Saturday 22 February 2014

New Rapid Response Team Racing Call

Isaf published a new Rapid Response Team Racing Call, the first one in 2014:
Available at the following link: Rapid Response TR Call 2014.001

It deals with exoneration when no boat protests:

Question
Y is overlapped on the inside of B when B enters the zone of a mark to be rounded to port. The umpires agree that Y touched the mark. No boat protests and no boat takes a penalty. What action should the umpires take?


Answer
If the umpires decide that B gave Y mark-room, they should act under rule D2.3(a) and penalise Y for breaking rule 31.

If the umpires decide that Y touched the mark because B failed to give her mark-room, they should make no signal. Y broke rule 31 by touching the mark; however, she was sailing within the mark-room to which she was entitled and is exonerated under rule 21(b).

Although B broke rule 18.2(b), she cannot be penalised under rule D2.2 because no boat protested, and rule D2.3 does not permit umpires to initiate a penalty when a boat on the other team breaks a rule of Part 2.


I think this RR Call was published because Appendix D does not have a simular rule as in Appendix C. In Match Racing that rule states:
C8.1(b) Rule 64.1(a) is changed so that the provision for exonerating a boat may be applied by the umpires without a hearing, and it takes precedence over any conflicting rule of this appendix.
Do we need wording added to Appendix D?
What do you think?
J

2 comments:

  1. Good to see you back, Jos ;-)

    I thought the answer in the RRC was quite straightforward - both appendices lead to the same result here, just via different mechanisms?

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  2. The short answer is "NO".

    64.1a applies when there is a protest. In this case there is no protest, so 64.1a does not apply.

    In team racing boats may protest rule 31, unlike in match racing. In this case Yellow chose not to do so. If she had and the umpires decided that she had been compelled to break rule 31 by Blue not giving mark room then under D2.2d Yellow can be exonerated by applying rule 21.

    When there is no protest the umpires may penalise Yellow for breaking rule 31, but are not obliged to do so. See rule D2.3. In this case they may choose not to penalise.

    Yellow takes a risk by not protesting Blue - she is relying on the umpires having the same appreciation of the room she was given by Blue. In many cases umpires may well penalise Yellow.

    It should always be remembered that there are subtle differences in the practice and philosophy of MR and TR umpiring. It is worth reading carefully the first paragraph of the introductions of both IU manuals. Radio sailing umpiring (see IRSA Addendum Q) is close to limited team racing (with recourse to hearings) under D2.6.

    Gordon

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