Sportsmanship in other Sports

I'm currently looking at other sports to see how they handle 'verbal' abuse of the referee/umpire in a field of play. I think I might need some help.

The rugby rules are pretty straightforward. From the IRB Laws of Rugby Union 2012:

(s) All players must respect the authority of the referee. They must not dispute the referee’s decisions. They must stop playing at once when the referee blows the whistle except at a kick-off or at a penalty kick following admonishment, temporary suspension, or send-off.

Sanction: Penalty kick

 I've been told that this works extremely well in Rugby. If you only look crosseyed towards a referee you'll get a penalty.

In Tennis, from 2012 FRIEND AT COURT, The USTA Handbook of Tennis Rules and Regulations: Misconduct:

• Visible or audible profanity or obscenity
• Abuse of racket, balls, or equipment
• Verbal or physical abuse of a player or official
• Receipt of coaching
• Abusive conduct by a player or a person associated with a player (USTA Regulation IV.C.10. refers to this situation)
• Retaliatory calls (obviously bad calls made in retaliation for the opponent’s calls)
• Unsportsmanlike conduct (any other conduct that is abusive or detrimental to the sport)
• Failure to follow the instructions of an official (Violation of any USTA Tournament Regulation (USTA Regulation IV.C.20.)

Violations shall be penalized as follows: First Offense: Point, Second Offense: Game, Third Offense: Default

If there are any of you who - besides Sailing -  participate in other sports where a referee or umpire is taking decisions in a field of play, please have a look at your rulebook and tell me what is written  about verbal abuse towards officials.

Traveling with an inflateble life-jacket

As an International Race Official I'm often travelling by air plane. It's hard enough to fit your gear into one bag and stay under the weight limit - and that's made harder because a lot of baggage handlers and air plane personnel don't understand an inflatable life-jacket with a CO2 gas cylinder.

It has been my experience a couple of times that I've been called into baggage handling areas, where I was asked to open my bag. The scanner found the cylinder and was flagged.
Usually it ended up me leaving the cylinder there, because the I was not allowed to take my bag on the plane otherwise. Besides being an inconvenience of having a life-jacket that wasn't functional at an event, it also meant I had to replace the cylinder every time and my own expense.

I always tried to explain that the cylinder wasn't dangerous, that it would not spontaneously open up and that I had detached it from the life-jacket itself, in the off change it would, that it only expell harmless CO2. And that the effing plane had hundreds of those cylinders on there own life jackets, under the seats......

No avail.

Lots of IRO take a non inflatable life-jacket because of this reason. But that is much bulkier and - to be perfectly honest - it is a drag wearing it, being three sizes to small for me.

One evening last week at the Delta Lloyd Regatta this subject came up during a jury discussion and one of the judges told us about a couple of papers she puts in the her bag together with her life-jacket explaining what it is and that it is allowed on planes by the IATA (International Air Transport Association).

I asked her to send me those papers so I could share them with you.

LINK: DGR IATA Table 23A CO2 Cylinder.pdf

The document contains the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations Table 2.3.A in five languages (English, German, French, Spanish & Russia) and a detailed description of the CO2 Cylinder (drawing and specifications). It seems to work if you print it and put the papers with your life-jacket. Even if your bag gets flagged, you have papers to show that it is allowed by the IATA on planes.

If you need to proof the legitimacy of the papers send the person asking, to this link:
http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dangerous_goods/Documents/DGR_EN_53rd_Table-23A.pdf.

If you use it and are flagged, please share your experiences.
Thanks Christine, for sending me the papers.

(pillow)Case of the week (13/12) – 15

(This is an instalment in a series of blogposts about the ISAF Case book 2009-2012 with amendments for 2010. All cases are official interpretations by the ISAF committees on how the Racing Rules of Sailing should be used or interpreted. The cases are copied from the Casebook, only the comments are written by me.)

CASE 15

Rule 12, On the Same Tack, Not Overlapped
Rule 13, While Tacking
Rule 18.1(b), Mark-Room: When Rule 18 Applies
Rule 18.2(b), Mark-Room: Giving Mark-Room
Rule 18.2(c), Mark-Room: Giving Mark-Room
Definitions, Mark-Room

In tacking to round a mark, a boat clear ahead must comply with rule 13; a boat clear astern is entitled to hold her course and thereby prevent the other from tacking.

 

Assumed Facts

A and B are approaching the windward mark which they are required to leave to port. They are close-hauled on parallel courses with A clear ahead. A expects B, when she can tack and fetch the mark, to tack to round it and head for the next mark. Instead, B holds her course as shown in the diagram and sails on well past the mark.

Question

Has B the right to hold her course in this way and, thereby, prevent A from tacking?

Answer

Yes. While A remains on port tack, B is required to keep clear by rule 12 and, as A was clear ahead when she reached the zone, B is required by rule 18.2(b) to give A mark-room as well. Provided B keeps clear of A and gives A mark-room if A luffs (even if A luffs as high as head to wind), B is entitled to sail any course she chooses, including holding her course.

However, B is no longer required to give A mark-room after A leaves the zone (see rule 18.2(c)). If A were to pass head to wind, then at that moment all parts of rule 18 would cease to apply because the boats would be on opposite tacks (see rule 18.1(b)). In addition, A would no longer have right of way under rule 12, and B would become the right-of-way boat under rule 13.

RYA 1966/8

One  solution for Boat A to get out of this situation is to time his luff so that she will have enough speed to get head to wind next to the mark. Boat B will either have to luff and end up on the wrong side of the mark or bear down to behind A. If the latter happens boat A can safely tack while keeping clear.

Boat B bears off behind A. She’s not entitled to mark-room although she get’s an inside overlap in position 3. RRS 18.2(c), first part.

Boat B luff and finds herself on the wrong side of the mark. She can’t continue upwind to interfere with A, because A is already on the next leg and that means boat B would break rule 23.2.

She can also start pinching as soon as she’s entered the zone clear ahead to get closer to the mark that way. In both scenario’s boat B has to keep clear and has to give mark-room (until A passes head to wind_

Boat B slows down between 2 and 3 to go behind A. And A can continue as lead boat, although she has lost some speed in doing so. The one thing boat A must not do is pass head to wind before boat B has committed to go behind. Rule 18.2(c), second part, also states that mark-room is lost once the boat having mark-room passes head to wind.