What happens at a sailing protest hearing?
A · Advanced · Penalties and protests · 8 of 12A protest committee hears both boats and their witnesses, finds the facts on the balance of probabilities, applies the rules and decides. A boat found to have broken a rule is disqualified from that race unless another penalty applies. The decision can usually be appealed to the national authority, but the facts found cannot.
How it works
- Rights of the parties: to be told the time and place, to see the protest, to have reasonable time to prepare and to have a representative present throughout the evidence. For an incident on the water the representative must have been on board.
- Validity first: the committee first decides whether the protest is valid. If it is not, the hearing is closed.
- Evidence: from the parties, their witnesses and anything else the committee considers necessary. Hearsay is admissible. A party may question anyone who gives evidence. Witnesses wait outside when not giving evidence.
- The standard: facts are found "based on the balance of probabilities".
- The vote: a simple majority. On an equal division the chair may cast an additional vote.
- Absent party: the hearing may go ahead without a party who does not come.
- Conflicts of interest: a member with a conflict of interest does not sit unless all parties consent or the committee decides the conflict is not significant.
- Telling the parties: the facts found, the rules applied, the decision and the reasons, promptly. In writing if a party asks within seven days.
- Reopening: a party may ask within 24 hours of being informed, on the grounds of a significant error or significant new evidence.
Appeals:
- To whom: the national authority.
- About what: the decision or the procedures, "but not the facts found".
- No appeal: from a properly constituted international jury, and in some other cases if the notice of race or sailing instructions say so.
- The result: the national authority may uphold, change or reverse the decision or order a new hearing. Its decision is final.
Tricky cases
Can a boat appeal because the committee believed the other crew's version?
No. The facts found cannot be appealed. Only the decision or the procedures can.
A boat is protested under one rule and the committee finds it broke a different one. Can it be disqualified?
Yes. The committee shall disqualify a boat that broke a rule "whether or not the applicable rule was mentioned in the protest".
Can a major championship rule out appeals altogether?
Yes. There is no appeal from a properly constituted international jury.
A member of the committee saw the incident. Can they still sit?
Yes. They must declare it to the parties as soon as reasonably possible, and may give evidence as a witness.
Why the rule exists
A hearing is run by sailors for sailors, often by volunteers on the same evening, so the procedure is kept short and the committee is trusted on the facts. Appeals are limited to how the rules were applied, because nobody at the national authority saw the incident.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Racing Rules of Sailing | As above | RRS 63; RRS 70; RRS 71 |
| World Sailing major events | A person with a conflict of interest may not sit at all | RRS 63.3 (c) |
| Events using arbitration | A short meeting with an arbitrator comes before the hearing | RRS T2 to T4 |
| Misconduct hearings | A stricter standard of proof ("comfortable satisfaction") and at least three members | RRS 69.2 |
From the rule book
World Sailing The Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, rules 60.5, 63, 70 and 71 and Appendix T. Appendices M, N and R were not read. In force from 1 January 2025. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: The Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028 (PDF).