1. SCORING
Opening series
- All participating crews will race in the opening series races.
- Scoring uses a “low point” scoring system whereby the winner of each race is awarded one point; second place is awarded two points, etc. Failure to finish the race, or a disqualification earns the competitor a number of points equal to the total number of competitors plus one, e.g. if there are 20 competitors, a failure to finish would earn a team 21 points.
- A boat’s series score for the regatta will be the total of her race scores from the opening series races and the medal race.
- When fewer than five races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores.
- When five or more races have be completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores, excluding her worst score.
- When 11 or more races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores, excluding her two worst scores.
Medal Race
- All competitors will advance to the Medal Race.
- Competitors will carry their series scores (i.e. total of race scores after discard) through to the Medal Race.
- Race scores for the Medal Race will be weighted. Points are doubled (i.e. two points for first, four points for second, and so on) and added to the series score. Scores for the Medal Race may not be discarded.
- Any series tie after the Medal Race will be broken in favour of the boat finishing higher in the Medal Race.
- If the Medal Race is not completed, medals will be awarded based on the series score for all the prior races. If two or more competitors are tied on overall points at the end of the competition, a two-stage tie-break procedure is used. The tie-breaks are broken in favour of the competitor who has:
1) the most number of 1st places, then 2nd places, etc.
2) achieved a higher placing in the last race of the event.
2. JUDGING
Unlike sports such as football or baseball, where all the action is centred around a single location near the ball, the action in sailing is spread out over a wide area with up to 30 boats all taken different routes in order to sail the course as fast as possible. Therefore it is impossible to have direct judging in such a race. Sailing has a system of “self policing” whereby if a team feels that they have been infringed by another team on the water, they can call to the other boat to sail a penalty turn (sailing in a tight circle twice, commonly referred to as a “720”).
If the team fails to accept the penalty, or an official observes an infringement of the rules, a “protest” is filed by the competitor or official after racing has finished and a hearing is convened. There is a time limit of one hour after the end of racing for the day in which a protest may be filed with officials; therefore it is quite common for results to be amended one to two hours after the completion of racing. Protests are more common than in most other sports and are a normal part of the sport. The most common rule infringements for disqualification are when two boats are crossing on opposite tacks and when rounding marks.
3. SCHEDULE OF RACES
Because sailing is very weather dependant, the competition schedule is regularly changed as a result of not enough wind, too much wind, or unstable wind. Any changes to the schedule for the next day are posted on the Internet no later than 6 p.m. every evening. The schedule will show the scheduled time of the first race, the number of races for the day, and also which event will be on each racing area. If weather conditions on any given day are not ideal, racing may also be delayed from the scheduled start time until such time as the wind is considered suitable for racing by the race officials, who are referred to as the Race Committee.
16 races are scheduled for each event, of the 16 races 15 are scheduled as opening races and one as a medal race. The medal race will be scheduled on the day designated for each class’s medal ceremony, even if the full schedule has not been completed by that day. No more than three races of an event will be sailed on one day. If a race cannot start due to the prevailing weather conditions, that race is postponed to a later day.
There is a reserve day in case it is not possible to complete the Medal Race on the scheduled date.
4. COURSE LAYOUTS
The following diagrams show the two types of courses used in competition – Trapezoid and Windward/Leeward. The order of rounding may vary as a windy day may allow more rounding than on a light day. However the basic layouts will remain the same. The following are sample diagrams only: