Swimmers Asked to Sign Disclaimers
Australian swimmers competing in next month's World Cup and U.S. Open in New York have been asked to sign disclaimers preventing Australian Swimming Inc. from being sued if they are injured or killed in a terrorist attack.
"We simply could not get any insurance company to cover us in this regard," Vena Murray, executive director of Australian Swimming, said Thursday.
"If the swimmers are hit by a New York taxi, they're covered. But if they're hurt in a terrorist attack, they're not."
Don Talbot, the head coach of the Australian team, says he'll sign the disclaimer.
"You can't stop living just because these things are going on in the world," Talbot said. "You've just got to count on the intense security precautions protecting you."
Brooke Hanson, one of 13 Australians scheduled to compete in the Nov. 27-28 World Cup, said she had received the disclaimer form and intended to sign it.
"That freaked me out a bit," Hanson said. "But I promised from the beginning that I wasn't going to let the terrorism get to me."
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