The Sports Arbitration Moot (the “SAM”) is an annual team competition for students in law schools. Moot competitions are fundamental tools for the legal education of future practitioners, who get to develop their advocacy skills while completing their studies. The SAM aims at contributing to the creation of a broader and more knowledgeable sports arbitration community.
The SAM consists of a competition where teams will make oral submissions as Appellant and Respondent. The 2023 edition of the SAM will be held online, with the Final Rounds (i.e. at least the best eight teams) taking place in person. Further details regarding the venue and the SAM Organization’s contribution to the teams’ travel expenses will be disclosed in due course. The calendar of the SAM can be found on the SAM’s website. The SAM is entirely conducted in English.
The members of the University’s team for the XXXI Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot: from the left, Sofia Crosta, Giulia Porro, Lucrezia Barni Giannì
MOOTIES Any student enrolled in a law faculty in 2022 or 2023 can participate in the SAM, irrespective of their law degree (undergraduate, LLM, PhD, etc.). However, except with the permission of the SAM Organization*:
All law schools are eligible to participate in the SAM. Schools that are not law schools but offer a law degree are also eligible. Each school can only enroll one team. The selection of the team should be done at the level of the law school.
Teams must be composed of at least two and a maximum of six students. Teams are free to decide how they allocate the workload. Oral arguments are made by two team members at a time. These team members can change between oral rounds (the “Hearings”). Once the team registration is confirmed, no members may be dropped or added without special permission. Any changes in the composition of the team must be specifically communicated in writing to, and confirmed by, the SAM Organization, by no later than 31 January 2023.
Teams can have coaches to train and assist them. Coaches do not need to be affiliatedwith the law school and can also be students. SAM’s ambassadors and arbitrators can also act as coaches. Coaches need to be registered together with the team. Coaches cannot plead in oral rounds but there is no restriction on the amount of assistance they can provide. When providing their assistance, coaches should bear in mind that the SAM’s goal is to be a learning experience for students.
Arbitrators in the SAM can come from any legal system. Coaches can act as arbitrators, 4 of 14 except for the teams they have coached. SAM’s ambassadors can also act as arbitrators.
Participants in the SAM will be directly eligible to participate in the SAM Camp — a dailytwoto-three-hour course held for five days in preparation for the SAM. The SAM Camp is not open to students that are not participating in the SAM. Mooties must confirm their participation in the SAM Camp by no later than 31 October 2022. Coaches may participate in the SAM Camp together with the team members. Students should attend minimum 80% of the activities of the SAM Camp. Those participants who have schedule conflicts should contact the SAM Organization for further information.
More information here: View the file