Appeals

No Appeal (Rule 70.5) Procedures

 

The following events have been granted permission by US Sailing to deny the right of appeal under rule 70.5(a):

USODA Allstate Sugarbowl Midwinter Championship - November 23-26, 2022

Event: USODA Allstate Sugarbowl Midwinter Championship
Date: November 23-26, 2022
Venue: Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA
US Sailing contact: Darryl Waskow, IJ, and Stephen Wrigley, IJ, IU

 

The following events have been granted permission by US Sailing to deny the right of appeal under rule 70.5(b):

Oakcliff Triple Crown Regattas - Sept. 17-18 and Sept. 24-25, 2022

Event: 2022 Oakcliff Triple Crown Regattas
Date: September 17-18 and September 24-25, 2022
Venue: Oakcliff Sailing Center, Oyster Bay, NY
US Sailing contact: Stephen Wrigley – IJ, IU

 

Blanket Permission Events Under Rule 70.5

All events hosted by, and limited to members of, the Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association (ISSA) & Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) are granted blanket permission to deny the right of appeal and a waiver of the requirements concerning composition of protest committees, provided that the denial of appeal is stated in the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions and is clearly posted on the official notice board.

Additionally, Area-qualifying events for US Sailing Championships are granted blanket permission to deny the right of appeal under rule 70.5(a) and a waiver of the requirements concerning composition of protest committees as required by US Sailing’s No-Appeal process, provided that: 1) the denial of appeal is stated in the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions, 2) the Area Re-Opening Procedure requirements are met, and 3) the requirements for appointment of race officials in US Sailing Regulation 10 are met. However, a decision resulting from a hearing under rule 69.2 may be appealed.

Procedure for Reopening a Hearing at a “No Appeal” Area Qualifier

The following language must be in the Sailing Instructions and Notice of Race of all qualifiers for US Sailing Championships. This will apply to all protests and requests for redress involving those sailors moving on, not just those sailing for the finals because any party can be party to a protest. (In other words, a sailor who is not sailing for the championship qualifier protesting against someone who is because it could change the results.)

PROTEST AND APPEALS

  • Under rule 70.5(a), there shall be no appeal of the decision of a protest or request for redress. However, a decision following a hearing under rule 69.1(a) may be appealed.
  • Email and phone contact information for the helm of each boat entered and for the chairmen of the Protest Committee and the Race Committee shall be posted on the official notice board at all times during the event.
  • Rule 65.2 is changed as follows:
    • 65.2 A party to the hearing is entitled to receive the above information in writing, provided she asks for it in writing and hand-delivers her request to a member of the protest committee no later than the protest time limit on the last day of racing or one hour after being informed of the decision, whichever is later. The committee shall then, within two hours, hand-deliver the information to the party, including when relevant, a diagram of the incident prepared or endorsed by the committee.

REOPENING A HEARING – Rule 66 is Changed

  • 66.1 The protest committee may reopen a hearing when it decides that it may have made a significant error, or when significant new evidence becomes available within a reasonable time. A party to the hearing may ask for a reopening no later than 24 hours after being informed of the decision. When a hearing is reopened, a majority of the members of the protest committee shall, if possible, be members of the original protest committee.
  • 66.2 Area Qualifier Reopening
  • 66.2(a) A party to a hearing of a protest or request for redress may request an Area Qualifier Reopening. The request shall be in writing and include the significant error that the party believes the protest committee made or the nature of the significant new evidence that is available. The request shall be made no later than 24 hours after the hearing or 24 hours after the protest time limit on the last day of racing, whichever is later. The request, along with copies of the original protest or request for redress, the facts found, the decision of the protest committee, any new evidence that cannot be presented verbally, and email and phone contact information for all parties to the hearing as well as the chairman of the protest committee, shall be sent by e‐mail to the US Sailing Championships Director, Betsy Alison, and the US Sailing Championships Chair, swmadero@aol.com. The hearing shall be reopened when the foregoing information is received by the Director and Chair.
  • 66.2(b) The protest committee for an Area Qualifier Reopening shall consist of the chairman of the original protest committee plus four certified judges appointed by US Sailing. A majority of the committee’s members shall be Senior or International Judges. US Sailing will appoint its chairman.
  • 66.2(c) An Area Qualifier Reopening will be conducted by telephone conference call. The time and date for the conference call shall be established by the chairman as soon as practicably possible and no later than seven days after the request for reopening is emailed. The chairman will email to the parties to the hearing the request for reopening, the facts found, the decision of the protest committee, the time and date of the hearing, the process for joining the call and any other relevant documents.

Reopening Procedure for Area Qualifiers