“It’s important to draw a distinction where you actually can use mediation or an alternative dispute resolution method other than litigation. 

“Competition rules and doping offences are not areas where you can mediate, negotiate and so on; these have clear rules and they have to be respected for the integrity of the sport. 

“What you do need, when it comes to competition rules, is a solid internal procedure to have the possibility to appeal to a higher instance than the competition jury – they can make mistakes, so that needs to be verifiable.

“And then you also need the commitment that there will be an appeal possibility to the Centre for Arbitration of Sport (CAS), as the overall instance to check externally that your internal regulatory procedures are working in the correct way.

“From my perspective, as far as anti-doping offences are concerned, it’s a similar situation: an International Federation has to uphold the WADA rules. Then you have to defend those in an internal doping panel procedure and if there is an appeal, again can be appealed externally to CAS; that’s what is given in the code. 

“Then the areas where we have a certain experience where there could be room for negotiation concerns disputes – we’ve had dealings in two particular areas. One has been with a couple of serious accidents that have taken place in international competitions, which are organised under the FIS rules, that are overseen by the technical delegate appointed for the assignment by FIS. 

“Then there have been out of court discussions and negotiations, of course together with the insurance company who plays an important role there. In the one case we found a very good solution that involved supporting a foundation set up by the family in the athlete’s memory dedicated to supporting youngsters in his sport and improving safety measures. 

“The other area has been with non-competition regulations: interpretation of regulations connected to commercial branding and visibility; is a manufacturer a manufacturer or is it a commercial entity; what’s allowed and what isn’t allowed? That is also quite closely connected to Olympic rules.”

This exclusive interview was conducted by HOST CITY at LawAccord during the 2016 SportAccord Convention

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord is delighted to confirm this year’s LawAccord conference programme: Key Opportunities, Challenges and Threats to Institutional Sport – From Within and Without, supported by a stellar line-up of speakers and panelists. LawAccord is set to take place on Monday 6 May 2019 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Queensland, Australia.

Running for a full-day for the first time, Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord said:

“Hosting SportAccord in Gold Coast has presented a wide variety of conference opportunities for the LawAccord programme this year. With so many influencers and stakeholders in the region, it was felt that a full-day’s conference followed by a networking cocktail, would give delegates more news and current thinking, and provide the perfect platform to discuss the day’s business and insights in welcoming surroundings.”

LawAccord is of particular interest to sport lawyers and administrators, international federations, cities and regions, as well as event hosts. Organisations and legal experts can register for SportAccord here and benefit from all the networking opportunities on offer.

Francesco Ricci Bitti, Acting-President of SportAccord and President of ASOIF will provide the welcome introduction and opening for LawAccord.

The Morning Keynote: Why Good Governance is Crucial to Sport Organisations will be presented by Malcolm Speed AO, former CEO of Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council. Speed is the Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University and Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Law at Melbourne University. A panel session discussing good governance will follow, led and moderated by Michael Lenard, Vice President, ICAS.

Other conference and panel sessions will cover: the fight against match-fixing; how to manage the emergence of rival leagues/competitions and other legal considerations supported by case studies; the annual CAS Update. A Fireside Chat with Sir Craig Reedie will also take place followed by an anti-doping panel session.

Commenting on the significance of this year’s LawAccord programme, Ross Wenzel, Partner, Kellerhals Carrard, and a LawAccord Steering Committee member commented:

“Kellerhals Carrard is delighted to be involved in putting together this year’s edition of LawAccord taking place at SportAccord 2019 in Gold Coast. The program addresses some of the most topical and significant issues that are affecting international sport today including the practical aspects of governance reforms, how to deal with the emergence of rival leagues and the changing landscape of the fight against doping in sport.

“We have been fortunate enough to line up world-class speakers, both from Australia and abroad, with hands-on experience of the regulation and administration of sport. These include the lawyers that led the FIFA and IAAF governance reforms, Sir Craig Reedie, President of WADA, Benjamin Cohen, Director General of the newly-formed International Testing Agency and Matthieu Reeb, Secretary General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“In view of the quality of the program and speakers, the Steering Committee took the decision to extend LawAccord to a full day with a networking cocktail to follow, giving attendees further opportunities to make the most of their time at SportAccord. We are looking forward to a lively, frank and multi-faceted debate around some of the key challenges facing sport.

As part of the Official Schedule, delegates will be able to take part in over 20 networking events, the popular 3-day Exhibition, and access 50+ conference sessions, become involved in the Sports Festival and many other social occasions taking place in Gold Coast, with plenty of opportunities to explore this beautiful region further.

To become an Exhibitor or Partner contact the sales team: sales@sportaccord.com or phone +41 21 612 3070. To register as a delegate and watch past SportAccord footage visit www.sportaccord.sport.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord using #SA2019, or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook.

For media enquiries, email the Media Relations Officer: jenny.edmondson@sportaccord.com

SportAccord

SportAccord brings together international sports federations and organisations involved in the business of sport. The annual World Sport & Business Summit is a six-day event attended by leaders of the global sports community. It engages international sports federations, athletes, industry, rights holders, organising committees, cities, government, agencies, media, technology, legal teams, medical professionals, inventors, and subject matter experts – represented at the highest levels.

SportAccord is the only global sports business event attended by all the international sports federations and their stakeholders, who host their Annual General Assemblies during SportAccord.

These stakeholders include: ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations), AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport), GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations) and Associate Members. SportAccord receives the full support of the International Olympic Committee.

Follow #SA2019 and #SA2020 on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr       

LawAccord

The Steering Committee for this year’s LawAccord conference programme are:

David Casserly, Barrister, Attorney-at-law, Partner, Kellerhals Carrard

John Hewitt, Event Operations Manager, Communications, SportAccord

Michael Lenard, Vice President, ICAS

Stephen Townley, Founder, Active Rights Management Limited

Ross Wenzel, Partner, Solicitor of Senior Courts of England & Wales, Kellerhals Carrard

With the Enlarged Steering Committee consisting of:

Hayden Opie AM, Senior Fellow (Melbourne Law Masters), University of Melbourne

Malcolm Speed AO, former CEO of Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council, Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University, Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Law at Melbourne University

Sponsorship will often be a brand marketing director’s first thought when considering a sports-related campaign. Thankfully, the old school "brand slap" model is dying a death and the sponsorships of today tend to be significantly more sophisticated than those we used to see in the "Noughties" and before. Companies seek increased authenticity and better connections with their ever more fickle and savvy target audience. And so the partnerships themselves have become subtler, deeper and more cleverly activated.

 Some brands, rather than seeking an association with someone else's event, bravely decide to run their own. The advantages are clear. Much greater control of the event and the branding associated with it, better access to the data generated and the increased sense of authenticity that comes from running the event rather than linking a brand to it.

But there are also significant challenges. For the most part, the planning and execution of a sporting event requires specialist skills, knowledge and contacts. These can all be hired in but good advice does not come cheap. Even if volunteers can be used to help “on the ground”, they need to be identified, trained, kitted out and managed.

Venue is of course a key issue too. Deals may need to be done with the owner of a stadium or with a host city or local authority. Roads may need to be closed and traffic plans drawn up and implemented. With some events, the police may need to be consulted.

There may be a need to confer with the relevant sports governing body too, for example to secure official sanction for the event.

Away from the operational nitty gritty, there are IP issues to consider too. What will the event be called? Is the name capable of trade mark protection and if so, in what territories should filings be made? Trade mark searches may be necessary to see what prior marks are on the register that may cause problems. Even generic sounding terms like “WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS” or “10K” may be incorporated into third party registrations.

Customer data is likely to be another vital issue. How is the business to go about obtaining the details of new potential customers? With respect to those already on its marketing database, does the business have the necessary freedom under its privacy policies and under electronic marketing laws to promote the event to them?

Any brand running its own sports event will want to maximise media coverage. Some companies may have the facilities and skills in house to arrange their own audio visual production. For many though, it will be necessary to appoint a specialist production company or, if more appropriate, a host broadcaster. The question of distribution must then be tackled. For bigger events, deals may need to be negotiated with broadcasters, potentially internationally as well as locally. Alternatively, the organisers may prefer to stream the event online, either through their own media player and website or potentially through a third party site like YouTube or Facebook.

In a short blog post like this it is hard to do much more than touch on a handful of the key issues a brand must consider and address in order to run its own successful sports event. There is a huge amount to be taken into account and the challenges can be immense for a business whose core focus is in another area, be it selling soft drinks, cars or insurance. Many a wise person, though, has found an eloquent way of making this point: Nothing truly valuable was ever easy.