Source: www.thespec.com
Short version : Last summer, a cyclist crashed while participating in his very first cycling race (Hamilton, ON).
And later on after a long recovery period, Uy and his partner, Christine James, have filed a $20-million lawsuit against the Hamilton Cycling Club and its governing body, the Ontario Cycling Association, alleging the two organizations allowed the race to take place under unsafe conditions.
This is a sad story at so many levels.
Sad for the victim, sad for the image of the sport, sad because this is how some races disappear from the calender, etc …
Of course we are not aware of all the details … and of course we feel so sorry for what is happening to this family, but … this is an accident.
We feel that at some point, there is only so much a race director can do. At some point, the responsibility of the race director and governing body stops, where the responsibility of the participant starts !
Is this another case of « I sue McDonald because it made me fat ? »
It is easy for us to say this, may be, if we were in the family of the victim I would feel differently …
Are you really not aware of the dangers ? Is it really difficult to figure it out ?
Did the race director really let too many people sign up ?
Read the long version here
I certainly feel bad for the racer who crashed in his first race….but it’s not necesarily an « unsafe race » that caused the crash. And I don’t know all the details, but wouldn’t he have signed a waiver before participating stating that he knew the dangers involved? And should he not have known the course?
Obviously crashing is not a goal for a cyclist. Since it was his first race, he should have known his own ability as a cyclist. The weather changes all of the time. As a race director, you cannot always cancel a race if a little rain starts to come down. If theres a cancellation, there are NO refunds, there all participants lose out. Does this mean that if I enter a running race in the winter, and somehow theres snow on the ground, I am allowed to sue the race director if I slip? Absolutely not. By signing up I know the risks associated with racing, whether it be running, cycling, multsiport, etc. There is no common sense to even suing.