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      Judges
### Rules/Officiating
# Judges
## Judges are responsible for:
* Conducting protest and redress hearings when there may have been a breach of the rules
* Conducting arbitration hearings
* Enforcing Rule 42 (Propulsion) on the water at fleet racing events
* Consulting with organizers and race officers ahead of events to review race documents and procedures
#### A complete description of the responsibilities and functions of the Judges Committee and the Regional Administrative Judges (RAJ), as well as qualifications for US Sailing Club Judges, Judges, National Judges and International Judges, is available in both the *Continuing Education* and *Judges Program* documentation using links provided at the bottom of this page.
### Personal Attributes of Race Officials
Because race officials play an important role in ensuring the fairness and quality of competition, racing sailors and US Sailing expect a high level of personal integrity and judicial temperament of certified race officials. To learn more about standards of personal conduct for race officials and how they are evaluated, please click on the button below.
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## Program History
Before the US Sailing Judges Program was created in 1977, a set of criteria was established for certification as a US Sailing Judge, which included experience in racing and race management, service on protest committees and a high standard of personal integrity. Application was by resume and supported by personal references. RAJs handled applications in their geographic area.
In 1995, the US Sailing Board of Directors asked the Judge Committee to improve the quality of the Judges Program, to review the procedures used in appointing and reappointing judges and to consider training and testing. In 1998 the Judge Committee introduced a new set of standards for the US Sailing Judges Program. These standards require experience in racing, race management, and protest committee work as well as attending a workshop and passing a written open-book test.   The seminar and test must be taken every four years.
Standards of personal behavior are more explicit than they have been in the past. Those seeking initial certification or renewal as a US Sailing Judge must meet the high standards of integrity, fairness and judicial temperament found in . Certified or not, all judges serving on protest committees should meet these standards.
When a protest committee is on duty afloat or ashore and the chair is a US Sailing Judge, they may display the US Sailing Judges Flag.
The standards also recognized that individuals might engage in different judging paths based on their experience and abilities. The Judges Program established qualifications and standards for Club Judges, Judges, National Judges, and the US Sailing procedure for nominating ISAF International Judges. The qualifications required for certification for each of these different paths are described in the US Sailing .
#### useful links
## Judges Committee & Regional Administrative Judges
#### The Judges Committee develops supports and certifies judges within the US.
The Judges Committee also maintains the training and testing programs for certification; assists sailing organizations in obtaining qualified judges for events; provides support and advice on the roles and conduct of judges at US Sailing events; investigates complaints against judges; and submits candidates for approval by the Board as nominees for World Sailing International Judges.
#### Regional Administrative Judges (RAJs) are the judge administrators in each of US Sailing’s Areas.
The RAJ is responsible for recruiting, encouraging and guiding members who wish to take a judge course, become certified, recertified or upgrade their certification level. RAJs also help organizers recruit judges for their events, place judges at events, schedule training seminars and answer judging and protest-related questions from members.
### For more information about judges and judging, please contact your RAJ, who is identified by his or her Area in the table below.
## judge guidelines & documents
#### 
*  to *The Racing Rules of Sailing*
*  - NoR and SI Guides & Templates
*  – a free pdf for US Sailing members
*  – guidance from the US Sailing Judges Committee on conducting online hearings
*  - download, print and cut out paper boats
* s (v. 2023.07.28) – guidelines for ensuring conclusions are derived from facts found
*  – a table defining the continuing education values for educational events
*  - 2nd Edition *-*guidance for the members of the Judges’ Committee
**Appeals Committee Credit** - Judges who serve on Association Appeals Committees or the US Sailing Appeals Committee can receive Continuing Education credit (20 units per appeal) for appeals they participate in deciding. Please read about recording .
#### Useful Protest Committee Documents
* ** (former protest form)**
  The US Sailing 2021-2024 Hearing Request Form replaces the front page of the former Protest Form and can be used by competitors to file protests, redress requests, and requests to reopen a hearing.
  The US Sailing 2021-2024 Hearing Decision Form replaces the back page of the former Protest Form and is for use only by protest committees for rendering decisions on protests, requests for redress and requests to reopen.
*   (Has common header and footer for use in customizing for one event)
#### Useful Event Checklists
The Judges Committee and the Judges Education, Training and Testing Subcommittee (JETTS) provide the following checklists for members of a Protest Committee. These correspond to and, in some cases supplement, the checklists found in *The Judges' Manual for 2017-2020*. Additionally, these are utilized for certain exercises during Judge Seminars. Appendix M of *The Racing Rules of Sailing* is an additional resource for Judges looking for such type of tools. JETTS will periodically collect and add additional checklists, as appropriate.
* Checklist 1 
* Checklist 2 
* Checklist 3 
* Checklist 4 
* Checklist 5 
## Judges Committee Newsletters
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |
## Judges Committee Meeting Minutes
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  | Dec 2024 |  |
###### On This Page: Rules/Officiating
###### ALSO IN RULES/OFFICIATING
###### On This Page: Judges
###### ALSO IN JUDGES
###### Quick Links
* [Insurance Solutions by
  Risk Strategies – Gowrie Group
!!
## Rules/Officiating
#### ON DECK
* !!
  Andrew Clouston
  SVP Programs & Services
  Email Andrew Clouston
  Matthew Hill
  Race Administration Director
  Email Matthew Hill
  401-342-7948
  Judie McCann
  Race Administration Coordinator
  Email Judie McCann
  401-342-7945
**Ran Aground Online?**
 Phone: 1-800-877-2451 Email: info@ussailing.org
Office Hours: M-F, 8:30am – 5:00pm ET
* + 
Copyright ©2018-2025 United States Sailing Association. All rights reserved. US Sailing is a 501(c)3 organization.
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      Umpires
# Umpires
### An umpire functions as a race official by applying the rules of the sport (match racing or team racing) to racing situations, primarily on the water, as situations occur to resolve rules issues.
To umpire match and team races is no easy task, but you will find that the satisfaction of contributing to the growth of our sport and serving competitors makes the work well worth the effort.
#### Personal Attributes of Race Officials
#### Materials for Umpires
* Contact the Umpires Committee
## Umpires Committee
###### On This Page: Umpires
* Materials for Umpires
###### ALSO IN UMPIRES