Page 34 - Judge Manual 2017

signaling a penalty, the judges(s) must be certain that a rule has been
broken. If the judges do not agree or they are not certain that a rule has been
broken, then the green and white flag is displayed to indicate no penalty. The
judges must be experienced in driving small power boats, positioning in the
best locations throughout the race to observe potential areas of contention
between the competitors. They must be close enough to the competitors to
not interfere with any boats racing or create excessive boat wash. They must
be in position to see infringements, to decide any protests, and to have their
sound signals heard.

F.2.5 Judging recording

Each judge should keep notes made while afloat for each instance where
they signaled that a rule had been infringed. It is also useful to record
incidents when a green was signaled). Record the race number, date, time,
leg of the course, boats involved in the incident, the lead up to the incident,
the boat(s) that broke a rule, and any boat that took a penalty. Where
possible, make a diagram to include as many of the boat positions during
the incident as possible. Notes help in fully describing the incident at the
debrief.

F.2.6 Debriefs

Judges should always be available to discuss with any competitor the calls
which have been made on the water. Holding a daily debrief session for all
competitors is also useful. Discussions should include the pair of judges who
made the call of penalty or no penalty. Through the explanations by the
judges, competitors gain an in-depth knowledge of the racing rules.
F.2.7 Summary

The system for on-the-water judging used must be clearly explained in the
SIs and to the competitors in order that they understand the sound and flag
signals. In the system where just a sound signal is made, it is possible that
more than one boat takes a penalty when only one boat broke a rule. It is
possible that a boat that is not sure that they broke a rule would take a
penalty turn, even if she did not break a rule. Getting close to the infringing
boat or using a system which specifically indicates which boat broke a rule,
by hailing the sail number, will help eliminate most of these ambiguities.

There are several advantages to this system. Boats that broke a rule have
the option to take a penalty that is less than a disqualification in a protest
hearing. Competitors also arrive ashore knowing where they finished in the
race, with limited possibility that this will change. Other protests for rule
violations for other parts of the rules not involving Part 2 or rule 31 are still
decided by the protest committee through hearings.

In summary, the system provides an alternative to the full protest system,
resulting in less time in the protest room, more opportunity to participate in
the social aspects of the regatta.