Race Director Duties,  DCMYC

    The primary responsibility of the Race Director (RD) is to assure that all performance sailboat racing is conducted in accordance with the Sailing Instructions presented in the DCMYC Handbook.  The RD shall have in his possession at the sailing site a copy of Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing or a copy of the rules from Part 2 as published in the DCMYC Newsletter.  Specific duties and responsibilities for the RD include the following:

    1.    The RD should arrive at the sailing location at least one (1) hour before scheduled start time to set up the course and equipment.  The Regatta Captain may or may not be present to assist.

    2.    The RD shall assemble all skippers for a pre-race briefing five (5) to ten (10) minutes prior to start time.  The briefing will describe course to be sailed, rounding, number of laps, location of start and finish lines, rules needing emphasis, and any other items the RD feels important.

    3.    The RD will act as official starter to include starting the countdown tape and observing the start line, calling the sail number of any boat starting early, and verifying correct restarts as necessary.  The RD will recall and restart the entire fleet if unable to identify early starters.

    4.    The RD shall act as racing judge during sailing, including the pre-start period of the heat.  The RD shall accompany and observe the main flock of boats and judge Mark rounding, call sail numbers of boats contacting or missing Marks, and verify penalty turns or reroundings as necessary.

    5.    The RD cannot call a protest but may act as a neutral observer in disputes between skippers, and verify completion of penalty turns.  If a protest cannot be settled during sailing, the RD shall, immediately following the heat in question, settle the dispute, to include adjusting the scoring as necessary.  The RD may seek assistance to review and resolve the dispute.

    6.    The scoring sheet should remain at the finish line.  If an uncontested win is expected, an early finisher will act as score keeper until the RD is free of other judging duties.

    7.    The RD may disqualify a skipper for an entire race for repetitive rule violations or non-conformance to a class rule.

    8.    The RD may cancel or terminate a race only in the event of lightning or other occurrences that may affect the physical safety of the participating skippers.

    9.    The RD decisions are indisputable and final and may be overruled by a club officer only for reasons of Safety.

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    August 3, 2002