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GENERAL RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR SPORT
Water Safety Ireland
GENERAL RULES AND PROCEDURES
1.1 CODE OF CONDUCT
Code of conduct for competitors, technical officials and members WSI National
championships and WSI Provincial competitions are high profile public events. WSI
expects all competitors, officials and members to co-operate to ensure a positive
public image. Behaviour likely to cause embarrassment or damage to the image of
WSI or lifesaving competition will be referred to the Disciplinary Committee.
Penalties may include expulsion of individuals or teams from the competition. WSI
expects the highest standard of conduct of its competitors, officials and members.
These expectations are reflected in the rules for competition in the ILSE
constitution and ILSE Competition Rulebook. For the purpose of applying the code
of conduct, the definition of a „team‟ includes actual competitors, coaches,
assistants, spectators, etc., travelling with the team. Violations of this code will
result in individual and/or team disqualification from the competition.
1. Fair-play code for lifesaving competitions. It is important that competitions,
be conducted in a spirit of goodwill and sportsmanship. Competitors are
required to abide by and compete within the rules. Any breach of the rules
will be reported to the Chief Referee who may initiate action as described in
3.2 in the rule book.
Misconduct.
2. Team members represent their county, their organisation, their club, their
sponsors and WSI. As such, team members shall at all times conduct
themselves in a proper and civil manner during the championships and
related activities including social functions. Unbecoming conduct by a team
or its supporters is a serious offence and will be dealt with as such. Any
action by a team which attempts to disrupt or interfere with another team is
a serious offence and will be dealt with as such. The general conduct of all
participants will be measured by the following WSI code of fair play:
a) WSI will:
 Promote and encourage fair play through its members.
 Impress upon competitors, coaches, technical officials and administrators the need to maintain the highest standards of sportsmanship and good behaviour in lifesaving sport.
 Ensure that its rules are fair, clearly understood by competitors, coaches, technical officials and administrators, and properly enforced.
 Make every effort to ensure that its rules are applied consistently and impartially.
 Treat all members equally, regardless of gender, race or physical characteristics.
 Make all reasonable provision to accommodate competitors with disabilities provided that there is no competitive disadvantage to other competitors in the event being contested.
b) WSI technical officials will:
 Abide by the rules and the spirit of the competition.
 Be honest, fair and ethical in dealing with others.
 Be professional in appearance, action and language.
 Resolve conflicts fairly and promptly through established procedures.
 Maintain strict impartiality.
 Maintain a safe environment for others.
 Be respectful and considerate of others.
 Be a positive role model.
c) Competitors will:
 Abide by the rules and the spirit of the competition.
 Accept the decisions of Referees and Judges without question or complaint.
 Never consider cheating and in particular, not attempt to improve their individual performance by the use of drugs.
 Exercise reasonable self-control at all times.
 Accept success and failure, victory and defeat, with grace and magnanimity.
 Treat their fellow competitors and team members with respect, both in and outside the competition arena.
d) Team managers and coaches will:
 Insist that competitors understand and abide by the principles of fair play.
 Never countenance the use of drugs by competitors.
 Never employ methods or practices that could involve risks, however slight, to the long-term health or physical development of their competitors.
 Not attempt to manipulate the rules in order to take advantage of their competitors or their opponents.
 Respect the regulations and authority of WSI and not attempt to avoid or circumvent these regulations.
 Recognise the special role that they have to play in WSI and set a good example of sportsmanship and good behaviour at all times.
 Respect the rights of other teams and never deliberately act in a manner intended to be to the detriment of another team.
 Respect the rights of competitors, coaches, technical officials and not exploit or deliberately act in a manner detrimental to them.
 Not endeavour to influence the result of a competition by any action not strictly within the rules and regulations or within the fundamental precepts of fair play.
e) Delegates, media representatives, supporters and spectators will:
 Respect the authority and regulations of WSI and not attempt to avoid or circumvent them.
 Accept the authority of technical officials.
 Abide by the spirit of the competitions.
 Exercise reasonable self-control and display good behaviour at all times.
 Be respectful and considerate in interactions with others.
 Acknowledge the performance of all involved in the competition with grace and magnanimity.
MISCONDUCT
1. Conduct and discipline generally WSI, either by pre-determined publicised penalties or by adopting the decision of a disciplinary committee, may, at its discretion, issue penalties to individual competitors, or County l teams.
2. Competing unfairly
a) Competitors or teams who are deemed to have competed unfairly may be disqualified from an event or expelled from the championships. The Chief Referee may refer the competitor or team to the disciplinary committee for consideration of further penalty. Examples of competing unfairly include:
 Committing a doping or doping-related infraction.
 Impersonating another competitor.
 Competing twice in the same individual event as per ILSE rule book.
 Competing twice in the same event in different teams.
 Purposely interfering with a course to gain an advantage.
 Jostling or obstructing other competitors or handlers so as to impede their progress.
 Receiving physical or material outside assistance (other than verbal or other direction except where specifically excluded by the rules of the event).
b) The Chief Referee and/or the relevant technical official(s) shall have absolute discretion in determining whether a competitor, team or handler has competed unfairly.
c) WSI may, in its absolute discretion, investigate and take action on any matter of “competing unfairly” prior to, during or following competition. This includes, but is not limited to, the return of medals and referral to the disciplinary committee.
3. Serious discipline offence
a) If a competitor or team commits what could be a serious discipline offence, they should immediately contact the WSI Sports Committee and detail the circumstances. Failure to report a possible violation is itself an offence against WSI rules.
b) Allegations of a serious discipline offence shall be referred to the Disciplinary Committee.
c) If the Chief Referee disqualifies a competitor or team for a serious offence in competition, the referee may also choose to make a report to the Disciplinary Committee which may decide to apply a further penalty against the competitor or team and its members.
4. Disciplinary Committee
a) The WSI Sports Commission shall appoint a Disciplinary Committee consisting of no less than three members.
b) The host organising committee shall supply the Disciplinary Committee with the name, contact address and phone number at the competition site of the manager of every participating team.
c) The Disciplinary Committee shall inquire into any written complaint of misconduct or any matter referred to it by the Appeals Committee or Chief Referee. The committee may also initiate an inquiry to determine if an offence has been committed and make a complaint if appropriate. The committee may then proceed as if another person had made the complaint.
d) The committee may assign appropriate penalties including removal from or disqualification from the championships and forfeiture of titles or trophies.
e) The committee shall report in writing on its inquiries and decisions to the WSI Sports Commission.
f) Complaints must be received in writing or the complainant must be prepared to attend a meeting or inquiry of the committee as and when required.
g) The member or members against whom the complaint is made shall be entitled to be present at every hearing accompanied by the team manager.
h) All persons involved in a disciplinary hearing or enquiry or an Appeals Committee hearing must abide by and strictly observe the WSI Code of Conduct set out in this Section. In particular, but without limitation, all persons involved in such hearings or enquire must:
 Be honest, fair and ethical.
 Be respectful and considerate of others.
 Exercise reasonable self-control at all times.
 Be truthful and treat all persons involved in good faith and with courtesy and respect.
i) Inquiry guidelines:
 Formal rules of evidence will not apply to the hearing or enquiry, but all persons involved must be truthful and act in good faith.
 The complaint or reference to the committee shall be read to the competitor(s) or to the team(s‟) representative(s).
 The evidence of the complainant shall be presented.
 The evidence of the team member(s) against whom the complaint has been made shall be presented.
 Each witness shall be subject to examination by the party (if any) on whose behalf the witness is called and then to cross-examination by the opposing party or parties. The party calling the witness shall have the right to re-examination, but no other examination shall be allowed except by leave of the committee.
 Hearsay and irrelevant evidence shall not be admitted.
 Witnesses other than the party charged shall remain out of hearing of the inquiry until called upon to give evidence.
j) Notification of findings: The committee shall make its decisions in camera. If the complaint is proved, the committee may impose a penalty. Notice of the finding and the penalty shall be given forthwith in writing by the chair of the committee to the team member concerned, to his or her team, and to the county to which the team comes from. The finding and penalty (if any) shall be effective forthwith.
1.3 DISQUALIFICATIONS AND “DID NOT FINISH” CLASSIFICATIONS
Competitors or teams may be disqualified from an event or from the entire competition. Where a competitor is disqualified for any reason, in a heat or a final, the place he or she would have held shall be awarded to the competitor who finished next and all lower
placing competitors shall be advanced one place. Where a competitor is disqualified for any reason, the final event results shall not include a place or time for the competitor.
Competitors may protest or appeal any disqualification (see 3.4 for details).
a) Did not finish (DNF): Where a competitor does not finish an event for any reason, in a heat or a final, the place he or she would have held shall be awarded to the competitor who finished next and all lower placing competitors shall be advanced one place. Where a competitor does not finish an event, the event results shall not include a place or time for the competitor.
b) Disqualification from competition: Examples of behaviour which may result in disqualification of individuals or teams from the competition include:
 Refusing to fulfil the conditions of entry.
 Breach of the WSI code of conduct or rules.
 The impersonation or use of unauthorised competitors.
 Activities resulting in wilful damage to the venue sites, accommodation sites or the property of others.
 Abuse of technical officials.
c) Disqualification from events: Examples of behaviour, which may result in disqualification of individuals or teams from an event, include:
 Being absent at the start of an event.
 Infraction of the “General conditions” for events or infraction of event rules.
d) Competitors shall be notified of their disqualification from an event by the Chief Referee or appropriate Judge, at the completion of the race. Competitors shall not leave the designated competition area until dismissed by the Chief Referee or appropriate technical official.
e) If an error by an official follows a fault by a competitor, the fault by the competitor may be expunged at the Chief Referee‟s discretion.
See Appendices for disqualification (DQ) codes.
1.4 PROTESTS AND APPEALS
The WSI Sports Commission reserves the right to delete, alter or otherwise vary any rule, competition criteria, timetable or other matter as it deems necessary. Every effort will be made to ensure that each team manager receives notice. Protests resulting from such WSI Sports Commission decisions will not be entertained. In addition, event courses and the competition area may change from the descriptions in this if the referee deems it necessary and providing teams have been advised of the change before the start of that event.
A competitor or team manager may protest to a referee, and subsequently dispute a referee‟s decision in the manner prescribed below. See Appendices for Protest/Appeal Form.
1. Types of protests
Protests, which may lead to the imposition of penalties, fall broadly into the following categories:
 Protests arising from entry procedures or entry eligibility.
 Protests arising from scrutinising or equipment eligibility.
 Protests arising during participation in the competition and/or breaches of rules.
2. Lodging a protest
The conditions relating to the lodgement of protests shall be as follows:
a) No protest shall be accepted which is a direct challenge to Judges‟ order-of-finish decisions.
b) A protest against the conditions under which an event or race is to be conducted must be made verbally to the Chief Referee prior to the event or race. Before the start of the event or race, the Chief Referee or appointed technical official shall inform the competitors in that event or race of such a protest.
c) A protest against a competitor or a team or against a decision of an official must be lodged verbally with the Chief Referee within 15 minutes of the posting of the result of the event or within 15 minutes of being notified verbally by the Chief Referee of the decision, whichever occurs first. Within 15 minutes of the submission of the verbal protest, a protest written in English shall be lodged with the Chief Referee.
d) The official result of an event shall be withheld until any protest is decided.
e) The result of the protest shall be noted on the back of the event result card and also on the protest form.
f) There shall be no protest fee. There is a fee payable whenever a matter is referred to the appeals committee, whether by the Chief Referee directly or by a team appealing a Referee‟s decision.
3. Adjudication of protests
The conditions relating to the adjudication of protests shall be:
a) Immediately after the correct lodgement of a protest, the Chief Referee may adjudicate on the matter as provided for herein or refer the matter directly to the appeals committee convenor.
b) If the Chief Referee adjudicates the matter forthwith, the decision may be appealed to the appeals committee. Such appeal must be lodged with the appeals committee convenor within 30 minutes of the decision of the protest being advised to the competitor, accompanied by the appeal fee. If the appeal is upheld, the fee is returned: if ruled against, the fee is forfeit.
c) The assistance of video or other electronic equipment may be used to consider protests. However, the onus is on the protester to provide a viewing within 30 minutes of the protest being lodged with the Chief Referee, and to provide proof of its authenticity.
4. Appeals Committee
The WSI Sports Commission shall appoint a person of suitable experience and practical knowledge to act as the appeals committee convenor. The WSI Sports Commission shall appoint appeals committee members of sufficient number to enable at least two committees of three persons to sit simultaneously. The Appeals Committee Convenor selects members of the Appeals Committee, based on their backgrounds and experience, to adjudicate individual cases. While three people should ordinarily sit on an appeals committee, the quorum for an Appeals Committee shall be two persons. The membership of an Appeals Committee shall not include a person who has previously participated in the making of the decision that is the subject of dispute.
a) The Appeals Committee shall deal with all protest referred to it by the Chief Referee or Appeals Committee Convenor.
b) The Appeals Committee shall rule on the appeal and advise the competitor and relevant technical officials of its decision and any penalty imposed (including a penalty other than disqualification). Reasons for the decision may be briefly given verbally and on the protest form.
c) The decision of the Appeals Committee shall be final, without the right of appeal.
d) The Appeals Committee may refer serious breaches of the WSI Code of Conduct to the Disciplinary Committee.
e) There shall be a fee payable whenever a matter is referred to the Appeals Committee, whether by the Chief Referee directly or by a team appealing a Referee‟s decision.
f) The Appeals Committee shall adjudicate after both sides have had an opportunity to state their case.
g) Guidelines for an Appeals Committee inquiry are similar to the Disciplinary Committee procedure (see 3.2).
h) The assistance of video or other electronic equipment may be used to consider appeals. However, the onus is on the appellant to provide a viewing within 30 minutes of the appeal being lodged with the Appeals Committee Convenor, and to provide proof of its authenticity.
i) After hearing all available and relevant evidence, the Appeals Committee shall make its decision in camera.
j) The decision to uphold (i.e., agree with) the protest or to dismiss (i.e., rule against) the protest shall be delivered verbally or in writing to the competitor and/or team member concerned, to the Chief Referee and Appeals Committee Convenor.
1 .5 DOPING CONTROL
1. Drug policy
WSI has a policy of drug-free competition with possible drug testing for all WSI National championships, WSI Provincial championships. A violation of the WSI Anti-Doping Rules leads to disqualification of an athlete's individual results including forfeiture of points, medals and prizes in individual events. In a team event, if a member of a team violates the WSI Anti-Doping Rules, the entire team shall be disqualified from that event with the attendant loss of points, medals and prizes.

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