Performance Handicapping: A Sailor’s-Guide

PHS in this document means “Performance Handicap System”. It relates to a handicap system that adjusts a boat’s handicap after each race based on the “performance” of that boat relative to another boat(s) in that particular fleet.

From the TopYacht point of view, PHS is the mathematics used to calculate the new handicap for each boat after each race. TopYacht provides over 20 parameters that the club can adjust to calculate the next handicap.

“Measured Boat” Handicapping.

Measured boat handicapping is where a number of dimensions and criteria such as weight of a boat are measured and these are input into a special computer formula. The formula will then provide a handicap figure that is designed to make this boat as ‘equivalent’ as possible to other measured boats using the same model. To make matters more complex, there are several different models that produce different outcomes. The Measured boat handicap value remains constant for the life of the boat. Boats may require remeasuring if the ‘officials’ elect to change the model, or the owner carries out some alterations to the boat or rig.  Measured boat handicapping is not the topic of this paper.

“Performance” Handicapping (PHS).

Measured performance strives to provide handicaps for all competitors by comparing their performance with the performance of other competitors. Note the deliberately used term “competitor”. Under this system the boat along with its skipper and crew are being compared with other “competitors”. The same boat with a different crew may perform somewhat differently. Measured performance handicapping makes no attempt to distinguish whether the performance is due to the boat or her crew but rather they are consider as a single entity called a ”competitor”.

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