DISCRETIONARY PENALTIES GUIDELINES
When the protest committee has discretion to decide the appropriate penalty for a breach, the penalties may range from zero points through to DNE. In determining the penalty, the protest committee will be guided by this document.
Discretionary Penalties are not just a list of standard penalties. The penalty should be adjusted as justified,while maintaining consistency. The overall concept is to establish a base penalty for a particular breach and then increase or decrease the penalty depending on the circumstances.
Suggested base penalties are listed in the attached two tables. These suggest the base band for common specific breaches and the answers to some general questions to be used when there is no specific breach listed. When a range of penalties is suggested for a specific breach, use the general questions to determine the band for the specific breach.
Penalties are divided into 4 bands with the mid point being the normal base penalty:
Band 1 – 0 - 10% (mid point 5%)
Band 2 – 10 - 30% (mid point 20%)
Band 3 – 30 - 70% (mid point 50%)
Band 4 – DSQ / DNE (starting point DSQ)
Start by using the tables below to find which band applies. Consider the ‘base penalty’ to be at the mid-point of the band. Then determine if there is cause to increase or decrease the penalty within the band or to change the band.
A positive answer to these questions would lead to reducing the penalty.
1. Was the breach accidental?
2. Was there a good reason or justification for the breach?
3. Was the breach reported by the competitor?
4. Did anyone who was not part of the boat’s crew or support team contribute to the breach?
A positive answer to these questions would lead to increasing the penalty.
1. Was the breach repeated?
2. Was the breach deliberate as opposed to a misjudgement or carelessness?
3. Was there any attempt to conceal the breach?
4. Was anybody inconvenienced?
The protest committee may use other questions to determine if a penalty should be increased or decreased.
To calculate and apply the penalty:
The discretionary penalty may not make a boat’s score worse than retirement or disqualification.
Percentage penalties are calculated to the nearest tenth of a point, (0.05 to be rounded upward).
When the breach affected racing performance, it should be applied to all races sailed that day, provided any protest is valid for all races.
When the breach does not affect racing performance and especially when it is largely administrative, the penalty should be applied to the race sailed nearest in time to that of the incident as specified in RRS 64.1.
When writing a decision applying a discretionary penalty, include the following statements:
Using the DP Guide a starting penalty of xx% was decided
The penalty was decreased because……or There were no circumstances to justify decreasing the penalty
The penalty was increased because…... or There were no circumstances to justify increasing the penalty.
The penalty applied is xx% applied to [all races of the day] or to [race numbers yy]
DISCRETIONARY PENALTIES GUIDELINES
BASE PENALTY BANDS FOR DICRETIONARY PENALTIES
(Generally the base penalty will be the mid point of the band)
