Marathons abroad
103 watchers
Oct 2020
5:02pm, 28 Oct 2020
1,740 posts
|
SailorSteve
Berlin lottery open editing.bmw-berlin-marathon.com |
|
Oct 2020
9:14pm, 28 Oct 2020
1,741 posts
|
SailorSteve
....and Boston delayed “until at least the fall of 2021” Dear Boston Marathoner, We write to share with you the news that the Boston Athletic Association has announced that the 125th Boston Marathon, traditionally held on the third Monday in April—Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts—will be postponed until at least the fall of 2021. No 2021 date has been selected, however, the B.A.A. will work with local officials and members of its COVID-19 Medical & Event Operations Advisory Group to establish under what conditions the next live, in-person Boston Marathon can occur. Before the end of the year, the B.A.A. seeks to announce a new date. Other details such as when registration may open and the field size, pending local regulations and the event plan, will also be forthcoming. We know that there are many questions and we will seek to answer them in the coming months. We encourage you to read the full announcement below for more details. Sincerely, The Boston Athletic Association |
Oct 2020
10:39am, 29 Oct 2020
19,968 posts
|
DeeGee
Shall I risk Berlin? I might enter that and if I get in, I'll do Chicago in 2022 instead. Worried that next year still won't be good for the USA. |
|
Oct 2020
11:16am, 29 Oct 2020
19,970 posts
|
DeeGee
Interesting: "In the event of a cancellation due to force majeure (e.g. pandemic), the organizer reserves the right to withhold an expense allowance of 25% of the participation fee."
|
Oct 2020
1:27pm, 29 Oct 2020
10,871 posts
|
ITG 🇮🇸
Except it is hardly force majeure now, is it? Force majeure is something unstoppable (yes) and unforeseeable (no). I don't think this is enforcable under EU Directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts. In fact, I just taught my students on this and we had a problem question around such a case. First question: is it a consumer contract? I say 'yes' for big city events but it is debatable. Are the organisers an NGO or do they have charitable status? Also, is it 'unfair'? I'd also say yes. If there is force majeure, a contract is cancelled so the parties should be returned to their starting position (as if there was never a contract, i.e., it is 'avoided'); so if the marathon keep the cash, that is unfair enrichment. (Goes back to international law for the rest of the day.) |
|
Oct 2020
5:14pm, 29 Oct 2020
1,742 posts
|
SailorSteve
My view is that I’ve had so many events cancelled and postponed (understandably so) that I’ll sit tight on my rearranged domestic stuff and avoid making long term plans for marathons abroad for the foreseeable future - *looks back wistfully to a time when getting to a start line relatively un-injured was the height of ambition*
|
Oct 2020
1:00pm, 30 Oct 2020
4,064 posts
|
Nelly
Why do you think it is "unfair" ITG? My understanding is the fee withheld is (at least in part) to cover costs that will need to incurred well in advance of the event, and likely the cancellation, (e.g. deposits to suppliers, etc). If the organisers do not recover said costs then they are not "returned to their starting position" prior to the contract, they are out of pocket. And even if the organisers recover said costs they are not "enriched", they are break even. Whether it is legally enforceable or not, I think runners need to consider the implications of organisers not being able to recover reasonable costs incurred prior to any cancellation. Surely, any sane event organiser would avoid planning any events in 2021 without the capability to recover their costs. That being the case, are runners willing to accept such terms or would they prefer no events until Covid is irradicated? |
|
Oct 2020
1:09pm, 30 Oct 2020
10,885 posts
|
ITG 🇮🇸
Nelly, if it is a consumer contract, then the usual principle of 'fairness' is that no-service = no-charge. I can see that from an organiser's point of view, it might not seem fair as they have lost money from the planning stage; but from the consumer's perspective it is not fair to pay for a service that is not delivered; and they are not responsible for the circumstances in any way. The EU Directive backs the consumer in these kinds of cases, on the basis that the consumer is not able to negotiate the standard terms - it is take it or leave it. The commercial party instead can also insure much more efficiently than every individual consumer (and built the insurance cost into the ticket price, so the consumer ends up paying anyway BUT much less than an individual policy). Unfair enrichment is not so much about the parties being better off OVERALL but rather about a transfer of something of value from one to the other without a legal basis ('cause'). And if the contract is cancelled, which is the effect of force majeure or 'frustration' in English and Scots law, there is no legal basis for the transfer. |
|
Oct 2020
1:10pm, 30 Oct 2020
10,886 posts
|
ITG 🇮🇸
I mean, I wouldn't litigate it over 20 quid and I did not get a full refund on a run I had signed up for in August. But that is my interpretation of the law (which is EU wide and applies in England under the Consumer Rights Act).
|
|
Oct 2020
1:11pm, 30 Oct 2020
10,887 posts
|
ITG 🇮🇸
Sorry, EEA wide (also Norway, Iceland and Leicthenstein).
|
Related Threads
-
Mývatn marathon 2020 - with half, 10k and trail run options
Apr 2020
-
Reykjavík Marathon on 22/08/2015
Jul 2015
-
World Marathon Majors - a 6 star quest
Apr 2024
-
5 majors in one year
Apr 2011
-
Spring Marathons in Europe
Aug 2013
-
Good marathons in Europe for a beginner?
Jul 2012
-
European Half Marathons
Aug 2019
-
Cycling in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania - anyone with experience to share?
Apr 2023
-
Midnight Sun Marathon
Jul 2014
-
Gotheburg half marathon
Sep 2016
