Liability Waiver Form for Sports

What is a waiver of liability form?

A waiver of liability form is a legal document designed to protect a business or organization from being held legally responsible for injuries, damages, or losses that might occur during a specific sport event or activity. This document could be helpful for gym owners and organizers of various sports events like CrossFit or marathons, as well as for various recreational activities.

The primary purpose of a release of liability waiver form is to protect a business owner or organizer against potential risks that may occur during sport events. Those risks may include injuries, death, property damage etc. Besides that, the document serves as legal proof that the participant acknowledges all the explained risks and wishes to release the organizer from associated liabilities in full.  The form ensures that each participant voluntarily assumes these risks and agrees not to pursue legal claims against the event organizer, company, or its representatives.

The parties involved in a sample liability waiver form are the participant and the organizer. A participant is an individual of any age who wishes to attend gym classes, sports activities, or events. An organizer is a person that provides access to such events and activities and could be an individual, a business, or an organization.

How to draft a liability release waiver form?

Drafting a liability release waiver form from scratch might be a challenging task. Clear and simple wording is the first requirement for a template to be legally binding. On top of that, the inclusion of a number of important components also plays a crucial role in a template being a complete legal document. Below we made a short list of clauses every waiver liability form should have:

Details of the Event

If you are a fitness trainer or an owner of a gym, make sure that the text of this form includes your gym’s full legal name. Apart from that, information about the planned physical activities along with the equipment should also be included in the form. You can make sure that your clients are aware of the planned activities and explicitly consent to them.

If you are organizing a sport event or other sport activities, then the types, dates, and location should also be provided. Provided participation in the activities or event requires certain physical or medical fitness, the same should be listed in the text of a waiver form.

Every waiver liability form reflects the full name, address, and contact details of the organizer of the event or owner of a gym.

Scope of the Release

Another important element for every release of liability waiver form is the scope of the release. It defines the extent to which the organizer of the event or a business owner is protected against the full liability. Most of the businesses and organizers tend to request full liability release for any injury, harm, or accident. There is, however, an important exception to this rule. A liability waiver form cannot limit or exclude liability in cases when an accident, injury, or harm is caused due to negligence or willful misconduct of organizers, businesses, or their staff.

As it has already been mentioned above, the release does not only cover the business or organizer itself. It also applies to people who actively participate in the organization of the event, including employees, volunteers, and contractors.

Finally, it is common to list all the types of claims that fall within the scope of the release. Those claims may arise from:

• Medical bills or expenses. For example, during the marathon a participant broke his leg. In those cases, all expenses related to such an accident normally are not being covered by the organizer or a marathon.
• Property loss. For instance, during the fitness session in a gym, a person lost a mobile phone. In this situation a gym cannot be responsible for any personal belongings of people attending the gym.
• Personal injury or death. If, for instance, during the sport event a person got a heart attack. When this incident ends up in a death, the organizer of such an event cannot be liable for those consequences, provided a duly signed liability waiver form has been delivered by a participant prior to the event.

Emergency Situations

A comprehensive liability waiver release form includes a section that addresses emergency medical treatment.

This clause authorizes the organizer to provide you with emergency medical treatment to protect your life or health. Therefore, it is common to include a general disclaimer confirming the participant’s readiness to cover all costs and expenses related to the emergency healthcare.

Some forms may also include a participant’s emergency contact information (e.g., spouse, parents). Those details are necessary to inform a participant’s immediate family members about the emergency and measures taken.

Date and Signature

Only a participant shall sign a waiver of liability form. It does not matter if the form is signed in digital format using e-signature tools or by hand. Both ways of signing are acceptable. Neither federal nor state laws require further notarization of this form.

If a participant is a minor, then a participant’s legal guardian or one of the parents shall sign this form. A minor means any person below the age of 18. Along with the signature, the text of a form should also include the date of its signing.

Finally, a waiver liability form should provide information about the state where the participant currently resides. The laws of this state shall automatically apply to the provisions of this document.

How to customize form templates at FasterDraft?

To get a fully customized liability waiver release form, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the “Create Document” button.
2. Answer simple questions in the form.
3. Select a template’s format—PDF or Word.
4. Make a payment.
5. E-sign, download, and use this form instantly.