PART 5
• As well, or instead, an individual can be excluded from the event or venue, or have privileges or benefits withdrawn. That might suit bad behaviour during a race by just one or some of a crew (foul language directed towards another boat or a race official, for instance), or misconduct ashore. Exclusion is apparently prospective, not retrospective, and for all the rest of the event, since there is no provision for exclusion from some races only. Note also that when a respondent clearly intends to appeal against the protest committee’s decision, any penalty against the boat can be reversed on appeal, but it would be more difficult for the national authority to correct for a boat being unable to compete in the rest of the event because of an exclusion.
• What are the ‘other actions’ that are within a protest committee’s jurisdiction? We are not told. I believe that a protest committee is within its rights to send a report of the hearing to a competitor’s club, regardess of whether a penalty was imposed. If the misconduct takes place at the competitor’s club, the club might consider empowering the protest committee to exercise any penalties available under the club’s disciplinary rules: otherwise, some fresh hearing might be needed by some different body in order for club discipline to be imposed.
When the protest committee penalizes the boat by more than a one-race DNE, or excludes the respondent, this must be reported. The protest committee can also choose to report a lesser penalty. The report is normally made to the national authority of the respondent (which may not be the national authority of the event), but, for specified high-level events, to World Sailing instead. The national authority or World Sailing, as appropriate, may then take further action under the World Sailing Disciplinary Code. A protest committee, when making a required report, can make its own recommendation as to whether further action appears desirable.
All the foregoing assumes that there is no difficulty in calling a hearing. At a regatta, the competitors can be assumed to be available at any time that a normal protest hearing would take place. When there is alleged misconduct within a club’s normal programme, a hearing is more likely to be at a later date, and scheduling issues can arise. When a hearing is scheduled, and the competitor does not attend, offering no good reason, the the protest committee has two options: under rule 69.2(f)(2), to proceed with the hearing in the absence of the respondent (and including that fact and the reason(s) why in any report it must then make – see rule 69.2(j)) – or, under rule 69.2(k), to collect all available information and report accordingly to the notifiable body, which may then take action itself.
A respondent may have a good reason not to attend a scheduled hearing, but rescheduling may not be possible, in which case the hearing cannot proceed at that time. It can be called for a later date, before either the original protest committee if available, otherwise with a newly appointed protest committee. This is most likely to happen over an incident towards the end a regatta when the competitor has a flight home booked immediately after the last race. In a very serious incident, the police may already be involved, and a prompt hearing may be impossible because the competitor is under investigation, in which case it would also be appropriate not to call any hearing until it is clear that there will not be any criminal proceedings, or until criminal proceedings have been concluded. If a competitor has been fined or imprisoned, that does preclude the later holding of a rule 69.2 hearing, or the national authority or World Sailing exercising their disciplinary rights.
69.3 Action by a National Authority and World Sailing
The disciplinary powers, procedures and responsibilities of national authorities and World Sailing that apply are specified in World Sailing Regulation 35, Disciplinary Code. National authorities and World Sailing may impose further penalties, including suspension of eligibility, under that regulation.
226 RYA The Racing Rules Explained
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256
