because they are perceived to be involved with an event; a race promoter asks for their volunteer help in timing or scoring the race; they place the club's logo on the front of the flyer. Some smart lawyer could have a club in a world of hurt because a race director takes a stupid pill before doing their marketing.'

He asked whether this kind of stuff, as well as accidents at races, happened often. I wanted to tell him, 'it's probably not as often as we fear, & running is less dangerous than a lot of sports, but these situations happen. It's the reason we send out the Inside Track best practices newsletter to the clubs every couple of months. And, it's the reason I whine about this stuff all the time when I talk to you guys.'

I did tell him, 'It's the reason there's a solid two-hour general session on insurance & risk management at every national convention.'

My friend left the discussion with (I hope) a little better understanding of the perspective under which I see things. He still has a lot to learn; something he's been willing to admit. He never thought being on the board of directors for a running club would entail all the sausage-making of the present political system, but thought it would be a little closer to being part of a business. As long as there's volunteer governance, running club operations are going to look more like politics than business.