A Protest Committee shall be formed on each day of a sanctioned event and will consist of three (3) judges. The three (3) appointed judges will be volunteers selected at the Drivers meeting from members present from other states firstly, selected from members present from affiliated clubs other than the host club secondly or selected from the host club if there are no other members present from any other affiliated club. The same volunteer/s, if they are present, maybe appointed for all days of competition at an event. The Contest Director cannot be appointed to the Protest Committee.

• The Protest Committee shall deliberate on protests when required and shall then announce the verdict.
• The Protest Committee only requires a single vote majority to make a decision.
• The verdict of the Protest Committee can only be appealed to the Contest Director for review along with the Organizing body of the event and their decision is final.

Every competitor has the right to lodge a protest and is required to inform the Contest Director when it is their intention to do so. A protest can be submitted if;

• The current AMPBA Race Rules are violated by a competitor;
• The current AMPBA Race Rules are violated by an official or the competition program.
• Instructions issued at the drivers briefing are outside of those conditions specified in the entry form.

Should a protest be lodged regarding hull classifications, the competitor is still permitted to compete in the nominated class but the standing of the results will depend on the findings of the committee dealing with the protests.

The lodging of a protest does not prevent a competitor from taking part in the remainder of the event. If, as a result of the protest, a competitor withdraws from the class or event, then the relative protest shall be withdrawn.

The protest shall be lodged in writing within one (1) hour of the relative run or prior to confirmation of the results and should include:

• Time and place of the incident
• Declaration of the relative point of the race rules, which, in the opinion of the protester, has been violated.
• Description of the incident with, where possible, necessary sketches and names of eyewitnesses.
• At the same time that a competitor lodges a protest, the protester must pay the Lodgment Fee to the Contest Director.

The amount of the Protest Fee shall be set by the AMPBA at each AGM and the amount shall be stated by the event organizers on the entry form. If the protest is upheld by the Protest Committee, then the fee shall be returned to the protester.

A written protest, once submitted, cannot be returned with the fee. A withdrawn protest is to be treated as one that is rejected.

The publication of the final results of each event, the awarding of prizes, medallions, and certificates, shall only take place after all protests are dealt with.

The Protest Committee, when receiving a protest, shall call the competitor concerned and any eye
witnesses, to obtain the necessary facts, etc., of the incident.

The verdict of the Protest Committee must be made known to the competitor concerned and, if required, the verdict and reasons must be given in writing. In the case of the competitor concerned not accepting the verdict, he or she has the right of appeal, at the same time depositing a new lodgment fee. The protest shall then be re-examined by the Contest Director and Officials of the organizing body. THEIR DECISION IS FINAL.

Representatives appointed to the Protest committee cannot be a participant in the class or event concerned in the protest unless there is only one class or event being held on that day of the regatta. The affected representatives may only be called as witnesses. In this instance, new representatives must be appointed to participate in the Protest committee to deal with the protest at that time.