Ok Bob. I can't take anymore fuzzy thinking.
Take any event in the world. If you protest someone for TEAM RACING.... which impacts on your finish position. Do you agree with me that you are saying that X AND Y are cheating?
Not a mistake!
Not an error in judgemnt...
The act of team racing is a pre meditated act of two people who are cheating and undermining the integrity of the sport!
Do you think that the standard of proof that you should have when you fly that protest flag should be of the highest order, bullet proof evidence in fact? OR are you satisfied... with hey... I think X and Y are cheating... let's see what they have to say about the incident.
Unfortuneatly. The following posted comments speak to how this allegation is interpreted in the world.
Remember... the PROTEST WAS DENIED... BUT this is what you get.
Mark,
Mistakes in judgement and boathandling create scenarios where one competitior has the option to protest another competitor on the race course. Just like a lawyer can "object" to another lawyer's actions or tactics in a court of law and asks the judge for a verdict, so do we have the option to use the protest process in sailing when we believe the rules have been violated. You don't hear lawyers calling the other lawyer a cheat when they object in court. They state their case and look to the judge for resolution. In football, there is "illegal" contact all the time on the playing field and that is what referees are there for. At the end of the game, are the players penalized for illegal contact called cheaters by the other team? Typically not.
With pure speculation on my part, the Chu's may have made a conscious decision to lose a place to help their friend and training partner without his knowing it. If that was the case it was wrong and Johnny Lovell was within his rights to protest or "object" to what he witnessed. On the other hand, they may have completely misjudged the position of the finish line, jibed, realized their mistake, did another jibe that resulted in a fouled spinnaker, and the end result is they lost a place which just happened to be Robbie. This may have been the facts found in the protest hearing. None of us were there or in the heads of the competitors and to put labels on any of it is wrong and that includes the tone of the comments on the Red Gear Racing website.
If you try to cross my bow on port and I have to alter course to avoid a collision, I can:
1. Let it go in the spirit of sportmanship (especially if it does not really affect my position in the race).
2. Tell you to do your penalty turns.
3. Protest your action if you choose not to do the penalty turns.
In this case, you might feel you crossed me with plenty of room. If I pursue the protest, we have to let a third party (the protest committee) decide based upon the facts found. Whatever the outcome, it would be wrong for me to call you a cheater for trying to cross my bow and for you to call me a cheater for protesting you. The same standard and civility should apply to this incident.
Bob Hodges
