RACE OFFICIALS NATIONAL CONFERENCE Saturday 7 th and Sunday 8 th February 2015 TECHNICAL PROTESTS AND PENALTIES MIKE URWIN

Measurement and Rating Protests Working with Judges Measurers The Measurer’s Judge’s Perspective (Or the other way around!) Mike Urwin

Rules and stuff. See the handout. If you would like this electronically, give me your address. Scenarios. Questions and Discussion. Introduction

A protest alleges that a boat’s mainsail hoist exceeds Class Rules. The PC requests the equipment inspector to measure it. In the hearing the EI states: “Mainsail hoist is less than the permitted maximum. I also measured her spinnaker pole and got 2.600m which is longer than the Class Rule maximum of 2.500m.”. The protest makes no mention of the boat’s spinnaker pole. What do you do? ISAF Case 80: “... Protest... Limited to the alleged incident...”. So, dismiss the protest. The EI SHALL report the non compliance to the Race Committee. But a quiet word with the boat’s skipper might be in order! A valid protest is lodged alleging (non-specifically) that a boat does not comply with her Class Rules. What do you do? Protest Contents: “... the incident, including where and when it occurred.”. “... Does not comply with her class rules...” does not satisfy this. It’s just a fishing expedition! So, dismiss the protest. The “Incident”

Are these sail numbers ‘legal’? If not, why not? Sail Numbers “clearly legible” “starboard side... uppermost” What is your decision? Protest upheld. Penalty? Appendix G4. Unless it was deliberate, almost certainly a warning.

Class Rules require a minimum boat weight of 100 kg. The protested boat is weighed at 99.5 kg. Is the boat in compliance with the Class Rules? The certificate with the scales quotes accuracy of “+/-1 kg”. Is the boat in compliance with the Class Rules? The boat weight is between 98.5 and kg. So, you cannot find as a Fact that the boat’s weight was less than 100 kg. Class Rules require a maximum mainsail hoist of m. The equipment inspector reports: “I measured mainsail hoist with the mast up and got m. It was windy and I cannot guarantee an accuracy of better than +/-15mm.”. Is the boat in compliance with the Class Rules? Mainsail hoist is between and m. So, you cannot find as a Fact that mainsail hoist was greater than m. What would the answer be if the EI stated an accuracy of +/-5mm? Mainsail hoist is between and m. So, you can find as a Fact that mainsail hoist was greater than m. Accuracy

A protest alleges that a boat’s spinnaker pole exceeds Class Rules. The PC requests the equipment inspector to measure it. In the hearing the EI states: “I measured her spinnaker pole and got 2.503m which is longer than the Class Rule maximum of 2.50m.”. Is the boat in compliance with the Class Rules? Class Rules include: “... linear measurements shall be taken in metres to three decimal places and rounded to two decimal places for input.”. Is the boat in compliance with the Class Rules? 2.503m rounded to two decimal places is 2.50m. So, the boat is in compliance with the Class Rules. Dismiss the protest. What would the situation be if the EI reported 2.506m? 2.506m rounded to two decimal places is 2.51m. So, the boat is not in compliance with the Class Rules. Uphold the protest. Measurements

What sort of Facts are you looking for? ‘Hard’ evidence. ‘Daisy’s mainsail hoist was measured by an official class measurer on {date} at {place} using methods and equipment complying with standards defined in the {Class name} Class Rules and found to be x.xxxm. {Class name} Class Rules paragraph x.xx define a maximum mainsail hoist of y.yyym. This then allows the conclusion: ‘Daisy is/is not in compliance with her Class Rules.’. Similarly with such as sail numbers, etc. ‘Daisy’s sail numbers were not clearly legible.’ ‘The sail numbers on the port side of Daisy’s mainsail were higher than those on the starboard side.’ As with any other protest, the conclusions must be supported by Facts. Facts

You are unsure what a Class Rule means. What do you do? RRS 64.3 (b) requires that a PC ‘in doubt’ SHALL refer to the ‘authority responsible for interpreting the rule’. The PC SHALL then be bound by the reply of the authority. If the PC is not ‘in doubt’, get on with it! The EI reports that a boat’s daggerboard stop has worn and that the daggerboard is too deep by “a couple of mm”. RRS 64.3 (a): “no penalty for ‘deviations in excess of tolerances… caused by damage or normal wear and tear… do not improve the performance of the boat.”. How do you decide? There is inevitably subjectivity attached to this. A protested boat states that the 2mm that his mainsail width exceeds the Class Rules maximum is “within tolerances”. Unless specifically stated within class rules, there are no tolerances. eg, IRC Rule 8.10 defines parameters as maxima or minma with NO tolerances. Protest Decisions

A protest decision is that a boat raced with a spinnaker pole longer than permitted by her Class Rules. What penalty will you apply? The default penalty is disqualification. Unless... When might the penalty be less than disqualification? The NoR, SIs or Class Rules may prescribe penalties less than disqualification for measurement infringements. IRC Rules do so and for minor infringements give a PC discretion. IRC Rules also permit a PC to order a race to be re-scored in some circumstances. A penalty should exceed any possible gain. Repeated infringements should attract a more severe penalty, probably disqualification. If the infringement is or appears to have been deliberate, consideration should be given to the use of RRS 2 or 69. Penalties

Treat a measurement protest just like any other protest. Validity, hearing including any witnesses, find the facts, draw conclusions, decide on any penalty. Measurement protests can be emotive. The protestee may (rightly or wrongly) interpret the protest as an allegation that he is ‘cheating’. So, be patient. Listen and give everybody ample opportunity to state their case. If in any doubt whatsoever, consult. While equipment inspectors/measurers do NOT have the right to interpret class rules, they are usually knowledgeable about their class. The RYA have published comprehensive racing rules guidance which includes guidance on measurement protests. This an be found at: BestPracticeandGuidance.aspx The guidance is available as either a.PDF or as an E book. Summary

????? Questions and Discussion