Matthew Knowles
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Dec 7, 2009, 4:02 PM
Post #1 of 2
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Team Racing: It’s Time for the Single Flag System
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The “two step” umpire process in team racing is a relic which leads to unnecessary confusion, creates more work for crews in the midst of tight tactical situations, and often forces umpires to “green flag” situations due to an error in procedure even though a boat has broken a rule. This status quo is good for no one.
Under the current two flag system, when a boat believes an opponent has broken a rule she hails "protest" and displays a red flag, just as in fleet racing. She must then wait a short period of time to give the other boat a chance to take a penalty (usually about 10-15 seconds). If the other boat doesn't take a penalty, the protesting boat then displays a yellow flag and hails "umpire." If the protesting boat waits too little or too much time before hailing "umpire", the incident is closed and no penalty is given.
There is an easy alternative, and it has been in use in many places for some time: when there is an incident, a boat hails “protest” and displays a flag. Either or both boats may then take a penalty. If, after it is clear that no more penalties will be taken and a boat that broke a rule did not take a penalty, the umpires will signal a decision. This is the single flag system.
Single flag is merely a procedural - not a substantive - change. Unlike match racing, the responsibility for complying with and enforcing the rule remains with the competitors. When a boat breaks a rule, it is her responsibility to take a penalty. Just as in the two flag system, it only takes one competitor to get the umpires involved. Also just as in the two flag system, any single competitor can prevent the umpires from becoming involved by taking a penalty.
There are two primary advantages to the single flag system. First, competitors have much less work to do while maneuvering in tight situations following a possible rules infringement. Second, the umpires are far less likely to have to “green flag” an incident where a rule was broken because the hailing boat did not follow the two flag system properly, or the umpires simply did not see one of the two flags. This is especially true in windy and wavy conditions, such as the final day of the United States Team Race Championship (Hinman Trophy) in 2009.
The single flag system also prevents a more experienced competitor from bullying another sailor into spinning by hailing protest with no intention to request an umpire decision.
Some competitors object that there will be incidents where they want the other boat to spin, but don’t want to risk an umpire decision against them. For example, imagine that a boat in 5th place in a 1,4,5 combination makes contact with her opponent in 6th place. If the boat in 6th place takes a one-turn penalty, there is little change: the boat in 6th place will be a bit worse off, but not by much. However, if the umpires were to penalize the 5th place boat, the 1,4,5 team would now have a losing 1,4,6 combination. But such scenarios are unpersuasive; in practice, the same outcome would occur under either flag system. In this example, if the incident “could go either way” such that the 5th place boat isn’t confident the umpires will get it right, the 6th place boat will always hail for an umpire decision, since she has little to lose but much to gain. Team racing is a zero sum game.
Some competitors also note that when sailing against inexperienced teams, they may want to identity fouls and encourage the infringing boat to spin, but don’t want to be unduly harsh by involving the umpires. Of course, under either system, a competitor can just explain the foul and request a penalty without hailing protest and displaying a flag. The outcome would be the same as if, under the two flag system, the experienced competitor protested but did not request an umpire decision and the other boat refused to spin.
Umpired team racing is a hybrid of the “fleet racing” model, where sailing is an entirely self-policing sport, and match racing, where the umpires are intimately involved with enforcing the rules and competitors have no incentive to spin of their own accord. This balance is a good thing, and it wouldn’t change with the single flag system. Competitors remain in charge of enforcing and complying with the rules; the umpires’ role is merely to adjudicate disputes when the competitors cannot agree on who is at fault. Again, this is a procedural change, not a philosophical one. Everyone agrees that skill - not umpires and procedures - should determine the winner of a team race. Switching to the single flag system serves this end.
Matt Knowles, US Sailing Racing Rules Committee
(Note: the opinions above are my own and do not represent the USSRRC or anyone else)
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