Protest Hearing Process

Originally posted by gordon Rule 69 would be more appropriate. After giving a penalty, and reporting to the RYA as required, I would also consider a report to the competitors club. It may well be that they would not consider such a person as a suitable member. Gordon

Thankfully such incidents are very few and far between. Although I do think people shy away from the protest process too much because they don;t want to upset anyone. It is still seen as confrontational whereas in reality it is normally a clarification of 2 different interpretations of the rules. It is a learning tool in some ways and should be viewed as such.

We use arbitration here in Ireland with some modifications to the RYA system. It works well IF the arbitrator is an experienced judge, preferably with umpiring experience. The system only really works if competitors have confidence in the arbitrator.

Personally, I think that a lot of the call for alternatives to protest hearings is due to mismanagement of the hearing process. It is perfectly possible to hold hearings as soon as boats come off the water. If the protest committee chairman is present as boats come in then hearings can be held within minutes, with competitors from other fleets serving as the other members of the committee. We regularily have all hearings done and dusted before the official protest time limit is over. You do not need a jury dressed in blazer and club tie, a protest room with green felt table and  a portrait of a founding member of the club... When match racing or team racing we hold hearings on the water in a RIB. I have often heard protests in the dinghy park.

Both sytems require an experienced judge - and I find it helps to have been out on the water as this means that the judge has an idea of conditions on the day, may have seen the incident, and will be familiar to competitors.

So, the first step is not to modify the club SIs but get a few members to do an RYA Judges course!

Gordon