Cancelled JP Morgan running event won't issue refunds due to ‘significant financial outlay’
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The news: JP Morgan is not refunding participants of its cancelled Corporate Challenge running event in Sydney because of the “significant financial outlay” already made in organising it, according to a spokesperson, and is in line with its force majeure rule.
The JP MorganChase Foundation will still make its associated donation to the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, although the total value was not disclosed.
The context: The 3.5 mile (5.6 km) race in Centennial Park, to the South East of Sydney’s CBD, was scheduled to start at 6:30pm AEDT today but was cancelled due to “forecasted extreme weather conditions”.
A JP Morgan spokesperson told Capital Brief that participants would not be refunded "because of the significant financial outlay in terms of operational and production costs already made towards the event's execution”.
This is formalised in the event’s participant waiver and rules, which state that “entry fees shall be deemed non-refundable and non-transferable unless otherwise explicitly stated” if the event is cancelled due to a “force majeure event” including “adverse weather conditions”. The rules also state that payment may be applied to a different race.
A fire weather warning has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for the Greater Sydney Region and the NSW Rural Fire Service has issued a total fire ban until midnight. Record high temperatures were set today across parts of Western Sydney.
The temperature at Centennial Park hit a high of 37 degrees celsius at 1:54pm AEDT and was at 34.8 degrees celsius as of 5:00pm AEDT, when the event was scheduled to open, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. At 6:30pm AEDT it was 30.6 degrees celsius.
In an email to participants, the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge Team said they “understand this news is disappointing, but your safety and well-being are our top priority”.
About 12,000 participants, signed up in corporate teams, were expected to take part in this year's Sydney event. It is part of the ongoing JP Morgan Corporate Challenge Series run across 16-cities across eight countries.
Despite the cancellation, the team at global recruitment and brand consulting firm Salt, who had been keenly anticipating the JP Morgan run, purportedly still managed to get in a run. According to a staff member’s LinkedIn post, the team pushed through a lunchtime 5km loop up to the Sydney Opera House, inviting those who'd planned to do the JP Morgan run to join.
While this year’s Corporate Challenge event will not be rescheduled, everybody registered will still receive a finisher’s shirt.
