H-4432              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1922

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Vekich, Dorn, Basich, Holm, Pruitt, Meyers, Rasmussen, Grant and Butterfield

Read first time 1/29/88 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

AN ACT Relating to nonprofit sporting events; and adding new sections to chapter 4.24 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise the following definitions apply throughout section 2 of this act:

          (1) "Compensation" means any wages, fees, commissions, salary, or any other remuneration or valuable consideration,  but shall not include reimbursement for reasonable expenses actually incurred or to be incurred or, solely in the case of umpires or referees, a modest honorarium.

          (2) "Nonprofit association" means an entity which is organized as a nonprofit corporation or nonprofit unincorporated association under the laws of this state or the United States or any entity which is authorized to do business in this state or in the United States as a nonprofit corporation or unincorporated association, including but not limited to the following associations or groups:  Youth or athletic,  volunteer fire, ambulance, religious, charitable, fraternal, veterans, civic, county fair, or agricultural associations, or any separately chartered auxiliary of the foregoing, if organized and operated on a nonprofit basis, but excluding public and private schools and institutions of higher education.

          (3)  "Sports program" means baseball, softball, football, basketball, soccer, and any other competitive sport formally recognized as a sport by the United States Olympic committee as specified by and under the jurisdiction of the amateur sports act of 1978 (Public Law 95-606, 36 U.S.C. 371 et seq.), the amateur athletic union, or the national collegiate athletic association. The term shall be limited to a program or that portion of a program that is organized for recreational purposes and whose activities are substantially for such purposes and which is primarily for participants who are eighteen years of age or younger or whose nineteenth birthday occurs during the year of participation or the competitive season, whichever is longer. There shall be no age limitation for programs operated for the physically handicapped or mentally retarded.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     (1) Those persons or their assistants who, without compensation and as volunteers, render services  as a manager, coach, instructor, umpire, or referee in a sports program of a nonprofit association, and those nonprofit associations which sponsor such sports programs, shall not be civilly liable to any person for any damage or injury resulting from any acts or omissions in rendering such services or in conducting or sponsoring such sports program unless:

          (a) The conduct of that person falls substantially below the standards generally practiced and accepted in like circumstances by similar persons rendering such services;

          (b) That person performed an act, or omitted the performance of an act, which that person was under a recognized duty to another to do; and

          (c) That person knew or had reason to know that such act or omission created a substantial risk of actual harm to the person or property of another.

          Proof that the conduct of such person or nonprofit association fell below the ordinary standard of care shall not be sufficient to impose liability.

          (2) The standard specified in subsection (1) of this section shall not affect or modify the liability of a person or nonprofit corporation for any of the following:

          (a) Acts or omissions involving the transportation of participants in a sports program, or any other individual, to or from the game, event, or practice; or

          (b) Acts or omissions involving the care and maintenance of real estate which is unrelated to the practice or playing areas which such person or nonprofit association owns, possesses, or controls.

          (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting or modifying any existing legal basis for determining the liability, or defense to a liability claim, of any person not covered by the standard of negligence established in this section.

          (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting or modifying the doctrine of assumption of risk or contributory fault on the part of the participant.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall apply to all causes of action commenced on or after the effective date of this section, regardless of when the cause of action may have arisen.  To this extent, sections 1 and 2 of this act shall apply retrospectively, but in all other respects they apply prospectively.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 4.24 RCW.