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ISAF International Umpires Newsletter
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Welcome from Jan Stage, Chairman of the International Umpires Sub-committee
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I hope all of you got well into 2008 and have had a good start on the year.
There are several signs that we will be facing a busy year with a growing demand for umpires in a number of areas. The WC and Grade 1 events are developing, and there are new events coming. I was very pleased to see that in addition to the existing collection of events, we will have a new Grade WC event this year in Asia in addition to the Monsoon Cup which is already one of our top-level events.
In the second half of this year, we will see the start of a new Nations Cup cycle. The previous cycle was very successful in bringing match racing to many new places around the world. This gave us the chance to introduce new umpires to the game. The events of the upcoming Nations Cup cycle can be found on the ISAF website.
In fleet racing, the medal race has been established and is now used in many events, both single-class and multi-class events. The Volvo Ocean Race will also start soon, and this season they will continue with umpired in-port races as this was a great success last time.
All these developments will inevitably increase the demand for good umpires. For several years, the number of IUs has been very stable around 100. Over the last two years, we have seen a slight increase. The IUSC has launched a number of measures to support this positive development. A key element in this is IU seminars for training new IUs and Match racing clinics for supporting introduction and development of match racing. In 2008 and 2009, the IUSC will run a considerable number of seminars and clinics. We are also introducing other measures. This year, we are implementing a mentor system for existing IUs.
These efforts are described in this issue along with information about administration and regulations, events and technology.
This issue has been put together by Jack Lloyd, Marianne Middelthon and me. We are also the authors of the individual articles unless the name of another author is stated.
I hope you will find the contents of this issue useful
Jan Stage
Chairman, IUSC
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ISAF Regulation 33 and IUSC Reference Form
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In November 2007, the ISAF Council approved a new regulation 33 that describes the rules for all four categories of race officials. Before, there was one regulation for each category. The purpose of merging them was to simplify the regulations and provide a more coherent description. In itself, the merging has not changed the content of the regulations.
The ISAF Council also approved an amendment to the IU regulation. This amendment requires an applicant for first appointment as IU to provide three so-called IUSC reference forms.
This requirement is new, so we will ask all of you to help us spread the information to all candidates who will be applying for first-time IU appointment this year.
The standard procedure for processing of applications for first appointment in the IUSC has, so far, been to contact the chief umpire at events where the candidate has umpired. The purpose of this has been to establish a more solid basis for deciding whether or not a candidate should be appointed as an IU. Thus it has been a supplement to the performance assessment that candidates take at a seminar or event. This collection of information has, however, been criticized for not being transparent to the candidates, because they never see it or hear about it.
The purpose of the new IUSC reference form is to collect the same information, but to do it in a more systematic and transparent way for the candidate. The form has three pages. The first two pages are nearly identical to the performance assessment form. The reason for this similarity is that the person filling in the form is requested to make a systematic assessment of the candidate's performance.
The reference form should be filled in by the chief umpire of the event. If the chief umpire is not an IU, it is recommended that the form is signed by the chief umpire as well as an IU who has also assessed the candidate at the event. The person(s) who sign the form must share the contents of the form with the candidate before it is submitted to ISAF.
It is mandatory for candidates to inform the chief umpire before or at the beginning of the event that they need a reference form. It is impossible to fill in the form properly unless you have collected information about the candidate throughout the event. So you should refuse a late request for a reference form.
The IUSC reference form is available on the ISAF website if you click on the 'Read more here' link at the bottom of this article. Once completed, the form should be forwarded to ISAF by one of the persons who have signed it.
The regulation has an introductory period. It will not apply to events held before November 7, 2007. So if the 8 events you list in your application were all held before November 7, 2007, you do not need to submit any reference forms. If you list 1 or 2 events that were held on or after November 7, 2007 you need to submit the same number of reference forms. If you list 3 or more events that were held on or after November 7, 2007, you need to submit a reference form from at least 3 of those events.
If you have any questions about the IUSC reference form, please don't hesitate to contact Anna Dickens at the ISAF office (anna@isaf.co.uk).
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Read more here
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IU Seminar Instructors
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IU seminars are conducted by two certified IU Seminar Instructors. In total, we have 6 instructors at the moment. This group has been stable the last 4-5 years, but recently, a couple of the instructors have reduced their activity because of other commitments. In addition, we are receiving an increasing number of requests for seminars and clinics. Therefore, the IUSC has decided that over the next year or so, we will develop 1-2 new IU Seminar instructors for match racing and 1-2 for team racing.
The first step in this process is to collect names of IUs who are interested in being candidates for this. In order to accomplish that, we ask for your assistance. If you are interested and believe you are qualified to serve as an IU Seminar instructor after some training or if there is another IU you think is qualified, please provide the name to Anna Dickens (anna@isaf.co.uk) before the end of April, 2008.
The procedure onwards will be that a couple of candidates for each discipline will be selected from the list of proposed persons. This selection will be based on guidelines that have been approved by Race Officials Committee; the guidelines are included in this issue. The members of the IUSC will be asked for input, and the final decision will be made by the Chairman of the IUSC based on a recommendation from the existing instructors.
The candidates who are selected will do an IU seminar together with an existing instructor, and they will participate in a seminar instructor meeting that will be held by the end of this year. If these activities are successful, the new instructors can be appointed in about a year from now.
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Who do International Umpires go to at the ISAF Secretariat?
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Please refer to the following link for pictures of the below people: http://www.sailing.org/197.php
Anna Dickens is the Race Officials Secretary and is therefore the first point of contact for all ISAF Race Officials. She deals with all general Race Officials enquiries, Seminars and Clinics, RO Applications, IU Grouping, RO Clothing, RO Newsletters, RO Tests, RO Reports, Certification, MR Umpire Appointments to G1-WC events and Payments to Umpires. Furthermore, she is the day-by-day liaison with the International Umpires Sub-committee.
Please direct all general Umpire questions to Anna who, if necessary will forward them to the correct person. Email: anna@isaf.co.uk - if you have any enquiries, please don't hesitate to contact her.
Other members of the Competitions Department with responsibilities for IUs:
Helmut Czasny is the Competitions Manager and deals with Q&A, Rapid response calls, Performance Reports under Regulation 34. Email: helmut@isaf.co.uk
Pauline Ward is the Events Secretary and deals with Match Race Grading forms, results and rankings. Email: pauline@isaf.co.uk
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Procedure for requesting a Test or Performance Assessment
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Anna Dickens
If you need to take the test, the correct procedure is to contact me at the ISAF office (anna@isaf.co.uk). You are welcome to make the practical arrangements with a test administrator, but the office must always be informed.
Our experience with the test is it sometimes causes problems; if an IU defers the test until the year of the renewal. Should you fail the test, you will be allowed to take it again. But you have to wait six months, and, therefore, you may run out of time. It works better if you plan to take the test one or two years before the year of your next renewal.
The same procedure applies to a performance assessment. The performance assessment is only for first-time applicants. So should you be asked by IU candidates about the procedure for performance assessments, please help us and explain to them the correct procedure.
You can find a list of test administrators and performance assessors by clicking on the links below:
If you have any questions about a written test or performance assessment, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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Reporting IU Performance - No more "telling tales"
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Jan Stage
Over the years, there has been considerable discussion about the way we do report or should report umpire performance. Most of these discussions have focussed on the situation where the performance of an IU that is below IU level.
Every now and then, IUs report about other IUs' performance, usually to me as chairman or a member of the IUSC. The format of the reports differs. Some of them are by email, while others are verbal. The IUSC has in the past been criticized for using such "secret information" when applications for first appointment or re-appointment are being processed. On the other hand, the IUSC need to get information about umpires who do not perform to the level we require.
In order to handle the need for information more professionally, a new regulation was submitted to and accepted by Council in November 2006. This regulation defines a system for reporting race official performance. In the current ISAF Regulations for 2008, this regulation has number 34. The aim with this new regulation is to make performance reporting more structured and transparent. This is achieved by sharing all reports with the umpires in question.
After regulation 34 was has been passed, I now tell the reporter providing information about an IU's performance that this may well be important information, but it has to be submitted under regulation 34. Otherwise we cannot use it.
It is important to note that regulation 34 also applies to reporting of good or exceptional performance. So if you experience very good performance, especially by new IUs, then report it. That will help ISAF identify good people. Positive reports will also be shared with the person they are about.
Another source of information about IU performance is the IU event report forms. As this information is also information about an IU's performance, and thereby covered by regulation 34, the report form for this year has been amended to include a statement that the information you provide can be used under regulation 34. So any comments you write on the form about another IU will be processed in accordance with regulation 34.
I will encourage you to read regulation 34; and use it. IUs are probably better than anybody else at assessing the performance of other IUs. I also appreciate the system we have for assessing each other, as opposed to other sports where they have a corps of assessors. But we also need to see this as a requirement to actually report insufficient performance when we experience it. I believe we do the sport a major disservice by not reporting performance that is clearly below IU standard. So I hope you will also use the regulation to help us improve the quality of our IUs.
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Maintaining IJ Status
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A significant part of the IUs are also International Judges (IJs). This is practical as the umpire team usually forms the International Jury at Grade 1 and 2 events. In the last couple of years, we have had some unfortunate cases where an IU who was also an IJ was not re-appointed as IJ, because he did not comply with the number and/or type of events required.
The IJ regulations are part of Regulation 33. The requirement for events for an IJ who wants to renew are specified in Regulation 33.11.2. There are two choices: to do at least three principal fleet racing events plus a seminar plus a pass of the IJ test (System 1); or to do at least six principal events, the majority of which shall be fleet racing events (System 2).
The implication is that if you want to maintain IJ status, then in a four-year term you need to either do at least four fleet racing events or do three with seminar and successful test, and all of these events must be principal events. The rest can then be match racing events. There are also other requirements to events, but this is the one that causes most problems for race officials who devote most of their time to umpiring.
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The Grouping System for 2009
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In November 2007, the Executive Committee approved the Grouping System that will be implemented in 2008 and used for appointments in 2009. Since then, the Grouping Panel has been appointed. The groupings under this system will be made in October this year.
The Grouping System has proved to be a very useful instrument for selecting IUs to the events where ISAF appoints the umpire team. There are, however, two problems that have become apparent. Firstly, it is difficult to select a good mix of Group 2 umpires for an event because this group is very large and the competence varies considerably. Secondly, Group 2 umpires do not perceive that their competence changes if they remain in the group. This is particularly unfortunate for the umpires who work hard with their performance but never see their grouping change, and for the umpires who are not aware that their performance is degrading until they suddenly become ungrouped.
In order to solve both problems, the Grouping System for 2009 divides Group 2 into three subgroups: 2a, 2b and 2c. A 2a umpire is very close to group 1, a 2b is in the middle, and a 2c is at the lower end of Group 2.
Beside this, the system has not been changed compared to the previous version. The full description of the Grouping System for 2009 is available on the ISAF website. Please click the link to view this.
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Read more here
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The IU Mentor Program
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Kirk Brown and Eva Andersson
The IUSC is discussing and working out different initiatives to help our IUs develop their competence. In order to help the IUs who are struggling most with their performance, we have developed a mentor program that will be implemented this year. This approach is also in line with the ISAF Strategic Plan. Below, we provide an overview of the ISAF IU Mentor Program.
Goal of the Mentor Program
Mentoring is a system where an experienced umpire guides, supports and gives advice to a less experienced umpire as the umpire is developing skills. It is also a method of providing correction and counselling for an experienced umpire who may have developed bad habits or not umpired at top level for some time. In order for the mentoring process to be successful, the mentored umpire needs to express a need for mentoring service and be receptive to input from others. There are a limited number of mentors. Preference will be given to Ungrouped umpires and umpires who are identified as Group 2c (this group will not be implemented until 2009) in the Grouping System.
How to Find a Mentor
The IUSC has a pool of experienced umpires who are willing to act as mentors. If there is an umpire with whom you work well, it would be appropriate for you to suggest them as a mentor. If your suggested umpire is qualified, available and willing, they may be assigned to work with you. If a better choice might be available, that choice will be offered. Contact the Race Officials secretary at ISAF, Anna Dickens (anna@isaf.co.uk), for help in finding a mentor.
Your Responsibilities
The umpire being mentored must display some necessary characteristics, including a flexible and receptive approach and a willingness to be honest about their development needs. A realistic view about their skills starting point, development progress, or lack thereof, is also required. The entire process requires a willingness to properly accept feedback, and to dedicate time and effort to the mentoring relationship and skills development.
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Technology Working Party
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At the 2006 ISAF Conference, the Executive Committee appointed Patrick Bergmans to head a working party consisting of a representative of each branch of officials, Judges, Race Officers, Measurers and Umpires. The objective of the working party is to identify products, systems, etc. to help Race Officials do their jobs better and help the sport market itself to the public and the media.
The biggest project at present is in fleet racing with boat tracking. There are several companies worldwide who are experimenting and all have their strengths and weaknesses. An obvious area that we are interested in is identifying boats that are OCS. This would be a relatively simple task if you have both ends of the line as solid objects. However, it is quite a different problem when both ends of the starting line are moving. The systems also need to operate in all countries. Some of you may have worked at events that have been trialling various systems. From a rules point of view, an interesting discussion point is whether OCS information should be transmitted to the boats in real time e.g. green light behind the line, red light OCS.
The tracking project is obviously complex and on a big scale, the working party is also very interested in other systems, tools or programs that will help any area of the sport. It does not need to be grandiose. The working party does not have a budget but we do have the ability to recommend to the Executive Committee that any particular system, tool or program should be promoted and also to provide a test environment, if necessary.
One area we also discussed in the working party was developing a low cost, easily transported method of signalling overlaps, etc. from the umpire boat to the race boat, even to the extent of providing all IU's with their own system. It was based on a roll-over of the system developed for and used in the last America's Cup. Our efforts would also need to include help to train all umpires in the system, so when the next cup comes around, all would be familiar with the system.
If any of you have anything you think is worth promoting or know of any such things please let me know jglloyd@xtra.co.nz.
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Procedure for Appointing Race Officials Seminar / Clinic Instructors
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In accordance with the agreement of all Sub-Committee Chairman, below is the proposal for:
- Criteria for appointment of Seminar / Clinic Instructors
- Procedure for application and appointment of Seminar / Clinic Instructors
Criteria:
Below is a list of qualifications that a seminar/clinic instructor should be assessed against. For each skill and ability the following scale can be used: not acceptable, needs improvement, acceptable, good, excellent. The qualifications are divided into some overall categories.
A. Instructor Skills
1. Teaching skills
2. Communication skills
3. Command of written and spoken English
4. Ability to give participants a coherent learning experience
5. Ability to write and develop presentations
6. Ability to deliver clear and coherent presentations
7. Ability to lead group discussions and involve all participants
8. Ability to recognize different learning modes of participants
9. Ability to adapt to participants and situation
10. Ability to encourage participants to develop their skills
11. Ability to employ a variety of teaching techniques
12. Understanding of learning abilities and disabilities
13. Ability to assess individuals performance and to say "not yet" and give feedback.
B. Organization Skills
1. Organization and administrative skills
2. Time management skills
3. Completing paperwork in a timely fashion
4. Ability to work in different countries and cultures
5. Ability to handle confidential information
6. Sharing of ideas and concerns with other instructors
7. Contribution to development of seminar/clinic programme
C. Standing as Race Official
1. Level of competence as race official in the discipline
2. Experience as race official in the discipline
3. Adherence to ISAF policies
4. Familiarity with the whole range of activities in the discipline (high and low level)
D. Experience and Availability
1. Training as educator or instructor
2. Experience as educator, instructor or coach in other spheres
3. Experience as participant in ISAF seminar(s) as participant
4. Experience as instructor in international seminar/clinics
5. Experience as instructor in national seminar/clinics
6. Experience with organizing seminars and clinics
7. Must have attended an ISAF Instructor Seminar/Performance Assessment Workshop
8. Attendance at future ISAF Instructor Seminars/Performance Assessment Workshops
9. Availability as instructor
Procedure For Application and Appointment
1. Candidates may apply with CV to the relevant Sub-Committee Chairman
2. Sub-Committee Chairman / existing instructors may identify candidates and invite them to apply for appointment.
Approval Procedure
Relevant Sub-Committee Chairman to seek recommendations of existing
instructors for the discipline and make decision to appoint candidate or reject application. Instructors may be appointed at any time during the year.
Non-Approved Candidates
Will be informed in writing by the chairman of the relevant sub-committee, with reasons for non-approval.
Appointed Candidates
To be informed in writing by the chairman of the relevant sub-committee that formal appointment is subject to completing a satisfactory assessment as assistant instructor at a seminar. All appointed seminar instructors are also appointed clinic instructors.
Numbers
Sub-Committees to ensure instructor numbers meet demand.
Instructor Renewal
Seminar / Clinic instructors are renewed annually at the ISAF Conference,
non-active instructors may not be renewed depending on reasons for non-activity.
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Standardised penalties for breaches of Sailing Instructions
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Jack Lloyd
Bruce Hebbert and I were given the unenviable task of coming up with a method of standardising the penalties imposed on competitors for Sailing Instruction breaches for both match and team racing.
This effort was based on the ideas of the policy for handling damage that has been used over the last year in match racing events. The idea was to achieve the same for breaches of sailing instructions.
We have produced a suggested penalty structure for each discipline. The team racing paper has already been released and the match racing paper will be released about the same time as this issue.
It is important to note that these two papers are to be treated very much as "work in progress". Bruce and I, with comments from some others, have generated the suggestions for penalties. The objective for the next year is to try it out, receive feedback and eventually arrive at a spectrum of penalties for each different breach. In our proposal, we have tried to make the penalty fit the "crime". We will ask umpire teams throughout this year to use the papers and suggest modifications to the structure we suggest.
One area that I personally would like to see the penalties changed is in the "on the water issues". I would prefer to have them carry out an immediate penalty instead of having to cope with it ashore. For instance; poling out a headsail, this should be a red flag penalty and if need be motor up to the boat and tell them why and if necessary check for damage to the sail, which could result in a further penalty after the race. The same could be done for hiking and roll tacking using the shrouds above the turnbuckle.
Please see the papers as a first proposal and use them with discretion. Email comment on the papers to both Bruce and I.
jglloyd@xtra.co.nz
Bruce@hebbert.demon.co.uk
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When the Race Committee Postpones or Abandons a Match
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At several events last year, the race committee postponed or abandoned a match without consulting with the match umpires. This occurred in situations where something unexpected happened.
One example was an incident where Yellow got entangled with the race committee starting vessel's anchor line as she attempted to enter. Blue entered correctly, but the race committee postponed the match. Blue was understandably quite upset about this, because she was in a very favourable position with Yellow stuck on the committee vessel and likely to pick up one or two penalties before she started - if indeed she would have been able to start at all.
Some have argued that in such a situation, the fairest solution to all involved would be to have Yellow start the re-sail of the match with a penalty. There is at least one example of an International Jury that has made this ruling last year. Since then, there has been a strong pressure upon umpires/protest committees to make the same ruling, when a match is postponed or abandoned in a situation where one of the boats is clearly in a position to win. There have even been situations where sailors have requested to start a re-sail with the lead they had at the time the match got abandoned.
The purpose of this article is to make all umpires aware that the ruling described above is not in accordance with the rules.
For a protest committee to give redress because of a race committee action, there has to be 'an improper action or omission by the race committee' (rule 62.1(a)). Thus the question is whether the race committee abandoning the match in the example above was an improper action or omission? Let us look at the rule that applies:
Rule 27.3 says: 'Before the starting signal, the race committee may for ANY REASON postpone or abandon the race.'
Since the race committee could abandon for any reason, the postponement could not be an improper action. Therefore, a competitor cannot be entitled to redress when the race committee postpones or abandons before the start.
The Racing Rules of Sailing includes a list of circumstances under which a race committee may shorten or abandon a race that has already started. For match racing, those specifications have been replaced by the following standard SI:
RRS 32 is deleted and replaced with: 'After the starting signal the RC may abandon or shorten any match for ANY REASON, after consulting with the match umpires when practical.'
Again, it is within the race committee's jurisdiction to decide when to postpone or abandon a match that has been started. Although there are circumstances where a good race committee would never do that, it can never be judged as an improper action, because they can do it for any reason. Therefore, that decision can never lead to a competitor being given redress.
This may not always seem fair, but it is what the rules say, and as Race Officials, we are bound to follow the rules no matter how unfair it may seem; and at least it makes our rulings consistent. A different discussion is whether the race committee in the example above should have postponed the match or not. This is a key issue for the chief umpire to discuss with the race committee before the event begins.
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Procedure for Event Calls
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From time to time umpires at an event find it necessary to issue an "Event Call". This generally arises when there are difficult areas in the course, peculiarities of the boats or a situation where the rules, calls or cases do not seem to cover it.
There have been a couple of cases where the handling of event calls did not comply with the required procedure. We need to be sure that any calls that are being used at events comply with this procedure.
The procedure for issuing an event call is that once issued it only applies to that particular event and should only be issued when there is no alternative. The Chief Umpire MUST then submit the call to ISAF for consideratioon by the Match or Teams racing rapid response panel. This requirement is stated in Regulation 31.3.7.
If the relevant rapid response panel decides that the call is necessary, it will be issued as a "rapid Response Call" and will be valid until January 1st of the next year. The Match & Team Racing Rules Working Party will then make a recommendation to Racing Rules Committee as to whether the call should be adopted and given a call number and be included in the Call Book.
Event Calls must not be used at subsequent events unless they have been issued as a Rapid Response Call.
The ideal turn around time for an answer to a Rapid Response request is 14 days, so if you have an event call you wish to use at your next event and it is shortly after the issuing event you need to ensure that the CU sends the call in as soon as possible.
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Addendum Q and SI Appendix P
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As more and more events use various forms of umpiring, more IUs will be involved in fleet racing events. The introduction of a Medal Race in the Olympic Games triggered the creation of ISAF Addendum Q, a tailored set of rules for an umpired 10 boat race.
The addendum and the related documents is a mixture of fleet, match and team racing rules and procedures. Most IUs will probably find it easy to adapt to umpiring after this addendum.
Positioning and communication is similar to match and/or team racing, boat to boat situations are being resolved by competitors protesting each other, and the umpires should then wait and see whether any boat takes a penalty. If no boat takes a penalty, the umpires give a decision. It has been decided that the penalties are the same, whether voluntarily taken or imposed by the umpires. Sailors are nevertheless required to take a penalty when they know they have broken a rule, so there may be situations where they will get an umpire initiated penalty in addition to the imposed penalty; and there are also situations where they would normally take a penalty quickly; for instance before the starting signal there is no reason to take the risk of waiting to see how the umpires will call the situation.
The competitors' possibility for requesting redress has been reduced to a minimum. They may not request redress under rule 62.1(a), so a competitor who has been recalled may not request redress if he believes this is wrong. However, and this is important, they may talk with the umpires or the race committee and if there appears to be a real problem, the protest committee can consider giving redress or the race committee can request that the protest committee initiates a redress hearing about the matter.
For any other protests or requests for redress, the competitors must inform the race committee within a two minute window immediately after racing is completed.
Together with the addendum there are documents with advice to competitors, to umpires and to organisers.
Most classes will also be judging rule 42 on the water using a yellow flag. ISAF has decided that for the 2008 Olympic Games, the version of Appendix P that will be printed in the next rule book is to be used. A special version for introduction in the sailing instructions has been produced by ISAF and is already being used at almost all major events for the Olympic classes.
SI Appendix P was presented in a recent Race Officials News Flash - published on January 8 - also available on the ISAF website under 'Newsletters'.
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Read more here
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Updated Standard Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions
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The standard Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions have been updated. Please follow the link for further information.
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Read more here
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Updated Grading forms
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The grading forms for Match Racing events have been updated. Please follow the link below for this.
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Read more here
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Recently Updated Race Officials Documents
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