We all plan for race day with care. Maybe you do careful preparation for things that could go wrong, with simple ‘if…then…’ mental mapping to get things back on track. These are very useful and worthwhile things to do in preparation, as they enable you to stay calm and deliver on race-day. We saw this from Georgia Taylor-Brown in the Olympics when she rode the last section of the bike leg on a flat tyre and got a Silver medal – partly due to her calm delivery when things went wrong.

This last weekend racing in Jersey, she had a different issue – a disqualification (DQ) that she needed to protest (and was successfully over-turned). This was a complex question about misdirection, running the missed section later in the run leg to complete the distance and a judgement by the Technical Officer.

Rules are rules

How close are you to the rulebook? The British Triathlon Federation (BTF) rulebook runs to 53 A4 pages and is normally updated annually.

The piece that you need to be aware of as a triathlete competing under BTF rules on Race Day is that if you need to appeal, then it all needs to happen very fast:

• You need to notify the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of your appeal (whether for a time penalty or disqualification) within 15 minutes of finishing. Or within 15 minutes of the notification being posted (whichever is later – as sometimes Disqualifications get updated after you have finished)
• You need to fill out the BTF appeals form which will be provided to you by the CTO and submit a £30 fee. Pack your chequebook – they will allow cheques!
• The hearing will be on the same day as the race and you must be present.
• You are allowed to bring witnesses (if relevant) and they are allowed to speak for up to 3 mins each in the hearing. But your coach and other support staff are not allowed to be present in the hearing.
• You will need to present your case, and how this fits with the rulebook. Also worth understanding that you will go first in the hearing (the CTO will leave the room for your part, and then come in after your section to present the Technical Officers’ actions and how that fits with the rule book, then the witnesses).
• The decision is a simple majority from the jury.

This is a simple summary – and you can read more in section 3 (penalties) and section 13 (appeals) in the rulebook. And bear in mind, that this was based on the current rulebook: it may be updated before your next race!

So what should you do?

My suggestions are:

1. Accept that triathlon is a technical sport and that knowing the rules is an important skill.
2. Read the rule book at the start of the season – maybe even set a quiz for each other in your training group so that you get on top of the intricacies in a fun way.
3. Print off a copy of the current rulebook and put it in your race bag, so that you have it if needed on race day.
4. Pack your chequebook, so that you can appeal if needed.
5. Prepare an ‘if…then…’ scenario for appealing a mistaken disqualification – you want to be able to do this on the day, as just letting it ride and stay on your record forever could have unintended consequences.