Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against IRONMAN for Cancellations or Postponements of Races

A triathlete presented last May a class action lawsuit against IRONMAN so that it returns the money of the tests canceled or postponed by the Covid-19 as reported by the magazine triathlete

"IRONMAN should not be allowed to compel athletes to bear the financial burden of canceling their events by COVID-19“., Says a complaint, which was filed in the Middle District of Florida, where IRONMAN has its headquarters. .

The complaint was filed on behalf of an athlete, Mikaela Ellenwood, a Colorado resident who had enrolled in the Rock n 'Roll San Francisco half marathon, It was scheduled for April 5.

Furthermore hI had bought flights and booked accommodation for the event, according to the complaint. When that race was canceled on March 14, the registered were automatically postponed to the 2021 edition and they were not given the option of a refund.

IRONMAN's Covid-19 policy does not include returns

IRONMAN staff have confirmed that the current policy for cancellations or postponements related to COVID does not include refunds to athletes.

They also confirmed that until an event is officially canceled or postponed, the standard COVID-free cancellation policy will remain in effect.

Those policies may vary from career to career., But generally they mean that an athlete cannot transfer or defer without paying a fee or lose a part of what was paid and an athlete you cannot get a refund unless you have purchased cancellation insurance

That means for athletes who hope to know if their career is canceled or postponed, there are few options. However, if you are working with athletes who have travel restrictions in their countries that prevent them from reaching the races.

Once a race has been officially canceled or postponed by COVID-19, athletes are offered the option to participate in another event o postpone your participation for next year.

However, this is where some athletes have had complaints, both because they have to wait for an official decision of cancellation or postponement, and because they feel that not being given enough flexibility once a decision is made.

What the lawyers say

"That frustration is understandablesaid attorney Jennifer Poppe, "but it may not be legally enforceable. " "This would be a really difficult demand to winhe said, depending on what you agreed to when you signed up.

“When an athlete registers for an event, there are a number of waivers and terms and conditions that they agree to. 

For example, it is quite common to recognize that you will not be reimbursed in the event of a cancellation due to weather, commonly known as a “force majeure” clause.".

Poppe noted that the complaint filed in this case does not say what terms and conditions the athletes agreed to when they registered.

While lawsuits surrounding the cancellations of mass participation events are rare, in part because of those exemptions, there have been a number of cases beginning to arise regarding COVID-19 shareholders and breached contracts, he said. .

The legal question will likely be whether IRONMAN confirmed the end of the race contract, and that will likely come down to those terms and conditions.

Now registration in IRONMAN events seems to include an exemption that describes the acceptance of the risk of COVID-19 and accepts not to hold the company responsible.

What IRONMAN says

IRONMAN has pointed out the complexity of administering various regulations in hundreds of different events and countries as part of the reason why they have not offered blanket refunds or postponements for all races this year, and why They are trying to be flexible by providing athletes with as many options as possible.

CEO Andrew Messick has also said, previously, that what they're hearing from athletes is not that they want refunds, but rather that they want to compete as soon and as safely as possible.

The complaint, however, disagrees with this argument. “In reality, the Defendants' response is neither flexible nor understanding of the concerns of the participants.",

We will have to wait for the resolution of this confection