Gross Misconduct at Laser PCC's

There has been spirited commentary this week in the Scuttlebutt Forums (and other forums) regarding an item that Scuttlebutt posted earlier this week (click here to read). The jury chairman from the Laser Pacific Coast Championship had sent us a copy of the Facts Found from a protest hearing during the event, with the severity of the incident destined for a Rule 69 ruling.

For those not savvy in the racing rules, Rule 69 is a part of the book that you want to avoid. This rule deals with bad behavior, or as stated, applies when "a competitor may have committed a gross breach of a rule, good manners or sportsmanship, or may have brought the sport into disrepute."

These incidents are rare. However, when they occur, the "due process" related to the incident takes time, and when a ruling, if any, is announced, the impact of the ruling has been lessened. Impact? Yes, impact.

If you do something wrong, get caught doing it with an audience, and get punished immediately, there is a strong impact on that audience. However, once you add time to that process, well, time heals all wounds, and memories are short. And with time goes the impact.

There has been some criticism of Scuttlebutt posting this information on our Forums, and doing so before "due process" has occurred. Our intention was to profile the incident in hopes that it will heighten awareness to hopefully keep events like this from reoccurring. An overwhelming majority of the comments seem to concur with our sentiment.

We are certain that US Sailing will do what is neccessary and within their power. We know that the Laser Class is very concerned, particularly as this is the second Rule 69 incident for the class within the last year (the other occurring at the 2005 NA's). As the amount of committment needed to compete at the top end of the sport continues to increase, it would be a shame if misconduct would follow this upward trend. Hopefully it won't. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt