US SAILING and CBYRA Appeals Guide

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) describes the appeals process in Appendix F (Appeals Procedures) of the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2025-2028 Including US SAILING prescriptions (RRS/US). This guide provides some suggestions and additional information to help CBYRA sailors with the appeals process. This guide is not intended to replace or modify RRS/US Appendix R in any way. 

A copy of RRS/US Appendix R can be found in the US SAILING rule book (i.e. RRS/US), or on the web  (along with some additional information about the rules) at: https://www.ussailing.org/competition/rules-officiating/appeals/

[Note that US SAILING replaces the International Sailing Federation’s Appendix R entirely, so if you consult the online RRS from: http://www.sailing.org – you will not be reading the correct Appendix R for events in the US.] 

Where to file

File ALL appeals with US SAILING (RRS/US R1.1)

“Appeals” means all appeals: it does not matter whether the event is a Friday Beer Can Race or the AYC Annual Regatta. Please DO NOT send an appeal to CBYRA directly! US SAILING will take care of forwarding appeals to the appropriate Association Appeals Committee.

US SAILING’s address is: Race Administration Director, US SAILING; Box 1260; 15 Maritime Drive;  Portsmouth, RI 02871, or at: https://www.ussailing.org/competition/rules-officiating/appeals/submit-an-appeal/. For more information about submitting  appeal documents, call US Sailing at 1 (800) US SAIL 1.

US SAILING has designated the CBYRA Rules and Appeals Committee as the Association Appeals  Committee (AAC) for CBYRA member clubs and racing venues in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. CBYRA also serves as the AAC for the Deep Creek YRA and any other venues as determined by US SAILING. 

Fees for Appeals Handled by CBYRA

There is no fee to send an appeal to US Sailing. If the appeal will be considered by an association appeals committee, those appeals committees will inform the appellant if they require a fee. For appeals that will be heard by the US Sailing Appeals Committee, there is no fee for US Sailing members and an $85 fee for non-members.  CBYRA does not charge a fee for handling a request from a protest committee for confirmation or correction.

Association Appeals Procedure 

CBYRA follows the requirements and procedures for appeals detailed in RRS/US Appendix R. Anyone considering appealing is STRONGLY encouraged to read RRS/US Appendix R carefully. It contains some hard and inflexible deadlines that cannot be extended! In particular:

• The appellant must request a copy of a protest decision from the protest committee in writing and within seven (7) days of being informed of the decision (RRS/US 63.6(b)).

• After receipt of the written decision, the appellant has 15 days to send the appeal to US SAILING (RRS/US R2.1).

RRS/US R2.2 describes what the appellant should include in the appeal, and provides a checklist of the documents the appellant should include. If at all possible, the AAC suggests that the appellant include the names and contact information (email is usually sufficient) of all the parties to the hearing and the protest committee chairman.

Once the AAC receives an appeal and the appropriate fee (if any) is paid, the AAC will begin processing the appeal. Provided all the parties and the protest committee have access to email, email has become the primary means of communication between the AAC and the parties/protest committee for appeals.  The process generally takes at a minimum several weeks, and sometimes several months to complete.