CASE 55

Rule 70.1, Appeals; Confirmation or Correction of Decisions; Rule Interpretations
Definitions, Party

A boat has no right of appeal from a redress decision when she was not involved in the hearing. When she believes that her finishing place has been made significantly worse by the arrangement reached in that decision she must herself request redress. She may then appeal the decision of that hearing.

Summary of the Facts
A ‘protested’ the race committee because of inadequate rescue facilities in contravention of the club’s constitution. The race committee abandoned the completed race. B appealed.

Decision
The appeal is refused because it cannot be heard under rule 70.1(a). B has no right of appeal, as she was not a party to the request for redress by A. Therefore her ‘appeal’ is in fact not an appeal but a request for redress that could have been addressed to and heard by the protest committee.

The following points may assist in the consideration of this case:

1. There is no provision in the racing rules under which a boat can protest the race committee or protest committee. The only action aboat can take against the committee is to request redress when she claims that her finishing position in a race or a series of races has been made significantly worse by an improper action or omission of the race committee or protest committee. In this case, A made no such claim; her ‘protest’ was merely a criticism of the committee, having no standing under the racing rules.
2. Quite apart from the racing rules, a competitor is at liberty to point out to the race committee that it has made an error. When aware of its error, the race committee may try to have it corrected by asking the protest committee to consider giving redress as permitted by rule 60.2(b).
3. If B had been a competitor in the race and had lodged a valid request for redress and claimed that her finishing position had been made significantly worse by the abandonment of the race, she would have been entitled to a redress hearing.

RYA 1982/11