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Help Them Help You By Kim Couranz
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rotests are generally not fun, but they are always opportunities for learning. Moreover, they are an important part of our sport. Many sailors are wary of the protest room, thinking, “It’s always a toss-up, even if I know I was right!” But that’s not the case. There are ways to improve your chances. Clearly and concisely stating your case on a wellcrafted protest form or request for redress is an important part of sharing your side of the incident with the Protest Committee. You want to walk the Protest Committee through your experience, highlighting key points along the way, that will help them identify the “facts found” that lead to conclusions and a decision supporting your experience. Your protest/redress form, now called a Hearing Request Form (because it covers protests, requests for redress, and reopening of cases), is how the Protest Committee first gets to know your case. As in so many situations, first impressions definitely count. Here are some tips to make your form resonate with the Protest Committee.
Know what you’re getting into. • Before a regatta, make sure you know what information you need to fill out a Hearing Request Form. Perhaps this is part of an annual review of the Racing Rules of Sailing you do over the winter. The basic Hearing Request Form is available via sailing.org/racingrules: Scroll down to the “Online Rules Documents” section and select “Hearing Request Form.” • Things to bring to a regatta? Your rulebook, a notebook (for drafts), and good pencil.
• When you arrive at a new regatta site, scope out where Hearing Request Forms for the regatta are located and where to file protests. Knowing where these are can save you precious minutes if you’re trying to file before the close of a protest time window.
• Always, always, ALWAYS create a draft version of your Hearing Request Form before creating the clean copy that you file for the Protest Committee to use. Especially for your diagram, making sure you have it right before committing it to the formal version you will submit will ensure a legible copy for the committee to digest. Do your homework. • Present yourself as expert in the situation. How windy was it, and from what direction? Was there current? How fast were you going—and what does that mean for how much distance you covered during the course of the incident? Being clear and consistent with this information can help the Protest Committee know you are well grounded in the facts of the incident—and inform development of your diagram and description.
SpinSheet.com August 2024 71