Event participation waiver template
An event participation waiver is what you ask every runner, player or attendee to sign before they take part in something with physical risk: a 5K, a charity tournament, an obstacle course, a climbing workshop. This one covers the release, medical consent, event rules, weather and refunds, and a parent signing for a minor. Read it below, then put it in your registration flow.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Participant (or parent)
Event Participation Waiver and Release
This Event Participation Waiver and Release (the "Waiver") is given to Organizer name (the "Organizer") by or for Participant's name (the "Participant").
1. The event
Event: Event name Date: Event date
Location: Event location
Activities: Event activities
Team or group, if any: Team or group
2. Fitness to take part
The Participant confirms that they are physically fit for the activities, have prepared as the event requires, and have no medical condition that makes taking part unsafe, or have been cleared by a doctor to take part. The Participant will stop and ask for help if they feel unwell during the event.
3. Risks
The Participant understands that taking part involves risks that can't all be removed, including falls, collisions with other participants, equipment failure, uneven or slippery surfaces, heat and cold, dehydration, traffic, and the actions of other participants and spectators. Injuries can be serious and, rarely, fatal. Risks particular to this event: Event-specific risks.
4. Assumption of risk and release
The Participant voluntarily accepts these risks. To the fullest extent the law allows, the Participant releases, and agrees not to sue, the Organizer, the event's sponsors, the owners of the venue and course, and their officers, staff and volunteers (the "Released Parties") over any injury, illness, death, or loss of or damage to property arising from taking part in the event, including claims based on the Released Parties' ordinary negligence. This does not apply to gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
Venue owner, sponsors and others also released: Other released parties
5. Rules and officials
The Participant will follow the event rules the Organizer publishes, the instructions of officials, marshals and medical staff, and any course or time limits. Key rules include: Key event rules. The Organizer may stop the Participant from starting or continuing if officials decide their condition or conduct is unsafe, and no refund is due in that case. Entries can't be transferred to another person without the Organizer's agreement.
6. Medical treatment
The Participant consents to first aid and emergency medical treatment, including transport to a hospital, if officials or medical staff believe they need it and they can't decide for themselves. The Participant is responsible for the cost of any treatment and transport.
Emergency contact: Emergency contact name Phone: Emergency contact phone
Medical conditions or allergies the event's medical team should know about (optional): Medical information
7. Cancellation and refunds
If the event is canceled, shortened or changed because of weather, permits, safety concerns or other causes outside the Organizer's control, this policy applies: Cancellation and refund policy.
8. Photos and results
The Organizer and its photographers may photograph and film the event. The Participant allows the Organizer to use images of them taken at the event, and to publish their name, age group and results, to report on and promote this and future events, without payment.
9. Participants under 18
If the Participant is under 18, the parent or legal guardian signing below gives permission for the Participant to take part, agrees to every term of this Waiver on the Participant's behalf and on their own behalf, and confirms they are the Participant's parent or legal guardian. Participant's date of birth: Participant's date of birth
10. General
This Waiver is governed by the laws of the state of State. If any part of it is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect and the release in section 4 applies as fully as the law allows. Electronic signatures count as original signatures.
Signer email: Signer email Phone: Signer phone
I have read this Waiver, I understand that I am giving up legal rights in section 4, and I sign it voluntarily.
Participant, or parent or guardian of a minor
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
What an event waiver is for
Every event with physical activity produces a few twisted ankles. The waiver is how the organizer shows that each participant was told the risks and agreed to accept them, and how it gets permission to treat someone who collapses at mile three. It also puts the rules in writing: the course closes at a set time, headphones aren't allowed, bibs can't be handed to a friend.
Courts read waivers closely. A release is likelier to hold up when it's written plainly, set apart from the rest of the form and signed before the event, not handed out at the start line. It won't cover gross negligence, and states disagree on whether a parent can give up a child's own injury claims in advance, so the minor section here works as consent and acknowledgment as much as a release.
What the template covers
- The event: name, date, location and activities, in your words.
- Fitness: the participant confirms they're fit to take part, or have been cleared by a doctor.
- Risks: falls, collisions, heat, weather, traffic on open roads and other participants, plus a blank for what's specific to your course.
- Release: of the organizer, sponsors, the venue and volunteers, for ordinary negligence, with room to name the venue owner and sponsors.
- Rules and removal: the participant follows officials, and can be pulled from the event without a refund for unsafe conduct.
- Cancellation and refunds: your policy for weather, permits and safety calls, written by you before anyone asks.
- Medical treatment: consent to emergency care, an emergency contact and an optional medical note.
- Photos and results: permission to photograph participants and publish names, age groups and times.
- Minors: a parent or guardian signs on the participant's behalf, with a date of birth.
Mistakes organizers make
- Collecting waivers on paper at packet pickup. Lines grow, pens run out, and a stack of rain-soaked forms is hard to search when an insurer calls.
- Borrowing a waiver from another sport. Name your event's real risks; a release that mentions horses at a 10K looks copied, and invites the question of what else wasn't thought through.
- Forgetting the venue and sponsors. If the park, the city or a sponsor asks to be named in the release, add them before registration opens.
- Not deciding what happens in bad weather. Choose a refund, credit or deferral policy now, and type it into the blank in section 7.
- Treating a registration-page tick box as the waiver. A signed waiver with a certificate of completion records the signer's email, the time and the IP address; a tick in a spreadsheet often records none of that.
Plan for weak signal
SignMaster needs a connection while someone signs; there's no offline mode. If your venue is a field with patchy coverage, collect waivers with registration, and keep day-of signing for the few who missed it.
How to collect it with SignMaster
- 1
Open the template
Choose Use this template above. It opens with one signer, the participant or their parent, and you can add a countersigner if your insurer wants one.
- 2
Describe your event
Fill the gray blanks once: the event name and date, the activities, the risks particular to your course, the key rules and your refund policy.
- 3
Turn on a public link
From the template, create a public link and paste it into your registration confirmation email. Each registrant signs their own waiver and gets their own signed copy.
- 4
Print the QR code for check-in
Day-of entrants scan the QR code at the table and sign on their phones while they queue. Anyone without a phone can sign on your tablet with Sign in person.
- 5
Check the list against your roster
On a paid plan, the Responses tab lists every signed waiver with the participant's name, team and emergency contact. Export it as CSV and compare it with your registration export before the start.
Team entries and corporate groups
When a company enters forty employees or a club registers a whole squad, you'll usually get a spreadsheet of names and emails. Bulk send the waiver from it, one envelope per participant, with a Team or group column that fills that line on each copy. Reminders go out on their own until everyone has signed, so nobody stands in a line on race morning.
Questions? Answers.
Is an online event waiver legally binding?
An electronically signed waiver has the same legal standing as a paper one under federal and state e-signature laws. Whether the release itself holds up depends on its wording and your state's rules, so have a local lawyer review it.
Can a parent sign an event waiver for a child?
Yes, and they should. Whether a parent can give up the child's own claims varies by state, but the parent's consent to the activity and to emergency treatment still matters.
Does the organizer need to sign the waiver?
Usually not, because a waiver is mainly the participant's promise. If your insurer or venue asks for a countersignature, add yourself as a second signer and sign after each participant.
How long should I keep signed waivers?
At least as long as someone could bring a claim, which depends on your state's deadline for injury claims, and longer for minors, whose deadline often doesn't start until they turn 18. Ask your insurer.