Appeals Procedures
APPEALING A PROTEST TO SAIL
AND US SAILING
The Racing Rules of Sailing allow parties
(see exceptions below) to a protest to appeal a decision of a protest committee
by filing a Notice of Appeal. Parties need not be members of US SAILING or SAIL to appeal,
though different fees may apply.
Exceptions to right of appeal:
Rule 70.5 prohibits appeals from decisions of international
juries and allows the right of appeal to be denied in certain instances, if so stated in
the notice of race (NOR) and sailing instructions (SIs). These are:
- (a) if essential to determine promptly the results that will qualify a boat to
compete in a later stage .. or subsequent event. (See below.)
- (b) a national authority so approves for a particular event open only to entrants
under its own jurisdiction
- (c) a national authority receives ISAF approval and
complies with Appendix N.
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Clubs & other race organizers
Prior approval of US SAILING is required in order to deny appeal rights.
It is unlikely to be granted, except for US SAILING ladder championships.
How to Appeal:
To appeal, file a written Notice of Appeal with
the US SAILING Appeals Committee no later than fifteen (15) days* within receiving notice of
the protest committee’s decision (either written or verbal). The Notice must include
the grounds for the appeal, the particulars of the incident, names of the protest
committee who decided the issues, and, if available, a written copy of the protest
committee’s findings and decision.
* Current rules give you 15 days from receiving the written
protest decision. But, filing the appeal before you receive the papers
keeps your clock from running out. Note "Awaiting written decision"
on your appeal.
Basis of Appeal:
Appeals may be made only on the basis of the
protest committee’s decision, its interpretation of the rules or
its procedures.
What you can appeal
You can appeal the protest committee's procedures and/or its application
or interpretation of the rules.
- Procedural examples: (1) You were excluded from the hearing
or were not allowed to present evidence. (2) One of the
committee members was an interested party and did not disclose this
fact. (3) You attended a hearing as a witness and were disqualified
though the committee did not give you a separate hearing.
- Application of the rules: The committee applied rule 11
(windward/leeward) when it
should have applied rule 18.2 (mark-room).
- Interpretation of the rules: The committee interpreted rule 30.1 to
require a complete circling of a starting mark.
What you can not appeal
You can not appeal the facts found by the protest committee and ask that
different facts be substituted. You may, however, appeal that the facts
found are insufficient or that they arose from the committee's failure to
follow procedural rules.
The appeals committee will not substitute different facts for those found by the
protest committee; they will be
accepted unless the appeals committee finds that they are inadequate to allow a rules
determination. If this occurs the appeals committee may require the protest committee to
provide additional facts or may require them to reopen the protest
hearing and determine additional findings of fact.
Process:
Upon receiving & logging the appeal, US
SAILING’s Appeals Committee will forward the appeal to the appropriate regional sailing
association (such as SAIL) for hearing.
Upon receiving a valid appeal, the Chair of the
SAIL Appeals Committee will assemble an appeal committee of disinterested persons with
knowledge of the rules and no involvement in the incident or the protest in an expeditious manner.
In the event that SAIL can not form a disinterested appeal committee, it
will refer the appeal for reassignment to another regional sailing
association.
Parties to the protest hearing as well as the
protest committee will be notified of the appeal and of their right to submit comments to
the appeals committee within an established time limit. All comments will be shared with
other parties to the appeal.
The appeals committee will reach a decision to
either overturn or uphold the protest committee’s action or to direct the protest
committee to reopen the protest hearing. The appeals committee will communicate their
written findings to the appellant and all parties to the protest.
Fees:
SAIL does not charge a fee, nor receive any income, for appeals. US SAILING may charge fees.
SAMPLE APPEAL FORMAT
I appeal the decision of the ______________ (Organizing authority)
protest committee/jury for ___________ (Event Name)
on _______ (Date)
I received notice of the protest committee decision on: ________ (Date)
{Attach it.}
Protest committee members were: (List)
__________________________________________________________________________
The particulars of the
incident were: (Describe)
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
My grounds for appeal are:
(Describe)
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
I am/am not a member of US SAILING. I am/am not
a member of SAIL.
US Sailing Membership Number
__________________________
You may contact me: (Print name,
address, phone, and e-mail.)
Signed: _____________________________________
Date: ______________
(Signature)
(Date of Appeal)
Mail written appeal to:
US SAILING Appeals Committee
PO Box 1260, 15 Maritime Drive,
Portsmouth, RI 02871-0907
