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Henry’s Protest Page
The sport of yachting or, as it is
now known, sailing, has always been, and for the most part, still is, an
amateur sport. It has also been known as
a Corinthian sport, that is, a sport where the contestants hold themselves to
the highest standards of behavior. To
that end, the sport of sailing generally does not have referees or umpires
(there are a few events that do use umpires such as match racing). Instead, competitors are seen to be self
policing and are expected to follow the rules.
In fact, in the front of the rule book under Sportsmanship and the
rules, there is the following statement:
“competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that
they are expected to follow and enforce.
A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break
a rule they will promptly take a penalty or retire.” That just about sums up the Corinthian spirit. However, people will from time to time, for
whatever reason, break a rule that impacts the finish position of another
competitor. The recourse that the
aggrieved competitor has to gain relief is by filing a protest. This page is dedicated to those
sailors. I hope to give a few guidelines
to assist these competitors, especially those new to the process, in filing a
successful protest.
ð What are some of the resources that are available?
ð What do I have to do to file a protest?
ð What happens during a hearing?
ð What can I do if I feel that the decision is not right?
O
A
copy of the Racing
Rules of Sailing with the US Sailing prescriptions (a copy of the rule book
comes with a membership in US Sailing – every racing sailor should belong to US Sailing.
O
A
copy of the US Sailing protest form. That way you will always be able to find one.
Some other things that will help in both learning the rules
and filing protests:
O
Read
and study the ISAF case
book. The case book is a compilation
by the International Sailing Federation of all of the appeals from the different
national authorities, such as US Sailing, that they feel are important
decisions by appeal committees. While
the cases are not rules themselves, they do represent authoritative
interpretations of the rules.
O
Read
and study Dave Perry’s Understanding
the Racing Rules. This is as good an
explanation of the Racing Rules as I have seen.
O
If
at all possible, attend a rules seminar.
Most of the active racing clubs and organizations offer them from time
to time.
O
Dick Rose, the chairman of the US
Sailing Racing Rules Committee feels
that if we would concentrate on what he calls the basic rules, we would
eliminate most conflicts on the water.
Here is what he presents as the basic
rules:
Fundamentals: Help anyone in danger, and avoid collisions whenever possible.
1. Opposite Tacks: Starboard has right of way.
2. Same Tack: Leeward or clear ahead have right of way.
3. Changing Tacks: Boats tacking or jibing keep clear.
4. Limits: Right-of-way boats changing course or when gaining right of way must
at first give others room to keep clear.
5. Giving room: Except at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water,
outside boats must give room to those inside at a mark or obstruction.
6. At windward marks, Rule 1 (not Rule 5) applies to boats beating on opposite
tacks.
O
Go
racing. On the job training is great.
Caution: before you go and spend a bunch of money on
materials that pertain to the 2001-04 rules, be aware that the 2005-08 rules go
into effect on
Dick Rose states that there are four
reasons for a sailor to lose a protest:
(1) he didn’t follow the rules that govern the procedure for making a
protest and his protest was determined to be invalid. (2) His protest was
valid, but he simply broke a rule. (3) One or more crucial facts found by the
protest committee didn’t, in the sailor’s opinion, reflect what actually happened.
(4) He believes that the protest committee didn’t correctly interpret the
rules. I am going to concentrate on
#1. Numbers in parentheses indicate the
number of the rule involved. The protest
procedure rules are found in Part 5 of the rule book.
First of all, who can protest? Well a boat may protest another boat (but not
for an alleged breach of a rule of Part 2 unless she was involved in or saw the
incident) or she may request redress (rule 60.1, 62.1). If an incident happens in which you feel that
you must protest another boat or you are being protested and you don’t think
you broke a rule, make note of any other competitors around that might serve as
witnesses. If there is a race committee
boat or a judge’s boat around, they may also serve as witnesses. IF YOU ARE THE ONE BEING PROTESTED AND YOU
THINK THAT YOU DID BREAK A RULE, THEN TAKE YOUR PENALTY RIGHT AWAY. It is much better than being disqualified.
If a boat intends to protest she
must do certain things:
Ø She must inform the other competitor: A boat intending to protest shall always
inform the other boat at the first reasonable opportunity. When her protest concerns
an incident in the racing area that she is involved in or sees, she shall hail
‘Protest’ and conspicuously display a red flag at the first reasonable
opportunity for each. However, boats of hull length less than 6 meters need not
display the flag, and if the other boat is beyond hailing distance the
protesting boat need not hail but shall inform the other boat at the first
reasonable opportunity. A boat required
to display a flag shall do so until she is no longer racing. (rule 61.1)
Also, if the sailing instructions require it, she must report the
protest to the race committee at the finish line.
Ø She must deliver a written protest,
on time, to the race committee, that identify (a) the protestor and protestee;
(b) the incident, including where and when it occurred; (c) any rule the
protestor believes was broken; and (d) the name of the protestor’s
representative. Provided the written protest
identifies the incident, other details may be corrected before or during
the hearing. (rule 61.2). If
possible, use the US Sailing protest form.
Note that you only use the front; the back is for the protest committee.
Ø It is important to note that, except
for rules 30.2, 30.3, 67, 69, A5 and N2, a boat may not be penalized without a
hearing. (rule 63.1)
Ø ALL competitors, not just those
filing protests, must check the official notice board after the close of the
protest time limit to make sure that a protest has not been filed against
them. If they do not and a hearing is
held in their absence and they find out they have been disqualified, they will
not have a defense unless they can show that some very mitigating circumstance
kept them from seeing the notice. If a
competitor has either filed a protest or sees that one has been filed against
him, he/she should note the time and place of the hearing, get a copy of the
protest, prepare their case and be on time to the hearing.
Once it
becomes time for the hearing, you and your opponent will be invited into the
hearing room. No one else is allowed
(there is such a thing as an open hearing, but that is for another time). All witnesses must wait outside until they
are called to testify. The chief judge
will introduce everyone and then proceed with the hearing. Everyone is expected to conduct himself just
as he/she would if he/she were in a court of law. Severe breaches of good behavior are subject
to penalties (rule 69).
Ø First step in the hearing is to 
check the validity of the protest.
o
Were
the contents adequate (rule 61.2 or rule 62.1)?
o
Was
it delivered in time? If not, is there good reason to extend the time limit
(rule 61.3 or 62.2)?
o
When
required, was the protestor involved in or a witness to the incident (rule
60.1(a))?
o
When
necessary, was ‘Protest’ hailed and a red flag flown correctly (rule 61.1(a))?
o
When
the flag and hail were not necessary was the protestee informed?
o
The
jury will decide whether the protest or request for redress is valid
(rule 63.5).
o
Once
the validity of the protest or request has been determined, the jury
will not let the subject be introduced again unless truly new evidence is
available.
Ø The next step is for the protestor
to give his side of the story. Generally
there will be model boats for the use of the person testifying. No one will be allowed to interrupt the
testimony. This will be true throughout
the hearing. Also photographs and
videotapes may be presented with permission of the jury; however, the jury will
take into account the limitation of such evidence.
Ø After the testimony, the protestee
will be given an opportunity to question the protestor as will each of the
judges.
Ø Now the protestee gets an opportunity
to give his side of the story in the same manner as the protestor.
Ø The protestor gets to question the
protestee as does each of the judges.
Ø Now it is time for any
witnesses. The protestor gets to call
his witnesses first, one at a time. Each
witness will give his/her uninterrupted testimony followed by questioning from
the two parties and the judges.
Ø Next the protestee calls his
witnesses in the same manner.
Ø The jury then may call any witnesses
they may have, including a member of the jury.
If a member of the jury was a witness to the incident, the only time
they can mention it is as a witness.
They may not discuss their testimony outside of the hearing of the
parties.
Ø After all of the testimony and the
questions, each party, starting with the protestor, gets to give a brief
summary of his case, including any rules he thinks were broken.
Ø Finishing that, the jury will
dismiss the parties and deliberate their decision. The deliberations consist of finding the
facts from the testimony, drawing conclusions and determining the rules that
apply, and rendering a decision. There
are four possible decisions: no one
broke a rule and the protest is dismissed; the protestee broke a rule(s); the
protestor broke a rule(s); both parties broke a rule(s). Anyone found to break
a rule is penalized. Unless the sailing
instructions provide for something different, the normal penalty is
disqualification. The jury completes the
back of the protest form.
Ø The next to the last step is to call
the parties back to the hearing room and deliver the verdict.
Ø Last, but not least, the jury
delivers the completed form to the race committee for scoring.
ð First of all, if you have new
evidence or feel that the jury misinterpreted the rules, you may ask in writing
for the jury to reopen the hearing. You
have 24 hours from the time of the decision to make this request (rule 66).
ð Otherwise, you may seek redress
(rule 62.2 US Sailing prescription). You
have until 1800 the next day to file this request.
ð Failing that, you may file an appeal
(rule 70 and Appendix F – in the
I hope that this has been
helpful. I will be keeping this page
up-to-date, so come back often.
[Henry’s Home Page] [Personal
Biography] [Race Management 101] [Henry’s Protest Page]
November 16, 2006
Questions?
