Radial Race 14

1) In the protest room the judges told her a) that she was not responsible for clearing the line since they put the flag down, thats on them b) there was a judge boat right behind Annie when she did her 360 (not shown in the video) and both that boat and the protest committee said her 360 was acceptable
2) Clearly Annie is the best. She was national champ AS A FRESHMAN... and she won it again this year.
3) I know Annie. She is not a cheater, nor does she have to be

Clearly Anne is not the best if she can not win fairly. Sailing is a sport of honor and integrity, often referred to as Corinthian. Had Anne spun I believe she would have won fair and square, but she didn't and should not be crowned champion. As a role model to young sailors and a representative of the USA she should be held to the highest standard. This clear violation should not be tolerated. I think she should RAF and let this be a valuable life lesson that guides her through her sailing career. It's better to learn this now than at the Olympics! As a parent, coach, or competitor I would urge her to hold her head high, relinquish the win, and act as a true Corinthian.

Annie is the best female sailor in college. It is not important what happened the fact is she is the best. Everyone on here is pointing figures and placing blame on something when they know very little about the actual facts. Grow up and get your noses out of things you don't know about.
Congrats to Annie, Claire, and Allie on a great regatta

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she finished 3rd in this race. if that were converted to an OCS as it should be, she'd be in 4th place (after everyone else in race 14 behind her moved up a place).

What makes this so unforgivable is that she really was the third-place sailor UNDER THE RULES but crowned national champion......an honest sailor would have withdrawn.............................

I would like the see the facts found in the protest. Could they be posted (ANY ONE). If Annie said she hit the mark this is a simple closed case, she is not the National Champion as she would not win with a DSQ Now if the facts found say something else which I hope they do we would have to see what they say. They should have been posted on the Notice Board.

Hold on:

In this video we see Annie (#33) hailed over early, then going back to restart, but never crossing the starting line (she was outside the pin the whole time). Not does she finish what was apparently a penalty turn. I can't tell if she hits the mark. But wow -- this is a disgrace.

So you were there but were you in the protest room? It's easy to sit back and arm chair quarter back...

regardless of the OCS situation, she still did not complete her penalty for hitting the pin, which was established and accepted by all involved in the situation on the water. Started All Races This Weekend, thank you for clarifying for all those who were not at the event what actually went down.

In Chris' video, he comments that the X flag is not flying even though Annie did not restart. If that was the case, why would she return? If you start at the pin it is very difficult to hear sail numbers, and if the X flag is dropped, the reasonable assumption is you were not over. Congratulations to both champions.

I was on the water and witnessed the entire situation. 33 hit the mark, 36 then hit the mark. both were called over early. 36 gybed and rounded the pin end therefore clearing herself and then proceeded to tack right away to finish her 360 for hitting the mark. 33 gybed then sailed away on a close hauled course on port, never completing her 360 to clear herself from hitting the pin end. 33 claims she had to duck boats in order to complete her 360 which is why, in her words, it took her so long to tack. she also claims that she never heard her number called so she would have no reason to return to the start to clear herself but you can clearly hear her number called on the video by not only the race committee but chris as well.

in my opinion, it was an unsportsmanlike maneuver that she should not be awarded for. it is simple. if you wish to be one of the top female sailors in college sailing, don't pull cheap maneuvers like this. complete your circles and start all races. its pretty simple. even if you do not hear your number called and it is a race committee error, withdrawing from a race for your mishap is legit. people respect that.

Think About It: If you look carefully you can see that Annie did in fact start below Lihan, but Lihan still slid into the mark.

...But I still don't see anything that leads me to believe that Annie for sure hit the mark.
Again congrats to the winner

I agree with "what if", I think that Chris was just speculating as to why she gybed if not to round the pin. I certainly would not be making accusations if I wasnt absolutely sure if she hit it or not (didnt look like it to me)

1) if you watch closely it's pretty clear she didn't hit the mark since Lihan was under her. so in that case she doesn't need to spin at all.
2) it's hard to say who was really over. chris apparently thought it was 33 and 36, but then 38 also rerounds and the person in the background says that she was over too.

so i really think it's pretty ridiculous of you guys to accuse annie of cheating when you clearly don't know exactly what the situation was.

What if she thought she was over, turned down, looked at the committee boat, saw there was no Individual Recall flag up, so she kept sailing. Chris was just guessing that she hit the pin...

i hope nobody is relying on this as to whether or not she actually made contact with the mark, because there is no way of being certain with this footage.

i do agree that it obviously shows only the gybe though.
however theres no way with this video to see when the x flag came down. could it have come down as lihan was clearing by accident? if so then you can't fault haeger.
speculate all you want but but very little can be proven beyond doubt from this footage. congrats to the winner-dont forget that she did WIN

The over early part- she was responsible for that, but so was the race committee. That was their error. But the video is very clear that she only did a 270. She should have retired after the race. Bottom line.

"You haven't won the race, if in winning the race you have lost the respect of your competitors."
Paul Elvström

"Think About it" Why did she gybe out???????? answer that

Ok, maybe you all should think before you start accusing the two time champ of cheating. Do you really think she's going to knowingly cheat right in front of EVERYONE just so she can gain a boat length or two by not rounding the mark or completing a full 360, or whatever you're all accusing her of? Like she's really going to risk getting OCS or thrown out when she has a sizeable lead in the regatta, even though we all know she could easily sail her way back to the front of the fleet.

Hey come on you cant tell that she hit the mark, but i dont remember the last time i saw someone jybe out and duck the whole fleet to get a better position right after the start. YEAH RIGHT.
Taylor canfileld with the only true championship.
Leehan you should have reopened the hearing with new evidence.

Rule 69 anyone?

So the regatta was won by a sailor willing to cheat? Nice lesson for America's youth!

wait- so annie was over, spun a 270 (aka not a 360, she gybed and then went out on port as far as it looks like in the video) for hitting the mark, and nothing happens?