Olympic Games 1996

PROTESTS, THE JURY AND UMPIRING AT THE OLYMPICS

Most of the yacht racing in the Olympics is 'fleet racing' where identical boats compete in a series of eleven races, counting nine and discarding their worst two results. In these races, in common with thousands of races held at clubs every weekend all over the world, there are no umpires or referees.

Sail-boat racing, like every sport, has its rules. The yacht racing rules allow boats to pass and manoeuvre closely without colliding by placing an obligation on one boat to keep clear of, or give room to, another boat. Which of any two boats has to give room or keep clear depends on their relationship to each other. When many boats are manoeuvring closely (for example at the start of a race, or when rounding marks) a good knowledge of the rules can be used to great advantageous.

A competitor who inadvertently infringes a rule may take a penalty by sailing clear of all other boats as soon as possible after the incident, and making one or two complete turns. For touching a mark, the penalty is 360 degrees; for breaking a 'when boats meet' rule the penalty is 720 degrees.

When one competitor believes another has infringed a rule and not taken a penalty, he may 'protest'. He must inform the other boat immediately (by shouting 'protest') and display a red protest flag.

After the race a panel of judges meets to hears evidence from the competitors involved and from any witnesses. At a local club this panel is called a protest committee and usually comprises three fellow club sailors. At the Olympics, five International Yacht Racing Judges appointed by the International Yacht Racing Union form a jury. In fact there are 17 members of the Olympic jury, but panels of five hear protests.

Although many rule infringements are resolved during a race by boats taking penalty turns, quite a few end up being resolved in the jury room. With up to sixteen races each day, each of the three jury panels might hear four or five protests per race day.

The jury panels also meet to conduct other types of hearings. When a boat is judged to be a premature starter because it is over the starting line at the moment of the starting signal, the sailor may ask for a hearing to investigate whether there has been a mistake. When a sailor believes the race committee has made an error which has resulted in his results being affected, he may 'request redress'; that is, ask the jury to compensate him, usually by awarding an artificial score for the relevant race.

There are sometimes measurement protests that relate to the construction or rigging of the boat itself. These hearings address whether class rules have been infringed, and an infringement invariably results in disqualification from the relevant race or races.

Yet another role for the judges is to go afloat during the fleet races in pairs, and watch for possible infringements of the rules that limit the way the boats are sailed. With some exceptions, only the power of the wind can be used, rather than energy imposed by body movement. Competitors welcome the presence of judges on the water so that no one gets an unfair advantage from illegal body movements, especially in light winds.

In the final stages of the Soling class series, the fleet racing format is replaced by a series of 'match races'. Each match-race is a duel between just two boats. It is an accepted part of the game of match racing that one competitor will often manoeuvre against his rival and try to cause him to infringe a rule and be penalised. Umpires watching closely from small motor boats resolve disputes between the pairs of boats by responding to claims of rule infringements. These 'protests' are answered within seconds either with a 'green flag' (no penalty) or by imposing a single-turn penalty which can, if the competitor so wishes, usually be delayed and taken anytime before the end of the match race.