Sport, Leisure and Coaching Law - Essay Example

Sport, Leisure and coaching law As a result of major accidents that occurred at different sports grounds, the Safety of Sports grounds Act 1975 was passed. Accidents at sports grounds created a need for forming a requisite provision that could curtail and control such incidents. More over the Fire and Safety act framed in 1987 made it a duty of the local authirities to enforce the acts.   After a fire that occurred in Bradford football club stadium covered stands which could hold upto 500 spectators, all major stadiums and grounds where brought under similar control. A report submitted by Lord Taylor on the Hillsborough disaster highlighed the role of building control as a major safety measure adopted for the safety of sports grounds. Moreover compulsory participation of other emergency services as well as likeminded intrested parties was also given priority.   The important laws and regulations that were framed to ensure safety at sports grounds were Safety of sports grounds act 1975, Safety of sports grounds regulations 1987, Fire safety and safety of places of sports act 1987, Safety of places of sport regulations 1988, The football spectators act 1989, The environmental and safety information act 1988 etc.   For ensuring the safety of sports grounds, the Safety of sports grounds act 1975 have given powers to the Secretary of state to issue special safety certificates or General safety certificate as an when required. As per the law the person who is responsible for the safety of the ground should apply to the concerned authority for getting such certificate.   After receiving the application, the local autority decides whether the aplicant is qualified enough to receive the certificate. Normally the General certificate contains conditions that the authority fells necessary to implement safety at grounds. It includes management requirements, provisions for first aid, structural elements strength etc.   For the preparation of the Safety certificate, it is utmost necessary to consider the following. First of all, a request for suitable drawings form the applicant should be made. Then a survey of the ground in detail should be made. It is also necessary to hold team safety meetings with emergency services for determining the overall requirements. Moreover consultation with experts in this field should be made. Another important step is to seek structural , electrical as well as mechanical certification.   When the general certificate is issued, it is necessary to notify the concerned persons who are intrested. Moreover advertisements in accordance with appropriate regulations should also be made. After the certificate is being issued, perfomance inspections from time to time should be made. This inspection shoud be conducted on match days or during other sporting occassions. This procedure is to ensure that the terms and conditions of the certificate are suitable as well as appropriate for the use and to monitor the perfomance of the institutions observance of the terms and conditions.   According to section 10B of the Safety act of 1975, annual inspection and follow up inspections are to be compulsorily undertaken.   In this context, it is to ne noted that Special certificates are issued by the authority in place of General certificate whenever necessary. The law also holds that advisory groups, safety teams that includes emergency services and their support agencies along with appropriate local authority officers should be set up for dealing in emergency issues. Regular meetings should be conducted for this group under the chairmanship of the local authority.     Rules regarding regulated stands. According to the act the local authority is entrusted to check all sports grounds in its jurisdiction for the purpose of determining whether the sports grounds have covered stands that could accomadate at least 500 people. After this the authority should issue a preliminary determination towards the owner of the stand. After two months from the issue, the determination becomes final. Therefore it will be illegal to use the stand unless and until an application for receiving a General or a special certificate is made.                         To errect and use a covered stand that can accommodate more than 500 spectators, it is necessary to obtain a certificate according to the provisions of the Act. Only after the issue of the certificate, the stand can be used.   Penalties and liabilities Violation of the rules and regulations mentioned in the act will invite the penalties for the person who is responsible. The conditions for the violation are; If any sports grounds are used for purposes for which necessary certificates are not obtained, any terms and conditions in the General or Special certificate are violated. admission of spectators in violation of a notice that prohibits the use of ground, admission of spectators to the covered stands which does not have a Saftey certificate etc. Any appeals regarding the above can be filed at the Magistraes court.with regard to the cost , the local authority will charge the applicant the cost required for processing the application., amendment, cancellation as well as replacement of the certificate (Saftey at sports grounds).   It is worth noting that all sports stadiums that have a capacity of more than 10000 people are designated by the government and must obtain certificates form the local authority compulsorily under the provisions of the Safety of sports grounds act 1975. more over any non designated sports ground that have stand which can accommodate more than 500 spectators is deemed as a regulated stand and should obtain certification under the Fire safety and safety at places of sport act 1987. All those requirements in relation to sports grounds are far reaching and will include but will not be restricted to the following areas. They are: structural integrity of the stadium and the stand, provisions of means of escape, fire precautions, emergency services co-ordination, and provision for suitable management strategies etc.The designated sports stadiums and the stands should be certified under the required acts. Control of buildings should be made in consultation with the police and fire and ambulance services. The holder of the certificate has a legal obligation towards all terms and conditions mentioned in the Security certificate. All certificates contain expiry dates. Using the stadium and the ground after the date of expiry itself is a serious offence. The certificate should be renewed properly. When performance checks are undertaken annually, complete review of the certificates should be undertaken (Smith.R. 2008). For regulating the behaviuor of persons in the sports stadium, the UK government pased the Sporting events (control of alchohol etc) act of 1987. this act was passed mainly with the intention to curb alcholic linked violent behaviour at sports stadiums. This act contained provisions for punishing persons for permitting intoxicating liquor to be carried into sports stadiums during designated sporting events. It also has provisions to regulate sale of liquor as well as the closure of bars. As per the provisions of this act any person who has liquor which is intoxicating in his possession enters at any time during the time of a designated sports event at the designated sports ground is guilty of an offence and is liable for punishment. A person who is drunk and enters the designated ground during a designated event is also guilty under this act (Revised Statute from The UK Statute Law Database ). The Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sports Act 1987 The Fire safety and safety of places act was passed in the year 1987. The main purpose of this act was to ensure fool proof safety to persons attending a sporting event at the stadium. The enactment of this act was based on the recommendations of the Popplewell report. There are five parts in this act. The first part contains provisions regarding to fire safety, the second part is related to provisions regarding safety at play grounds, and safety of stands in sports grounds constitutes the third part. The part four deals with indoor sports licenses and the fifth part is entrusted with miscellaneous provisions regarding sports licenses. More over concerning the safety of play grounds, the home office department is publishing the Green Guide which gives advices in detail regarding the safety measures needed at sports grounds. The Green Guide was first published after the Wheatley report but was completely revised and published in 1986 on the basis of Popplewell report. The green Guide has detailed guidance related to entrances and exits, structure of the stands and buildings in the sports stadium, stairways as well as ramps, terraces, crush barriers, hand rails, perimeter walls, fences etc. moreover the guide also discusses in detail the responsibility of the management, estimates of ground capacity and the flow rates of the crowd. In normal circumstances, the safety responsibility at the sports stadium is in the hands of the Environmental health services of the certifying authority. For this purpose an advisory group is organized that consists the authority themselves along with the building authority, the fire service, police service and the ambulance service. Although the enforcement officer are not directly the part of the group, they have to be familiarized with local arrangements within their own area as well as should be aware of the certificates that are given to each play ground. The enforcement officers also may have a liaison with the authority group for the purpose of visit and inspection of any sports ground. Another important point to be noted here is that whether there is liaison between the authority and the enforcement officers, any sort of risk factors if noticed should be informed to the relevant enforcement authority. This information should be given as soon as possible. Telephone services can be used for this purpose. If the risk appears to be life threatening and serious, then immediate coordinated action should be taken. The local authorities should have a liaison with the fire authorities, districts and counties for this purpose. The certifying authority of a designated sports ground has the responsibility to district council or the authority which has responsibility of the ground, any serious breaches of regulations. Moreover the district council and the certifying authority should also notify any kinds of breaches to the provisions of the 1975/1987 acts. During times of emergency, the certifying authorities have wide ranging powers to act. Under exceptional circumstances the local enforcement officers also have the authority to use their powers. They can use their powers if they consider that a risk could pose sufficient threat to life or could cause serious injury and requires quick and immediate action to stop or reduce its impact. After the tragic incident at Hillsborough stadium in 1989 where ninety six Liverpool fans were crushed to death, Lord Justice Taylor conducted an enquiry into the incident. He was commissioned by the British government to enquire and to make recommendations. Taylor’s report was published in 1990, and the following points were highlighted by the judge, they are: Poor facilities in stadiums, old and out modeled grounds, lack of coordination between officials and spectators, very poor behavior and attitude form the part of players, sale of alcohol at grounds, Newspapers and media attitudes etc. Lord Taylor severely criticized the authorities for their lack of professionalism and leadership. In his report that was published in 1990, Taylor made the following recommendations, important among them are gradual replacement of old stadiums and grounds, to set up a football advisory committee that could advise on matters concerning ground safety and construction, To make ticket touting a criminal offence, introduction of new laws to curb criminal behavior inside sports grounds, And using electronic tagging for convicted hooligans. Justice Taylor also recommended installing perimeter fencing having no spikes in it. He also made it clear to curb racial chanting as well as missile throwing at stadiums. He strictly advocated that offenders of the law inside play grounds should be sent to the Attendance centers for counselling. To further improve the safety conditions inside the playgrounds a new law reform called the regulatory reform (fire safety) order was passed and introduced in 2005. This act was introduced to rectify the loopholes in the previous acts and to make the atmosphere inside the stadiums more convenient and safe. The Wheatley Committee. Ibrox Park in Glasgow during a football match that ended the lives of sixty six people gave way for the formation of the Safety of sports grounds act of 1975. This act was based on the recommendation of the Wheatley committee formed in 1972 after the Ibrox disaster. The committee found that the disaster was caused by the failure of structures and steel barriers and recommended the safety procedures to be implemented for ensuring the safety of spectators during an event. Till then no special law was in force to guide the safety at sports playgrounds (Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sports). To reduce frictional and violent behaviuor in football stadiums, the Football offences act was passed in the year 1991. this act aims to curb and reduce offences during a football match. According to the act a designated football match is reffered as the one which includes anything done at the ground within the period of two hours before the start of the match and one hour after the ending of the match. This act particularly is severe on offences that are related to throwing of missiles in the playing area or to any other are where spectators are not located. As well as area where spectators or other persons are located. Moreover offences regarding racial chanting during a football match is also severly punishable under this statute. Here chanting means saying or uttering any words or sounds that concers others. The term racist nature is defined in the act as threatning, abusive, insulting etc to a person or a group of persons due to reasons that are associated with his color, race and nationality or national orgin (Football (Offences) Act 1991). Reference: Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sports. (Online). Available:http://www.firesafe.org.uk/html/premises/fs&spos.htm Football (Offences) Act 1991. (online). Available:http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1991/ukpga_19910019_en_1 Revised Statute from The UK Statute Law Database. (online). Available:http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1985/cukpga_19850057_en_1 Saftey at sports grounds. (online). Available:http://www.sefton.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=5003 Smith.R. 2008. Safety at Sports Grounds. (online). 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