Permanents Waiver Rules Updated
by Eric Fergusson, Permanents Co-coordinator

One of the regular permanents riders had some concerns about some of the practices I was allowing with respect to the waivers for permanents. The helpful comments were based on his experience with liability issues in the speed skating world. It was clear that for a variety of reasons many of our permanents waivers would not hold up in court. There’s no problem with the waiver itself, just the way we were using (misusing) it. The procedure outlined in the "Organizing a Permanent - Approval to Ride” part on the “Details / Rules” page in the permanents section of our web site, did have some gaps. I wanted to clarify the procedure. I sent a draft of a reworded section to the executive. A few modifications were made. They recently gave the go ahead to update the rules. I’ve now updated the "Organizing a Permanent" part on the Permanents Rules page.

http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/permanents/rules.html

Here are some highlights:

- One permanent, one waiver on an identified date. In the past I’ve allowed waivers that said "permanent #173 on either May 12, 13 or 14 depending on weather conditions. I’ve also allowed waivers that have said "I plan to ride permanent #173 multiple times between May 15 and May 31." Both of these options are now gone.

- I have occasionally accepted waivers after the ride. I’d say something like “oh well, get it to me before the ride next time.” A late waiver now will result in disqualification.

- All waivers must go to me. In the past waivers sent to my permanents co-coordinator Bob Koen were recognized. This will no longer be the case. We’ve even tighten up the approval process for me and Bob. Bob will now need to send his waiver to me and I will send a copy of my waiver to Bob for transparency reasons.

- The waivers must be properly fill out, and they frequently are not. They also must be clear and legible, and the big enough to read easily. Format: PDFs and JPGs only. It is helpful to get waivers to me early so that I have a chance to make sure that it is acceptable. If it’s not, you will lose your ride.

Additional: Electronically reproduced signatures are acceptable. This means that writeable PDFs and annotated JPGs are acceptable, using the same signature over and over. I do this myself. My basic info and signature is on an event / waiver form (JPG) and I just annotate by identifying the permanent and ride date on line 2, and then I date the signature at the bottom of the page. This will be easier for you as a rider, and the permanents program will also be almost paperless - one event form will last you the rest of your life.