Racing Rules of Sailing

Section M — Recommendations For Protest Committees

This appendix is advisory only; in some circumstances changing these procedures may be advisable. It is addressed primarily to the protest committee chair but may also help judges, protest committee secretaries, race committees and others involved in hearings.

In a hearing, the protest committee should weigh all testimony with equal care; should recognize that honest testimony can vary, and even be in conflict, as a result of different observations and recollections; should resolve such differences as best it can; should recognize that no boat or competitor is guilty until a breach of a rule has been established to the satisfaction of the protest committee; and should keep an open mind until all the evidence has been heard as to whether a boat or competitor has broken a rule.

M4.1

When a party, within the time limit, has asked for a hearing to be reopened, hear the party making the request, look at any video, etc., and decide whether there is any significant new evidence that might lead you to change your decision. Decide whether your interpretation of the rules may have been wrong; be open-minded as to whether you have made a mistake. If none of these applies refuse to reopen; otherwise schedule a hearing.

Definitions in Context

Party

A party to a hearing is

(a) for a protest hearing: a protestor, a protestee;
(b) for a redress hearing: a boat requesting redress or for which redress is requested; a boat for which a hearing is called to consider redress under rule 61.1; a committee acting under rule 61.1;
(c) for a redress hearing under rule 61.4(b)(1): the body alleged to have made an improper action or improper omission;
(d) a person against whom an allegation of a breach of rule 69.1(a) is made; a person presenting an allegation under rule 69.2(e)(1);
(e) a support person subject to a hearing under rule 62 or 69; any boat that person supports; a person appointed to present an allegation under rule 62.2.

However, the protest committee is never a party.

Rule

(a) The rules in this book, including the Definitions, Race Signals, Introduction, preambles and the rules of relevant appendices, but not the Basic Principles or titles;
(b) World Sailing Regulations that have been designated by World Sailing as having the status of a rule and are published on the World Sailing website;
(c) the prescriptions of the national authority, unless they are changed by the notice of race or sailing instructions in compliance with the national authority’s prescription, if any, to rule 88.2;
(d) the class rules (for a boat racing under a handicap or rating system, the rules of that system are ‘class rules’);
(e) the notice of race;
(f) the sailing instructions; and
(g) any other documents that govern the event.