John Q, A protest committee hearing, even for RRS 69 is nothing more than a rules of the game adjudication.

Simple drunken assault is not CSI Miami.

Unlike, say, a Coronial Inquiry, or a Military incident investigation, you have no legal obligation to coordinate or synchronise your investigation or hearing with police or any criminal proceedings.  If the police are concerned, its up to them to ask or direct you as they require, and you would normally cooperat  and comply with any such request or direction.

Hi Niko, I Agree with Jim. "No part of a person’s body is a ‘device’. It is therefore permissible for a competitor to hold a sheet outboard".
In fact, the index to the Case Book links Case 4 to both Rule 49 and Rule 55.3 and separately lists Case 97 as addressing another permitted device (a jockey pole attached to a spinnaker guy). This reinforces the jurisprudence's distinction between human action and mechanical devices. 

Nice work on the AI summary ;-)

G is plodding along downwind, trailing, setting up for a routine port tack rounding.  She should be set up for a windward drop, maybe with the pole off, in which case she will have no problem gybing back after luffing to keep clear of Y, or maybe she will still have the pole up: if she leaves the pole up too long after the drop, she'll be in trouble.  Dropping the pole quickly and tacking the headsail over the pole requires people to know what and how to do it.  I think that is right on the cusp of 'competent but not expert', but maybe it's a little on the 'very competent' side.

I know this isn't relevant to the question, but I agree with this analysis but take it one step further.  If it was a dipole boat, Blue's pole would be in the process of coming off at position 2.  When Yellow starts the tack, Blue jibes onto starboard and starts dousing the spinnaker on the port side, crosses in front of Yellow, then jibes back.  This sets up a faster rounding (wide to tight) for Blue. I also agree this would need a 'very competent' crew.

Interestingly, I have just researched MLS Rules - The mid-90's American modified 'soccer' rules.  It didn't really work.

However, MLS did have a countdown timer as Ang describes as well as some other variations to the traditional game.  MLS Penalties were pretty funky.

The MLS rules lasted 4 years.

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In this research, I find that the football rule makers, IFAB, remains institutionally conservative and deliberately resistant to game changes.
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I'm also finding that what I see as poor sportsmanship is, in some places, seen as the art of being street-smart and 'doing whatever it takes to win for your team'.  Perhaps all those dives and feigned injuries I saw Columbia doing the other night were heroic... to Columbians.  Tactics celebrated as "viveza" or "gamesmanship".

If half the footballing world are happy with that, things will never change.

On-field tactics such as shirt-pulling, heckling the ref, appealing when knowingly last touched, diving and feigning injury will always be worth-a-go.  If you can't beat them, join them.  Off the field, the unseen underworld will continue to prop up the sport, rightly or wrongly.

I don't think there is a solution coming any time soon.