Deliktuele aanspreeklikheid van die afrigter in skolesport - 'n sekuriteitsaangeleentheid
Abstract
Sports law can be regarded as one of the latest developments in law. As applied to
the school setting, and with special reference to sport coaching, this article deals
with the five fundamental elements of the law of delict that influence and inform the
execution of the duty of care of the educator-coach. This article pays special
attention to the legal aspects related to the security, on the one hand, of the learners
as participants, but also the educator-coach in his or her respective roles as coach,
organiser of sport events, referee and sport official on the other.
The basic research question is: To what extent can educator-coaches increase their
own security by ensuring safer participation of learners? How can these educators
prevent or minimise the occurrence of serious injuries during practices (as coaches)
and during meetings, contests or matches (as officials, such as being referees)? A
certain amount of risk is typical of and inherent to most types of sports, especially
those that involve physical contact or in which potentially dangerous implements are
used. In contrast, many learners are coached by educators that do not necessarily
have enough experience, skills or knowledge regarding the more advanced
techniques of the specific sports code. This contrast between the inherent risks and
the lack of expertise of many educator-coaches creates an amount of insecurity for
both the participants and the coaches.
This article includes a discussion of the application of the five fundamental elements
of the South African law of delict to school sports coaching. To illustrate the ways in which courts consider sports law issues, examples from court cases related to
different types of sports are analysed, and, where applicable, cases from other
countries and from outside the sphere of education are also included. This
discussion is followed by an overview of those legal provisions that impact on sports
participation at school.
The legal duty of care of all educators stems from the special relationship between
an educator and a learner. Not acting to ensure the safety of a participant constitutes
wrongfulness on the side of the educator-coach, which may lead to being held liable
for damage to the participant. This article specifically considers the higher standard
of care expected from the educator-coach, as compared to the normal reasonable
person, based on the former's specific training in working with learners. The acts or
omissions of higher qualified and more experienced educator-coaches will also be
measured against a higher standard.
This article concludes with the recommendation that educator-coaches should not be
overly reassured by section 60 of the South African Schools Act. Ensuring the safety
and security of learners should still be the main priority for all educators. Educatorcoaches
should remember that, true to their calling as educators, and consistent with
section 28(2) of the Constitution, a child's best interests are of paramount importance
in every matter concerning the child.