Share it
The Supreme Court has also entered into the Olympic spirit, with the opening of a summer exhibition at the Supreme Court, ‘Playing by the Rules – Sport and the Law’. According to the press release:
“How did football transfer deals become such big business, when can you sue a cricket club for letting balls damage your house, and why is Oscar Pistorius being allowed to compete in this year’s Olympic Games – all these legal questions are many more are explored in a major new exhibition which opened to the public today at the UK’s highest court.
The exhibition offers an introduction to how the legal profession has helped support the development and financing of sport over the years, looking at issues such as ethics, anti-doping, commercialisation, branding and the role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
The thirty panels and accompanying materials include:
- The story of how the Olympic movement tentatively moved from strict rules on amateurism to today’s professional arena;
- Brief profiles of past and present ‘Team GB’ members who have also practised in law, including ski jumper Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards, Sir Menzies Campbell and rower Tom Solesbury;
- How UK court and tribunal cases involving footballers, horse trainers and boxers helped clarify the rights of sportspeople;
- An introduction to the role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and some of the most significant cases it has heard;
- Exhibits from the 1908 and 1948 London Games, including medals and programmes (kindly loaned by ASA/British Swimming).
A quiz and creative activities based on the topic of fair play in sport are also available for younger visitors.”
We are hoping that the quiz is not exclusively for younger visitors as the UKSC blog editors will be visiting the exhibition next week, and are rather keen to try out the ‘creative activities’.
The exhibition is now open to the public from 9.30am – 4.30pm on weekdays until the end of September. Admission is free.