“Race – a competition in which all the competitors try to be the fastest and to finish first.”
The Pursuer was unsuccessful in this Elgin Sheriff Court case arising out of injuries sustained in the course of a parents’ race at a children’s sports day.
The Pursuer attended her daughter’s annual nursery sports day.
One of the events was an egg-and-spoon race for the mothers. The sports day had had to be moved indoors to a sports hall due to inclement weather.
Whilst participating in the egg and spoon race, in the “outside lane”, the Pursuer failed to stop in time after the finish line so as to avoid colliding with the wall beyond. She sustained significant and life-changing injuries to both wrists as a result.
While most parents taking part did not seem bothered by the outcome, at least one other participant appeared to treat it as a race, stopping only beyond the finish line.
The Pursuer took first place.
The Pursuer’s higher momentum probably explained why she could not stop before the wall, when the other “competitor” did.
The Pursuer’s predicament was made worse – it was contended on her behalf – by the fact that the finish line was not clearly marked for the Pursuer.
In circumstances where she inevitably had to concentrate some of her attention downwards in keeping her egg and spoon balanced, her spatial awareness was reduced.
It was argued for the Pursuer that the Defenders did not assist her awareness of her surroundings during the event.
- Although there was a finishing tape, it only extended halfway across the finishing line, at the opposite side of the “track” to the Pursuer; and
- The Defenders had placed a table (with trophies on it) against the end wall, in line with the Pursuer’s ‘lane’, and she only observed the table at the last minute. Accordingly, at her point of highest momentum, she had to swerve suddenly to avoid the table, which reduced her run-off distance and also her ability to protect herself as she came into contact with the wall.
The incident was recorded on video by a bystander.
There was a dispute as to how this evidence should be interpreted.
The Pursuer accepted that she had wanted to win the race and had maximised her pace, accordingly.
The Defenders alleged that she lost her balance before the finish line and, then being out of control through her own fault, could not stop before the wall.
The Pursuer’s position was that she had employed a sprinter’s “dip” as she got close to where she thought the finish line must be, which would inevitably affect her balance.
She also argued that competitors losing their balance and falling after (or even before) the finish line of a sprint race was not uncommon and therefore should have been foreseeable to the Defenders in preparing a risk assessment prior to the event.
The Pursuer argued that it had to be expected that a “race” involving adults would be competitive at least to some extent.
There were precautions the organisers could have taken (e.g. requiring participants to “walk” or limiting the length of the “track”).
In presenting her case, the Pursuer relied upon published Guidance, including “Safe Practice: in Physical Education, School Sport and Physical Activity” (2016 edition) and had assistance from an experienced expert who had been an expert witness in the well-known “It’s a Knockout” case of Uren -v- Corporate Leisure.
The Sheriff’s decision was that the accident was caused by the Pursuer’s own fault and so her claim was unsuccessful.
Ultimately, it was a significant factor in the Sheriff’s reasoning that, in the Sheriff’s opinion, it was not reasonably foreseeable that an adult participant would approach an egg-and-spoon race as being a competitive event.
The outcome was an extreme disappointment for the Pursuer and her solicitors. Their assessment had been that, while the Pursuer would inevitably have to bear some responsibility for her injuries, the blame also lay at least partly on the organisers of the Sports Day.
The raising of this action pre-dated the introduction of QOCS but, in absolving the Defenders and without any hearing on expenses, the Sheriff made a finding of no expenses due to or by either party.
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