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Rules

The Racing Rules of Sailing govern all sailing competitions

Sailing relies on the Racing Rules of Sailing to turn our pastime into a sport and are published every four years by World Sailing. The formal racing of boats is believed to have started in the Netherlands in the 17th century, and in order for it to be declared a race they would have had a primitive form of rules.

Racing Rules of Sailing

The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) govern the sport of sailboat, sailboard and kite board racing. It is revised and published every four years by World Sailing. The 2021-2024 version with Australian Sailing prescriptions has been published and is available to download.

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Appeals

If a party is not satisfied with the outcome for a protest or request for redress, they may appeal the decision. Lodging an appeal is time sensitive and can only be submitted by parties to the original hearing.

 

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Jury Applications

When clubs are acting as Organising Authorities (OA) for major championships, it is recommended that they may empanel a national or international jury to deny the right of appeal to enable determination of results immediately at the completion of the event.

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The Rules Specialist Group (RSG) Opinions

The Rules Specialist Group (RSG) is a group of Racing Rules experts who are tasked to answer Racing Rules questions for Australian Sailing.  The answers provided by the RSG are opinions of this specialist group and whilst not authoritative, complement cases and interpretations of the Racing Rules.

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Misconduct

A competitor, boat owner or support person shall not commit an act of misconduct.  Misconduct is defined in the RRS as a breach of good manners, a breach of good sportsmanship, or unethical behaviour. Misconduct is also behaviour that may bring or has brought the sport into disrepute.
 

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Resources for Race Officials

Templates and resources have been provided for race officials. Most have been provided as an editable document to allow for changes to be made as required.


 

 

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World Sailing Documents

World Sailing Racing Rules Questions and Answers are published on the World Sailing website as a joint responsibility of the World Sailing Racing Rules Committee and the World Sailing Racing Officials Committee.
These answers are not authoritative interpretation and explanations of the RRS, but nevertheless represent an important service by providing carefully considered opinions of experienced Race Officials.

    World Sailing Race Officials Resource Centre

Test and Development Rules

The following reports are provided by organising authorities who were given approval in accordance with RRS 86.3 to develop and test rules.

 

 

 

 

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