Forum: Protest Hearing Procedures
Emailed Protest submission
Chuck Bowers
Nationality: United States of America
Certifications:
- Umpire In Training
- Judge In Training
0
In the age of COVID without the usual ability to deliver a protest in person to the Race committee. SI’s have been adding the request to submit them electronically. The question has arisen that an SI only had a generic email address like “protest@(insert club).org”. If a person submitting a protest sent it directly to members of the Race committee and not to the generic address would that protest be valid? The person monitoring the generic address would have just forwarded it on to the same RC member that had received the direct email saving time thus allowing for a arbitration hearing to be held the same day instead of possibly days later.
Questions:
1) Are electronic submissions to the ultimate recipients and not the generic address valid?
2) If the SI’s have 2 addresses and the word “and” between them valid if only sent to one of the 2?
3) If a physical submission was made to a RC member would it have been valid despite the SI statement to submit electronically?
4) If under pre/post COVID world can protests be delivered to any RC member at any place even if the SI’s state a location or person?
I have not been able to find any appeals or Cases that cover these questions. I’d appreciate your collective guidance for going forward.
Thanks.
Questions:
1) Are electronic submissions to the ultimate recipients and not the generic address valid?
2) If the SI’s have 2 addresses and the word “and” between them valid if only sent to one of the 2?
3) If a physical submission was made to a RC member would it have been valid despite the SI statement to submit electronically?
4) If under pre/post COVID world can protests be delivered to any RC member at any place even if the SI’s state a location or person?
I have not been able to find any appeals or Cases that cover these questions. I’d appreciate your collective guidance for going forward.
Thanks.
Comments
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Ant change to this would have to be noted as a change to a si to be valid.
If correctly changed and an e mail address is given then that is the only address that can be used.
Physical submission would not be possible if the rule had been changed.
Corvid does not change the rules, either in the RRS or sailing instructions.
So, the tradition of just submitting to any RC members would suffice if there is no defined “race office” or specific person noted in a PROPERLY MODIFIED SI? What would the “race office” be in a non landed club organized race?
Can't email deliver a protest to the race office, too?
If an email (or electronic message) could be read on a device in the race office (even if ultimately read elsewhere) by a person who is part of that race office, I would say the purpose of the sentence is fulfilled. No?
(e.g. I read that line generally. e.g. your written protest must get to the race office (by any means) as opposed to having to knock on the door of a physical room, and hand over a piece of paper.)
So an email to joebloggs@gmail.com could be as good as an email to protests@abc-yacht-club.com
The problem is that Joe Bloggs has the sole burden of checking email, and may not want his email address public. So maybe a club dedicated email address is best, which is set to forward to protest committee.
(Or just use racingrulesofsailing.org!)
Happily, protest committees always have the power to overrule the SIs, but why not just do what it says?
Cringe 😬
PC’s are obligated to follow the rules. The SI’s are a rule. Unless there is a conflict between rules, or a rule like an SI breaks the RRS and the PC finds the SI is unenforceable, the PC can not overrule the SI.