Racing Rules of Sailing

Appendix 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.

SITEMAP.XML • HE

M3.2

Take the evidence (rule 63.4).

(a) Ask the parties to tell their stories. Then allow them to question one another. In a redress matter, ask the party to state the request.
(b) Make sure you know what facts each party is alleging before calling any witnesses. Their stories may be different.
(c) Allow anyone, including a boat’s crew, to give evidence. It is the party who normally decides which witnesses to call, although the protest committee may also call witnesses (rule 63.4(b)). The question asked by a party ‘Would you like to hear N?’ is best answered by ‘It is your choice.’
(d) Call each party’s witnesses (and the protest committee’s if any) one by one. Limit parties to questioning the witness(es). (They may wander into general statements.)
(e) Invite the protestee to question the protestor’s witness first (and vice versa). This prevents the protestor from leading the witness from the beginning.
(f) Allow members of the protest committee who saw the incident to give evidence (rule 63.4(d)). Members who give evidence may be questioned, should take care to relate all they know about the incident that could affect the decision, and may remain on the protest committee (rule 63.4(e)).
(g) Try to prevent leading questions, but if that is impossible discount the evidence so obtained.
(h) The protest committee chair should advise a party or a witness giving hearsay, repetitive or irrelevant evidence that the protest committee must give such evidence appropriate weight, which may be little or no weight at all (rules 63.4(b) and 63.5(a)).
(i) Ask one member of the committee to note down evidence, particularly times, distances, speeds, etc.
(j) Invite questions from protest committee members.
(k) Invite each party, starting with the party that requested the hearing, to make a final statement of her case, particularly on any application or interpretation of the rules.