ABSTRACT
Law and sport enjoy a fascinating relationship. Although it may be true to say that ‘the law of the land never stops at the touchline’ (Grayson and Bond 1993) it is also true that the application of legal rules to sport has resulted in some juridical redefinition. For example, a fight on the street raises issues of criminal and civil liability, whilst the same activity undertaken under the auspices of, say, the World Boxing Council, might be considered boxing and enjoy a limited immunity from the law that bears no close philosophical scrutiny. Legally speaking, sports development sits on the cusp of general and sports-specific law. For
instance, issues relating to employment and discrimination are firmly in the domain of ordinary legal principles. On the other hand, those legal principles applied to sporting activity enjoy an increasingly noteworthy position for the sports development officer. As sports development spans an increasingly wide range of social activities, it is subject to a
broader range of legal principles – too many to be covered in a chapter of this nature. As a result, the object of this chapter is a limited one: to give the reader a general understanding of the law as it applies to certain elements of sports development and offer some practical guidance on its application. The first part examines the foundation of the law. The second part examines the application of the law to sport and recreation. Although the chapter focuses on the law of the United Kingdom, special reference is made to examples from the United States where legal issues relating to facilities and risk assessment are more developed and could be a harbinger of which sports development officers should be cognizant.
