Conditions
1 Conditions and Sailing Instructions
The Organizing Authority, US SAILING, issues these Conditions. The Conditions and Sailing Instructions will apply for the ten ladder events (Area Eliminations) of the Championship and the National Championship. Individual class championship regattas held by their designated class representatives shall not be considered “ladder events”.
2 Selection of Teams
2.1 Area Eliminations – There will be Area Eliminations to select the teams that will represent the Areas at the National Championship. The Area Elimination events must not include ineligible teams in the same start or fleet with eligible teams at regattas that are hosting multiple fleets. Elimination events must consist of at least three (3) races and have five (5) or more competitors for its results to be considered valid.
2.2 National Championship, Eligible Teams (20):
a) Area Eliminations (11) – the first place team, or the second or third place team if the first place team is unable to attend, from each of the ten (10) US SAILING Area Elimination events. One (1) additional position is reserved for a second team from the largest participated Area Elimination.
b) Additional Teams (9):
• One representative from the Hobie Class Association, selected by the Hobie Class Association of North Amereica Chair.
• One representative from the classes manufactured by Performance Catamarans/NACRA and selected by Performance Catamarans/NACRA.
• Two representatives from different classes, being the respective class North American Champions. The classes shall be selected by the U.S. Multihull Championship Committee – these are designated the “rotating” class.
• One representative from the Tornado Class, selected by their National Class Representative.
• Three teams selected from Open Petition by the US multihull Championship Committee.
• The returning U.S. Multihull Champion from the prior year.
2.3 Selection Guidelines:
a) Class representatives are encouraged to select their designated representatives according to the following guidelines:
i) Where a Class Association represents multiple one-design classes, their representative(s) should be from their largest class(es).
ii) A current or last year’s National Champion or leader in the class’ national ranking system.
iii) A current or last year’s National runner-up.
iv) A representative deemed suitable by virtue of outstanding sailing accomplishments in that class.
b) The U.S. Multihull Championship Committee shall invite petitions from a double-handed or single-handed one-design or formula class. The Committee may give precedence initially to the classes which:
i) Have the largest participation in Area Eliminations.
ii) Have the largest participation in their most recent national-level event, and
iii) Have a national-level champion or ranked sailor willing and committed to attending this Championship.
In each succeeding year, the committee may rotate the awarding of this invitation amongst the various classes, with the intent to eventually involve all supporting classes directly in this Championship.
c) The U.S. Multihull Championship Committee will evaluate Open Petitions based on completeness, accuracy, and content of a submitted online Petition and Sailing Résumé. Petitions will first be awarded to teams that competed in their Area Elimination. If a petitioning Team did not compete in their Area Elimination, the reason should be explained in the letter of Petition and leniency may be considered.
d) The U.S. Multihull Championship Committee may, after an appropriate registration deadline, fill any vacancies with the second then third place teams from the Area Eliminations in order of the largest attended events and then through additional Open Petitions.
2.4 Once a team has qualified for this event, standings in subsequent qualifying events are void for this selection process. Open Petition may not select previously qualified teams.
2.5 If an Area fails to send a team, the U.S. Multihull Championship Committee shall fill such vacancy with the second or third place team from the Area Elimination with the largest eligible participation, then the next largest, and so on. If no alternate is able to attend, the vacancy shall be filled through Open Petitions of teams that participated in an elimination event and if need be, teams that did not participate in an elimination event.
2.6 Competitors are expected to compete in the area in which they normally race and may only compete in one area qualifier per year. If they cannot make the area qualifier in the area they normally race, they may attend another area qualifier by petitioning the US Multihull Championship committee to do so in advance.
2.7 Per US Sailing regulations, the Trophy be not be allowed to leave the continental United States.
3 Alternates and Substitutes
3.1 Once a team’s entry is accepted in any Area Elimination or in the Championship, there may not be any substitution for members of the team except as provided below.
3.2 If a crewmember is unable to attend the Championship or continue in an event in progress due to sickness, accident or other emergency, a replacement crewmember may, with the approval of the Organizing Authority, be substituted for the crewmember for one or more of the races. If the substitution occurs at the Championship, the substituted crewmember must be eligible to compete, and must be of a very close approximate weight to the substituted crew. The representative of the Organizing Authority (typically the Committee Chair) will have the sole responsibility for determining if the reason for the substitution and the proposed crewmember are acceptable.
3.3 If a helmsman is unable to continue an event in progress due to sickness, accident or other emergency, the other crewmember may, with the approval of the Organizing Authority, become helmsman. If a crew with a replacement helmsman wins an event, the team is eligible to advance to the next event with either the original skipper or the replacement helmsman subject to the approval of the Protest Committee of the event just completed or the Organizing Authority.
3.4 It is the expressed intention of the U.S. Multihull Championship Committee to review the results of the Area Eliminations and the eligibility of teams submitting registration to the Championship. Substitution of a team member after the Elimination event must be adequately explained by the qualified helmsman and accepted by the Organizing Authority. “Poaching” of talent after the Elimination event for the purpose (in whole or in part) of relinquishing helmsman responsibilities will not be permitted. This shall be interpreted as the “Anti-Ringer Rule.”
4 Coaching and/or Support Boats
4.1 Team leaders, coaches or other support personnel (including members of the press) shall not go afloat in the racing area from the day of the first race of the event through the end of the Championship event inclusive, except in spectator or press boats provided or approved by the Organizing Authority or the Host Club.
4.2 Teams shall not receive advice, instruction or coaching during the races. It is the intent of this rule to prohibit contact during the races between contestants and any person who, in the opinion of the Protest Committee or Organizing Authority, is a coach, instructor or advisor.
4.3 The penalty for failing to comply with this requirement may be the disqualification of all teams associated with the infringing support personnel.
5 Boat/Equipment
5.1 The boats used in most National Championships are borrowed either from private owners or from manufacturers. It is of the utmost importance that they be treated with care at all times as the future of these events depends on being able to borrow boats again. See Section Six with regard to insurance provisions.
5.2 If a boat is disabled and cannot be repaired before the next race, another boat, with the approval of the Organizing Authority, may be substituted and may continue to be used for the remaining races of the event. In such cases, the sails of the disabled boat shall be used if possible.
5.3 Contestants shall be allowed to make adjustments to the boats as recommended by the boat manufacturer and approved in advance by the regatta Organizing Authority. All equipment provided with the boat for sailing purposes shall be carried while afloat.
5.4 Competitors shall not adjust the diamond wire tension nor shall they alter the mast rake by adjusting the head stay or shroud length unless expressly permitted to do so in compliance with condition 5.3 above.
5.5 Teams are not permitted to take aboard the boats any gear, rigging, electronics or equipment except:
• Watch or other countdown timer
• Mechanical or simple electrical compass (units capable of displaying additional tactical information are prohibited)
• Flags
• Non-permanent wind indicators
• Normally equipped ditty bag
• Personal effects
• Trapeze Harness – Continuous trapeze systems not allowed unless supplied with boats.
5.6 Teams must provide and wear in all events PFDs/life jackets approved by the US Coast Guard or approved by their MNA.
5.7 Only one set of sails per boat may be used in any Area Eliminations event except for changes approved by the Protest Committee in the event of obvious sail damage.
5.8 Hulls and underwater foils may be cleaned with normal soap and water only. Friction reducing soaps/products are prohibited.
5.9 The intent of the Championship event is to sail the boats as they are supplied. The penalty for infringement of the instructions in section 5 will be disqualification from all races sailed in contravention of the instructions.
6 Liability and Damage
6.1 At the Championship, unless obviated by the Host Club’s inclusive policy, it is mandatory that each participating team purchase Borrowed Boat Insurance as listed in the Notice of Race. The Borrowed Boat Insurance Program provides protection to those who lend boats. This insurance does not relieve teams from liability in the event a team does injury to other persons or property.
6.2 At the Championship, any damage or loss of equipment, no matter how slight, must be reported to the Protest Committee or the designated Beach Captain at the completion of the race in which it occurs. The penalty for infringement of this instruction, unless the Protest Committee is satisfied that the team made a determined effort to comply, will be disqualification from the race most recently sailed.
6.3 It is mandatory that the Organizing Authority require a damage deposit (in addition to any per boat premium) from each crew. The amount is noted in the U.S. Multihull Championship Notice of Race. The payment should be made out to the host club. When damages occur, the costs will be used from the deposit of the team causing the damage when so noted by the Protest Committee or the designated Beach Captain. Should a deposit be forfeited, teams must submit an additional damage deposit before sailing the next race. Damages attributable to a team will be deducted from their Insurance and Boat Damage Deposit and the balance returned. A detailed accounting of expended funds should be supplied promptly to each team to which the full amount was not refunded.
6.4 The Protest Committee (or Beach Captain in the event a Protest is not filed) will determine responsibility for damage to boats or to other property, and all teams entering will be bound thereby.
6.5 At-fault occurrences to other boats are the responsibility of the helmsman. Contestants are not covered by any
Liability Insurance provided by the host club and should provide their own coverage for personal goods and liability protection. US SAILING recommends those teams, or where minors are involved, their parents or guardians, consult their own insurance carrier regarding additional personal liability insurance coverage. At check in, each team shall provide evidence that they are insured with valid third-party liability insurance with a minimum cover of US $200,000 per occurrence.
6.6 US SAILING does not require the use of hold harmless forms. It strongly recommends that organizing authorities seek local legal advice on the question and carry adequate insurance coverage such as that provided by the Regatta Liability Insurance Program endorsed by US SAILING.
6.7 Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See RRS 4, Decision to Race. The Organizing Authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta.
7 Round-Robin Events and Variations
7.1 Area Eliminations will be conducted as a bring-your-own-boat event and competitors sail the same boat throughout the event. Requests for redress for equipment failures will be denied in a bring-your-own-boat event.
7.2 The National Championship will be sailed as a promotion-relegation competition as follows. Teams at the National Championship will be allowed reasonable time to make allowable adjustments to the boat.
a) Teams will draw for boat and initial division assignments (A1, A2 …A10; B1, B2 …B10). In heat 1B, all of the teams drawing "B" boats race together. In heat 1A, all of the teams drawing "A" boats race together. Heats 1B and 1A constitute “Race 1.”
b) The top five teams from heats 1B and 1A race together in heat 2A, and the remaining teams race together in heat 2B. Heat 2B is run before heat 2A. The Beach Captain or the Event Chairman makes boat assignments for each team.
c) Heat 2B is scored with each team’s score increased by ten (10) points. Heat 2A is scored. This constitutes “Race 2”.
d) After heat 2A, the bottom three teams from heat 2A will race in heat 3B, and the top three teams from heat 2B will race in heat 3A.
e) After each subsequent A heat, the process described in 7.2.c and 7.2.d is repeated
f) At the conclusion of the event, if a matching A division heat is not completed, the B division heat shall be abandoned.
7.3 At the National Championship, weather conditions, the need to protect boats and equipment or the need to expedite completion of the event may require other procedures. Any such special procedures are at the discretion of the Organizing Authority.
8 Practice Sailing
Host club for the National Championship may have boats available for practice sailing the day before racing begins.
9 Entry Forms and Fees
9.1 The Area Multihull Representative and the Host Organization shall agree mutually upon the entry fee for the Area Elimination. The entry fee for the qualifying team going to the National Championship may be paid out of the proceeds.
9.2 The following items from the Area Elimination events should be submitted to the individual on the address below.
• Raw results (individual races and overall).
• Complete first and last names of all participants.
• A list of any new or renewing US SAILING member participants.
• Entry Forms for the top three teams.
Mail, fax, or e-mail to theU.S. Multihull Championship Committee:
9.3 The entry fee for the National Championship is noted in the U.S. Multihull Championship Notice of Race.
9.4 It is the responsibility of each US SAILING Multihull Area Representative to make sure that valid results of the Area Elimination event are provided to the National Chair. Failure to conduct Area Eliminations in accordance with US SAILING requirements may result in a qualifying team being disqualified from the National Championship.
10 Portsmouth Handicap Results
Each Area Representative must ensure that a complete copy of the race results for their Area Elimination is also forwarded to:
Carl Reigart 962 Diane Street Leeds, AL 35094
11 Power Line Hazards
US SAILING Regulations require that US SAILING Championships at all levels be held at sites free of power line hazards. Written compliance is required to be filed with the Championship Coordinator at US SAILING.
12 Protest Committee (Authority and Selection)
12.1 At the Area Eliminations event level and up, it is required that at least one judge be US SAILING certified, to meet US SAILING Championship requirements unless the Championship Committee officially allows an exception in writing.
12.2 The Protest Committee shall be appointed in the following manner:
a) For the Area Eliminations, the Area Representative, in conjunction with the host club, shall be responsible for appointing the Protest Committee.
b) For the National Championship, the U.S. Multihull Championship Chair shall appoint the Protest Committee.
13 Race Committee
The club or association conducting the event will appoint the race committee at all levels of the ladder. US SAILING Championship Conditions require that a US SAILING National or Regional Certified Race Officer act as the PRO for all events. Levels of certification vary according to the level of the ladder event. Details on Race Official Requirements are available from the Championships Management web page at http://championships.ussailing.org/Championships_Home/ChampMngt.htm
14 Host Club
The host club should familiarize all competitors with the waters in which the races are to be held with emphasis on obstructions, tidal conditions and probable location of marks.
Rev 04/28/09kmr