Page 8 - Call Book for Team Racing 2017-2020

GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR UMPIRE DECISIONS

The following general principles apply to umpire decisions:

1. 'Last Point of Certainty'

There are many occasions when umpires are required to judge (often from
imperfect positions) the exact moment when the state of a boat, or her relationship
with another boat, changes. Examples include passing head to wind or
establishing an overlap.

In such cases the umpires will assume this state or relationship has not changed
until they are certain that it has changed.

2. Disagreement between Umpires

There are occasions when umpires disagree over what the decision should be. In
such cases, even if there has been contact, the umpires will signal 'no penalty'
rather than penalize one boat or the other.

3. Rule 14: Avoiding Contact

Any incident involving contact will also involve rule 14. However, when the
umpires decide that a boat required to keep clear or give room is to be penalized
for breaking another rule of Part 2, a breach of rule 14 will not result in an
additional penalty unless there is damage. Except in this case, rule 14 has no
impact on the immediate umpire decision, and is therefore not addressed
separately in each call in this book.

4. Definition: Room, and meaning of 'in a seamanlike way'

World Sailing Case 21 states that ‘extraordinary’ and ‘abnormal’ manoeuvres are
unseamanlike. Some actions that are abnormal and therefore unseamanlike in a
fleet of many boats will be considered normal and therefore seamanlike in a team
race. However any manoeuvre that puts a boat or crew at risk of damage is
unseamanlike. The umpires will judge each incident on the basis of the boat’s
actions in relation to the wind and water conditions she is experiencing at the time.

5. Advantage Gained after Breaking a Rule

When a boat breaks a rule and she, or another boat on her team, takes a penalty,
the umpires will decide if the boat's team has gained an advantage despite the
penalty taken. If so, they will act under rule D2.3(c). Except for some calls in
Section M, this is not addressed separately in each call in this book.