'n Onderwysregtelike perspektief op regsaanspreeklikheid van onderwyser–afrigters in skolerugby

Abstract

School rugby is one of the most popular sports within numerous South-African public schools. Each year competition gets tougher as a result of the increase in tournaments during school holidays and the nationwide promotion of inter-school tournaments. Educators as coaches of school teams carry the responsibility to not only pursue competitiveness, but also care for the safety of the school rugby players. Between 2001 and 2010, 13 of 36 players that obtained spinal related injuries ended up as quadriplegic, according to data from the Chris Burger/Petro Jackson Players’ Fund. Statistics show that serious rugby related injuries amongst school rugby players have increased, thus compromising the safety of the rugby player. These statistics add to the central theme of this study, namely educator security. Educator-coaches’ security is greatly influenced by the safety of the school rugby player. The South African Rugby Union (SARU) proceeded to follow the example of other rugby playing countries by implementing a rugby safety program. BOKSMART was launched in 2009 in conjunction with the Chris Burger/Petro Jackson Players Fund. The rugby safety program is implemented for coaches to guide them with the latest methods regarding skills and techniques for the enhancement of safer rugby. During this study similar rugby programs will be analysed and discussed to determine the effect these programs has on educator-coach safety. To understand the effect more clearly, delictual liability is discussed which is connected to an introduction of the South African legal system. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, education legislation and other legislation with regards to the security of the educator-coaches’ and the safety of the school rugby player is discussed. A discussion regarding the application of the law of delict is also included. During the empirical research a qualitative research method is used to determine and interpret the perceptions of educator-coaches regarding their security. If an educator- coach is confronted with legal actions, it can have a negative effect on his work-life and career. Focus is placed on educator-coaches of high school teams, while principals and sport organisers also gave their input on the subject. Findings are presented based on an analysis of the data gathered. Two important findings stood out, namely that all educator-coaches are not well acquainted with the legal aspects regarding player safety and educator-coach’s security and secondly, that there is a need to gain more knowledge regarding delictual liability, as applied to rugby coaching.