Yachting Australia statement; RRS 69.2(a) Ainslie

Media Release: Yachting Australia statement regarding Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship incident

Yachting Australia agrees any action on Ben Ainslie's incident that occurred at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships is a matter for ISAF.

Thursday 16 February 2012
On 10 December 2011 Yachting Australia received a report from the Chairman of the International Jury at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships. This report was provided under RRS 69.1(c) and related to an incident involving Ben Ainslie (GBR) at the event.

The matter was reported to the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), as the competitors’ Member National Authority (MNA), ISAF and Yachting Australia, as the MNA in whose jurisdiction the event was held.

Yachting Australia has considered the matter. It is the view of Yachting Australia that, given the incident occurred at an ISAF event and that the matter has been formally reported to ISAF, any further penalty should now be considered and determined by ISAF.

"Yachting Australia does not consider that this a matter for us to deal with," explained Phil Jones, Yachting Australia CEO. "This was an international event that happens to have been held in Australia and involved a competitor from another country. Whilst under the Racing Rules of Sailing we have the authority to investigate and conduct a hearing, it would clearly inappropriate."

Accordingly Yachting Australia will not be taking any further action in relation to the matter.

Craig Heydon
Yachting Australia

Now there is only one left: ISAF