Frustrated Athletes: Lawsuit filed against Ironman over lack of refunds

During the lockdown athletes have seen races either postponed or cancelled with few if any offering money-back options, instead offering automatic deferral to a different date, or transfer to a different race.

One disappointed Colorado athlete in the USA has taken up the baton to lead a class action lawsuit against WTC and CGI, the respective owners of the popular Ironman and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series race brands.  Mikaela Ellenwood, had registered for the Rock n’ Roll, San Francisco half marathon. The claimant complaint is the the organisers did not deliver the event for which she and other class-member paid. The claimant alleges the deferral options offered “are not equivalent to what” they bargained for”. Ellenwood ultimately seeks refunds for herself and the class calling the refusal to refund entry fees a tactic “to maintain revenue and profit”.

But is this claim a dubious proposition at best?  

Race directors do in fact spend much of the overhead cost months before the race takes place whether the races ultimately go forth or not. In other words it is not out of free will that race directors don’t give your money back, its because they to a large extent have already spent it on race permits, insurance, shutting off race routes. equipment, medal/t-shirts etc. 

Athletes are understandably upset and frustrated over losing registration fees  but claiming a refund may not be legally enforceable. When an athlete registers for an event, there are a number of waivers and terms and conditions they accept and agree to. For instance, it’s fairly common to acknowledge that you will not be refunded in the event of a cancellation due to weather or due to an act of God—commonly referred to as a “force majeure” clause. For this reason athletes hoping to draft behind this lawsuit should not get their hopes high. The same legal waiver applies to Ironman and Rock n’ Roll registrants alike namely: 

[I]n its sole discretion (whether for safety reasons, legal reasons, or any other reason), may: (a) at any time, with or without notice, change or modify the race course, distances, routes, elevation, ascents, difficulty level, or any other race-course or Event aspect; or (b) delay or cancel the Event (or any leg(s) of the race) if it believes the conditions are unsafe or otherwise unsuitable for the Event. If the race course or Event is changed, modified, delayed, or cancelled for any reason, including but not limited to acts of God or the elements (including without limitation, wind, rough water, rain, hail, hurricane, tornado, earthquake), acts of terrorism, fire, threatened or actual strike, labor difficulty, work stoppage, insurrection, war, public disaster, flood, unavoidable casualty, race course conditions, or any other cause beyond the control of WTC, there will be no refund of WTC’s entry fee or any other costs incurred in connection with the Event.

Such waivers — all electronically signed by the athletes during online registration — are not necessarily favoured by the law, but are nonetheless generally upheld.

Whilst nearly all race directors are providing athletes three option: race on the new date, defer to 2021, or transfer to another event in 2020, none of the above is to say that an athlete cannot try to negotiate with their particular events race director for their money back, but, given the practical and legal realities, athletes should be well aware that their chances of a refund from the race director are slim. Athletes should spare a thought for race directors who are struggling to come up with a plans that will keep athletes happy, while also allowing them to stay in business, as events are postponed and cancelled.

Long story short, the pandemic has impacted the entire Triathlon racing community. It is a time when we are stronger together in seeking the best possible solution for everyone involved and at the same time accepting the fact, that everyone has to give up a little piece of their personal ideal situation.  The alternative is refunds leading to event organisers going bankrupt equating to less races particularly the smaller race series and events. This surely is in the interest of no-one.