Through no one's fault, a local swim meet was recently cancelled in our area due to the northeast snow storm. This is the first time in my 8 USMS years I know of a meet being cancelled at the last minute (some past were cancelled with notice).
Several of our team members sent in registrations for the meet. Of course there are expenses with organizing/planning a meet that must be paid, but the meet directors have indicacted that no fees paid will be returned. Needless to say, this has upset some members, especially those paying more by entering the maximum number of events.
I ask what past experience others have had when a meet is cancelled at the last minute. Did meet directors make contingency plans, especially for winter meets? Were there partial refunds? (It would seem that some expenses would not exist - mailing results, officials, pool rental) Were other types of redress offered if money was not refunded? How did swimmers affected understand and accept their forfeit if any? Do host teams share some/all/none of the risk of hosting meets? How usual or unusual is this?
I'm going to steal the following (edited) words from Dan Empfield, who first made these comments related to Ironman Utah, a triathlon that was altered to a substitute event due to adverse weather. I think that his words are right on when it comes to the issue of refunds...
We ought not to hold the meet hosts financially liable for "Acts of God" or disasters beyond their control, and it appears that our sport might benefit from a common protocol. I suspect there is an expectation on behalf of most participants that we'll get our entry fees back if the meet is called off. It's an expectation we ought not to have, and we ought to codify that sportwide.
Why do I believe this? Because our sport doesn't exist without meet directors, and all it takes to financially ruin an club or team or LMSC is one event in which money to produce it is paid out yet none of it is recouped through the entry fees. The hosts pays out every dollar, regardless of whether the event goes off or not. Further, if there are sponsors involved, the host will probably have to rebate some back to the sponsors if the event doesn't occur. If swimmers demand their money back, the hosts take a big financial hit. We've got some great meet hosts out there...what would happen if they are not longer there because of and Act of God and some overly-demanding entrants?
It is not enough that a host isn't legally required to refund the money. The host also needs to know (from the LMSC and the participating swimmers) that we won't expect the money to be refunded, because to do so would be only to hurt ourselves. The hosts need to know that the swimmers won't hold it against them the next time they organize meets.
In the meets that I have hosted as a meet director, I have never given a refund. (I haven't been asked for one, either.) There does seem to be an expectation that if you pay an entry fee but don't show up for the meet (or miss events), you forfeit your money. The same principle should apply here. I was also at the infamous Northwest Zone Champs where the times were "thrown out" from "official consideration", yet there were no refunds.
I'm going to steal the following (edited) words from Dan Empfield, who first made these comments related to Ironman Utah, a triathlon that was altered to a substitute event due to adverse weather. I think that his words are right on when it comes to the issue of refunds...
We ought not to hold the meet hosts financially liable for "Acts of God" or disasters beyond their control, and it appears that our sport might benefit from a common protocol. I suspect there is an expectation on behalf of most participants that we'll get our entry fees back if the meet is called off. It's an expectation we ought not to have, and we ought to codify that sportwide.
Why do I believe this? Because our sport doesn't exist without meet directors, and all it takes to financially ruin an club or team or LMSC is one event in which money to produce it is paid out yet none of it is recouped through the entry fees. The hosts pays out every dollar, regardless of whether the event goes off or not. Further, if there are sponsors involved, the host will probably have to rebate some back to the sponsors if the event doesn't occur. If swimmers demand their money back, the hosts take a big financial hit. We've got some great meet hosts out there...what would happen if they are not longer there because of and Act of God and some overly-demanding entrants?
It is not enough that a host isn't legally required to refund the money. The host also needs to know (from the LMSC and the participating swimmers) that we won't expect the money to be refunded, because to do so would be only to hurt ourselves. The hosts need to know that the swimmers won't hold it against them the next time they organize meets.
In the meets that I have hosted as a meet director, I have never given a refund. (I haven't been asked for one, either.) There does seem to be an expectation that if you pay an entry fee but don't show up for the meet (or miss events), you forfeit your money. The same principle should apply here. I was also at the infamous Northwest Zone Champs where the times were "thrown out" from "official consideration", yet there were no refunds.
