In general terms, this Declaration of Compliance should state that the individual pledges that they have not been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 14 days and they are taking reasonable steps to avoid being exposed. The Declaration should also say that your organization reserves the right to remove the participant from the facility or from your programming for any reason. The Declaration of Compliance is a risk reduction strategy that, ideally, reduces the number of people participating in your programming who have been exposed to COVID-19. We recognize, of course, that some individuals may be untruthful, and others may be unaware of potential exposure – which is why a waiver for adult participants (to transfer the legal risk) is still necessary.

TRANSFER

Insurance is one way that your organization will transfer its legal risks. But, as we mentioned above, we are aware that some insurance underwriters have a ‘contagion exclusion’ which leaves your organization at risk for claims related to COVID-19. This is why updating your waiver is vital.

As we mentioned at the beginning, a minor cannot sign a contract and therefore cannot sign a liability waiver. Also, parents / guardians cannot sign agreements limiting their child’s rights. So, a curling that has both adult and minor participants should have two documents – a waiver (for adult participants) and an assumption of risk form (for minor participants). Both documents should be updated to include the risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection.

The waiver (for adult participants) should be further updated to indicate that the participant will forever release and indemnify the organization from any action or claim related to the participant being exposed to COVID-19, including due to situations that were caused by the organization’s negligence.

RETAIN

Some of the risks related to COVID-19 must be accepted if your organization wants to continue to operate. But with the proper risk reduction and risk transfer strategies, the remaining risk will ideally be low.

CONCLUSION

Organizations want to resume operations, want to protect their participants, and want to protect themselves from the legal risks related to COVID-19. This protection comes in the form of risk reduction and risk transfer strategies. These strategies include:

• Return to Play protocols / guidelines

• Declaration of Compliance for COVID-19

• Waiver / Assumption of Risk form

ALL PLAYERS SHOULD SIGN BOTH DOCUMENTS:

• Age of Majority: sign the Waiver and sign the Declaration of Compliance

• Under the Age of Majority: parent or guardian signs the Assumption of Risk and the Declaration of Compliance (the person under the age of majority must be identifed)