If the event allows online filing, you file protests, redress requests and scoring inquiries from the event's Protests tab. You need to be signed in, and to be the skipper or a listed crew member of an entered boat.
Choose the right request
| You want to | File |
|---|---|
| Say another boat broke a rule | A protest |
| Say your score was made worse through no fault of your own, for example by a race committee error | A redress request (rule 61) |
| Have a decided hearing heard again because of new evidence or an error | A request to reopen (rule 63.7) |
| Have the scorer check a place, a code or a total | A scoring inquiry |
A scoring inquiry is not a hearing. It is the fastest route when the problem is a typo or a missed finish.
Before you file a protest
Rule 60.2 requires you to inform the other boat at the first reasonable opportunity. For an incident in the racing area that usually means hailing "Protest" and, on a boat 6 metres or more in hull length, displaying a red flag. The form asks how and when you informed them. A protest that does not meet the requirements can be ruled invalid at the hearing, so be exact.
What to write
- The race, and where and when the incident happened.
- The boats involved, by sail number.
- What happened, in plain order. A diagram helps the committee more than a long paragraph.
- The rules you believe were broken, if you know them. See the rules reference.
- Witnesses, if you have them.
Time limits
Check the sailing instructions first: most events set their own limit. Unless they say otherwise, rule 60.3 sets the limit at two hours after the last boat in the race finishes for an incident in the racing area, and two hours after you have the information for any other protest. The event's Protests tab lists each day's limit once the race committee has posted it, and the form records the time you filed. A late request is marked for the committee, which extends the limit only for a good reason.
After you file
The protest committee schedules the hearing and the parties are emailed the time and place. The schedule and the published decision appear on the event's Protests tab. If the decision changes scores, the scorer republishes the results with the change, and the decision shows the deadline for asking to reopen it.