World Sailing Official Case Book
Case Q&A 2026.005
Protest Validity: Identifying the Incident
Facts
On the first day of a regatta, three races are sailed. Each race has two windward mark roundings, so six in total for the day.
Question 1
A delivered protest refers to an incident at the first windward mark rounding but does not indicate the race number. Is the protest valid, if the protest time limit and notification requirements have been met?
Answer 1
Under rule 60.3(a), the protestor is required to identify the incident upon delivery of a protest. The term ‘identify’ is used in the sense ordinarily understood in general use, meaning to recognize something and say what it is. If the details included remove any ambiguity about which incident the delivered protest is referring to, then the protest fulfils the requirements of rule 60.3(a) and should be found valid.
Question 2
A delivered protest refers to an incident in race 1 at a windward mark rounding but does not indicate which of the two mark roundings. Is the protest valid, if the protest time limit and notification requirements have been met?
Answer 2
See Answer 1.
Question 3
A delivered protest for an incident states that it occurred in race 2, but after the hearing has started, the protestor determines that the incident actually occurred in race 1. Is the protest valid, if the protest time limit and notification requirements have been met?
Answer 3
If details other than the race number included in the delivered protest remove any ambiguity about which incident it is referring to, then the protest fulfils the requirements of rule 60.3(a) and should be found valid.