• 4 Apri/2012 Subject to parliamentary privilege The Chair Western Australian Legislative Assembly Economics and Industry Committee Level 1, 11 Harvest Terrace ' WEST PERTH WA 6005 BY EMAIL ([email protected]) Attention: Mr Tim Hughes Dear Mr Hughes, Submission to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Economics and Industry Committee inquiry into the 2011 Kimberley footrace by RacingThePianet Events Limited I am the CEO and founder of RacingThePianet Events Limited ("RacingThePianet"), the company that organised and conducted the 2011 Kimberley footrace. In addition to being the CEO of RacingThePianet, I participated in the 2011 Kimberley footrace as a registered competitor. RacingThePianet and I greatly regret that 5 competitors were injured by fire during the 2011 footrace. was among the 5 participants injured. I believe that RacingThePianet took reasonable steps to identify and reduce risks and maintain the safety of competitors, employees, contractors, spectators and volunteers in the preparation for and the running of the 2011 Kimberley footrace and in responding to the fire and the injuries, including access to medical support and evacuations. I enclose RacingThePianet's submission to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Economics and Industry Committee inquiry into the 2011 Kimberley footrace. RacingThePianet makes this submission to the members of the Committee, at the written request of the Chair, in order to assist the consideration of the matters the subject of the Committee's terms of reference. RacingThePianet's submission represents its best present understanding of relevant matters, based on the discussions and communications it has had and records kept and obtained by it. The preparation of these submissions has been dependent on the assistance, recollection and records of a number of competitors, volunteers, spectators, contractors and West Australian Government authorities for which RacingThePianet is grateful. RacingThePianet has not been able to obtain , nor been provided, the recollections or records of all the competitors in the 2011 Kimberley footrace, volunteers, spectators or Western Australian Government authorities which it has requested. I would be grateful if you would please direct future communications with RacingThePianet to Samantha Fanshawe at [email protected]. Yours sinc,rely/ tla~~ .~~ Mary Gadams CEO of RacingThePianet Events Limited RacingThePianet Events Limited 1 www.racingtheplanet.com SUBJECT TO PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE SUBMISSION TO THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ECONOMICS AND INDUSTRY COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO THE '2011 KIMBERLEY ULTRAMARATHON' FOOTRACE BY RACINGTHEPLANET EVENTS LIMITED RESPONSE TO TERMS OF REFERENCE 1. RacingThePlanet Events Limited ("RacingThePlanet") responds to the terms of reference as follows: (a) RacingThePlanet greatly regrets that the 5 competitors, including its CEO, were injured by fire during the 2011 footrace. RacingThePlanet believes it took reasonable steps to identify and reduce risks and maintain the safety of competitors, employees, contractors, spectators and volunteers in the preparation for and the running of the 2011 Kimberley footrace and in responding to the fire and the injuries, including access to medical support and evacuations. As set out in detail below, this included formulating and implementing a detailed risk management plan addressing, among many other things, emergency procedures, medical contingency planning and notifying relevant land owners, occupiers and government authorities. When RacingThePlanet staff became aware that competitors had been affected by a fire in the Tier Gorge they telephoned Emergency Services on 000 for assistance, evacuated competitors from the course, ensured medical assistance was provided to the injured competitors and arranged for helicopter and vehicle assistance to evacuate the injured competitors. (b) RacingThePlanet complied with the sponsorship arrangement with the Western Australian Tourism Commission including in relation to insurance. RacingThePlanet conducts footraces in remote locations which inherently carry some risk. As with all sporting activities, risk cannot be completely eliminated. Regulation which seeks to impose all or substantially all competitor risk on the organiser is likely to result in those sporting activities being conducted outside Western Australia. In particular RacingThePlanet does not expect that such races would be conducted in Western Australia (or anywhere) in the absence of a substantial or complete waiver of claims by competitors against organisers. The safety and interests of competitors, employees, contractors, volunteers and spectators are governed by the same Western Australian laws that apply to other persons and activities. (c) RacingThePlanet repeats its submissions in (b) above. RacingThePlanet staff, Course Director and Medical Director are highly experienced in the preparation and conduct of endurance footraces in remote locations and they have organised 33 races in remote locations around the world in which some 4,000 entrants 1 SUBJECT TO PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE have competed. RacingThePlanet believes that its risk management represents best practice in the management of remote location footraces and that such footraces have no higher risk than other sporting activities conducted in Western Australia including horse riding, parachuting, boxing, motor racing, ocean yacht racing, surfing, swimming, kayaking, adventure races, trekking, mountain biking, football and rugby.1 The public health risk of these activities, as with all sporting activities, must be compared with the considerable and increasing risks associated with physical inactivity in developed economies. (d) RacingThePlanet promptly provided all the information requested by Western Australian Tourism Commission. As stated above and set out in further detail below, RacingThePlanet staff members have organised and promoted 33 footraces in 8 countries over 10 years with some 4,000 entrants. RacingThePlanet is not aware of any organiser of remote location footraces which has conducted more footraces in more locations with more competitors than RacingThePlanet. (e) The experience of RacingThePlanet outside of Western Australia is that the best practice for major sporting events requiring interaction with multiple regulators is that there be a single point of contact with the government to coordinate the performance of the event organiser to the various branches and departments of government, from the inception of event planning. RacingThePlanet believes that the responses and cooperation of Western Australian government instrumentalities (and the response of footrace organisers to their requirements) would be facilitated by such coordination. (f) Although the Kimberley 2011 footrace is described in the terms of reference as an 'extreme' sporting event, the Kimberley 2011 footrace was less than half the length of the 2010 Kimberley footrace and over 90 per cent of the course was accessible to four wheel drive vehicles. The footrace was conducted within 100 kilometres of Kununurra (the largest town in Western Australia 1 See for example: PA Cameron et al, "Incidence of serious injury and death during sport and recreation activities in Victoria, Australia" (2005) 39(8) British Journal of Sports Medicine, 573-577. NE Andrew et al, "Trends in sport and active recreation injuries resulting in major trauma or death in adults in Victoria, Australia, 2001-2007" (2011) International Journal of the care of the injured. Colin W Fuller, "Catastrophic Injury in Rugby Union" Is the Level of Risk Acceptable?" (2008) 38(12) Sports Medicine, 975-986. 2 SUBJECT TO PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE north of Broome) in areas which are frequented by tourists and local residents. It may be useful for government agencies to ensure that up to date, accurate and specific information about fire risk in the Kimberley is made readily available to visitors to the region in prominent and readily accessible locations such as on the internet, at the airport and from those who regularly deal with visitors to the region from other parts of the State, Australia and outside Australia to educate them as to the fire risks in the region. As recently as 28 March 2012, a representative of RacingThePlanet attended the Visitors Centre at Hay Street, Perth, and enquired about the risk of fire in the Kimberley region. The representative was told by a staff member at the Visitors Centre that fires in this region are normal and are part of the landscape. He also was told that visitors should not be concerned about the fires and, if there was an emergency, a warning would be broadcast on television. BACKGROUND 2. RacingThePlanet was established in 2008. Its staff, management and contractors have been involved in organising 33 footraces in remote culturally rich rough country locations around the world for over 10 years. Some 4,000 entrants have competed in those footraces to date. 3. The main races that RacingThePlanet organises are known as the "4 Deserts" races which are 7 day, 250 kilometre footraces which take place annually in 4 different deserts around the world. The locations for the 4 Deserts races are the Gobi Desert in China, the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Sahara Desert in Egypt, and Antarctica (held every second year). 4. In addition to the 4 Deserts footraces, since 2008 RacingThePlanet has organised a "Roving Race” in a different location each year. Previous locations of the Roving Race include