APPENDIX M
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROTEST COMMITTEES
This appendix is advisory only; in some circumstances changing these procedures may be advisable. It is addressed primarily to protest committee chairmen but may also help judges, protest committee secretaries, race committees and others connected with protest and redress hearings. In a protest or redress hearing, the protest committee should weigh all testimony with equal care; should recognize that honest testimony can vary, and even be in conflict, as a result of different observations and recollections; should resolve such differences as best it can; should recognize that no boat or competitor is guilty until a breach of a rule has been established to the satisfaction of the protest committee; and should keep an open mind until all the evidence has been heard as to whether a boat or competitor has broken a rule. M1 PRELIMINARIES (may be performed by race office staff) ? ? ? M2 M2.1 Receive the protest or request for redress. Note on the form the time the protest or request is delivered and the protest time limit. Inform each party, and the race committee when necessary, when and where the hearing will be held.
BEFORE THE HEARING Make sure that ? each party has a copy of or the opportunity to read the protest or request for redress and has had reasonable time to prepare for the hearing. no member of the protest committee is an interested party. Ask the parties whether they object to any member. When redress is requested under rule 62.1(a), a member of the race committee should not be a member of the protest committee. only one person from each boat (or party) is present unless an interpreter is needed.
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