Page 19 - World Sailing Misconduct Guidance

32 Penalties beyond a warning

32.1 These are set out in rule 69.2(h). One or more penalties can be used in combination.

32.2 If the misconduct was committed by a competitor or the owner of the boat in question, then the
protest committee may penalize the boat by changing her score in one or more races, or
disqualify it. The protest committee has the discretion to decide whether a disqualification is
excludable or not.

32.3 Individuals can be excluded from competing in a set number of races at the event or an individual
can be excluded from the event or the venue and have any privileged or benefits connected to
the event removed.

32.4 Disqualification from a race that has already been sailed would be appropriate if the misconduct
occurred during that race. In order for this to be reflected in the score, the boat must also be
disqualified from that race. The protest committee must decide whether the disqualification is not
excludable and must be counted towards the results of the series. The decision as to whether
the disqualification is excludable is part of the protest committee’s penalty (i.e. the more serious
the misconduct, the more likely it is the disqualification must not be excluded).

32.5 If a competitor is excluded from races not yet sailed, the effect that this has on the boat’s
participation in future races will depend on the rules applicable to crew substitution at the event.
Disqualification of the boat from future races would be appropriate when there was serious
misconduct during a race either by the person in charge or by more than one crew member.

32.6 A combination of competitor exclusion from later races and boat disqualification from previous
races is also permitted
32.7 In serious cases, a rule 2 disqualification (which can only be for the race concerned) might quite
properly be followed by a rule 69 disqualification for later or all races.

32.8 When misconduct occurs after the last race of a series, there is now nothing from which a
competitor can be excluded, and so the only option may be to disqualify the boat concerned.

32.9 The maximum penalty that can be imposed by the protest committee is exclusion or
disqualification from the whole regatta or series, unless there is some other action possible within
the protest committee’s jurisdiction. There is no authority to impose a penalty relevant to any
other event or series (i.e. one covered by a separate notice of race), even if it is organised by the
same organizing authority. The protest committee may recommend to the organizing authority
that the boat or competitor’s entry not be accepted in future (under RRS 76) but this is only a
recommendation and cannot be enforced on the organizing authority.

33 Penalties: other action within the protest committee's jurisdiction under the rules
33.1 It could be appropriate (rather than to disqualify a boat or exclude the competitor) to penalize by
worsening a boat’s points score in a race or in the series – a form of ‘negative redress’. Some
events are scored on overall elapsed or corrected times, often over a number of legs, and it is
against the policy of the event that boats are disqualified. Instead, boats are penalized in protests,
not by disqualification, but by the award of time penalties. In such an event, a rule 69 hearing
might result in a very heavy time penalty for a boat rather than exclusion of a competitor or a
boat.

18 World Sailing Misconduct Guidance