123. Most small adventure sport events are organised by volunteer teams. Generally, only the larger events employ health and safety professionals. In either case, it is important for organisers to understand what their health and safety obligations are.
124. If the organisation behind the event has even one employee, then the entire organisation will be subject to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act). If an organisation is entirely voluntary, then the organisation and individuals volunteering within it have a common law ‘duty of care’. In both cases, adherence to established good practice guidelines and legislation is the only acceptable way for organisers to discharge their health and safety obligations correctly. Any other approach leaves the individuals and organisers open to either criminal prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive, and/or civil prosecution by any individuals harmed by their failure.
125. Even larger adventure sport events are often too small to afford professional contractors to deliver all the components needed for an event, from potable water and electrical power to catering services, the provision of which are clearly defined by legislation. Often the provision of these services is left to volunteers, which is not a problem, but this does not negate an organiser’s responsibility to comply with health and safety regulations.
126. Whether or not an organiser is strictly accountable under the Health & Safety at Work Act, the benchmark they will be measured against should something go wrong is whether an incident was a) predictable, and b) whether they took preventative measures ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. In plain English, this means that the organiser must do whatever they reasonably can to ensure the safety of participants, members of the public and event staff.
127. The responsibility for keeping spectators and participants safe at events always remains with the organiser and in some cases, it is a legal requirement to carry out a risk assessment. Whether or not there is a legal requirement the best way to identify and manage risks is through a documented risk assessment-based approach and it is strongly recommended that as much thought goes into this as into the safe management of the participants’ activity.