RRS A5.3 (A9) DNC/Late Entrants Definition Issues

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Background

There are several issues with the current scoring definitions.

Key among them is the ambiguity of RRS A5.3 (A9) which currently reads.

“A5.3:    RACE SCORES IN A SERIES LONGER THAN A REGATTA

For a series that is held over a period of time longer than a regatta, a boat that came to the starting area but did not start, did not finish, retired or was disqualified shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats that came to the starting area. A boat that did not come to the starting area shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series”

The last sentence (in bold italics) can be interpreted to mean at the end of the series OR in that race of the series.

The majority of clubs take this to mean entrants as of that race. This is how TopYacht has always handled DNCs and is recommended for Clubs to reflect in their Sailing Instructions.

The concept of “in the series” meaning “the total number of entrants by the end of the series” is totally impractical to implement.

Explanation

Consider the start of a series. At ace R1 there are 20 boats. A DNC is 21 points (low point).

Two additional boats join the series at Race 3. With 22 boats, a DNC is now 23 point etc.

In the meantime, Race 1 results are printed and distributed to sailors and placed on the Internet, As are subsequent races.

Similarly, series scores progressively are displayed.

Some clubs may award prizes for “half series” series scores (before Christmas / After Christmas etc) at the appropriate time.

Now, consider the implications of retrospectively and repeated alter scores whenever a new series entrant joins. The results management process becomes unmanageable if all DNC Scores in previous races are altered every time a new boat entered the series. All previous results would need to be republished as both individual race scores and series scores alter. It is possible that a “half series” winner has its scores altered and thus is no longer the winner, even though they have already received the prize. Additionally, competitors will not have an accurate estimate of their series score until late in the series.

‘Traditional Late-Entry’ Handling

Early in the development of TopYacht we asked a number of clubs what they wanted.

  • They responded that they wanted a ‘Late Entrant’ system that
  • Encouraged folks to join the Series as early as possible; and
  • Did not adversely affect scores of boats in earlier races whenever a new boat entered a Series

Thus the” Late Entrant” score was born in TopYacht and had been the only ‘Late Entrant’ handling method provided until late 2012.

DNC Handling in TopYacht

TopYacht provides several options for the scoring of Late Entrant/DNC scores.

  • For race entrants a DNC for any race is Series entrants as at that race, plus 1.
  • A DNC score for a race is the number of series entrants as at that race, plus 1. For races in which they were not an entrant, Late Entrants are marked as DNC (not LATE) and given the DNC score that previously existed for each race in which they are a Late Entrant.
  • Clubs may choose to define a DNC in their Sailing Instructions to “be starters plus 2’ (or 3), rather than entrants as of that race, plus 1. This alternative provides the same score for a boat who was an entrant as of that race and for boats that join the Series after it.
  • DNC score is ‘the number of boats entered in the series, as of the last race, plus 1. DNC scores are not calculated on a race by race basis. They are computed each time the Series Scores are viewed.

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