Alternative Scoring Systems for Long Series
Note to reader: On this page, the US Sailing Racing Rules Committee provides instructions for alternative scoring systems designed for a long series, such as a season championship spanning several weeks or months. The material presented here is the material referred to in the “US Sailing Note on Scoring a Long Series” at the end of Appendix A in the US Sailing edition of The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2021–2024. Comments on these systems are welcome. Please email comments to rules@ussailing.org. Also, the Racing Rules Committee would like to know if fleets and clubs use these alternative scoring systems. If you do, please send us an email telling us the name of your club or fleet, the event and the system you chose. Thanks!
Appendix A of the Racing Rules of Sailing contains one scoring system, the Low Point System, which is appropriate for regattas held over a weekend or a championship or race week held over several consecutive days. The system in Appendix A can also be used for scoring a series of races held over a longer period of time. In this document US Sailing presents two additional scoring systems that some fleets and clubs may find preferable for a long series that extends over a month or even an entire season. They are the High Point Percentage Scoring System and the Low Point Averaged Scoring System.
Background
The Low Point System in Appendix A assigns a race score to each boat for each race in the series, even if a boat is forced by circumstances beyond her control to miss one or more races.
Both the High Point Percentage System and the Low Point Averaged System assign a race score to a boat only for those races in which she competes. Under each of these two systems, a boat can miss some of the races without penalty provided she sails in sufficient races to qualify for the series. Therefore, she is not placed at a disadvantage if she cannot compete in all the races.
Under the High Point Percentage System, a boat's series score is the percentage of the boats that she competes against that she defeats. A boat's series score under this system is similar to a baseball player's batting average. Each time the boat races against another boat in a race, that event is equivalent to an 'at bat' in baseball. If she finishes ahead of an opponent, that is equivalent to a 'hit', and if she finishes behind an opponent that is equivalent to an 'out'. Under the Low Point Averaged System, a boat's series score is simply the average of her race scores.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Systems
High-Point Percentage Scoring System
Advantages: The High Point Percentage System has two substantial advantages over the Low Point System in Appendix A and one substantial advantage over the Low Point Averaged System. Over the course of a long series, many entrants in the series will, for any of a variety of reasons, find that they must miss one or even several races in the series. Under the High Point Percentage System, a boat 'qualifies' for a series if she sails 75% of the races in the series. Her series score is based only on the races in which she competes, and therefore, provided she sails in sufficient races to qualify for the series, she is not placed at a disadvantage if she misses some races. The Appendix A system does not have this feature. Also, the High Point Percentage System has the advantage that a boat that wins a race in which a large number of boats compete is rewarded more handsomely than a boat that wins a race against a smaller number of competitors. The Low Point Averaged System and the Appendix A system do not have this feature.
Disadvantages: The High Point Percentage System is the most complex of the systems presented here. However, anyone familiar with baseball's batting averages will easily understand the system.
Low-Point Averaged Scoring System
Advantages: Like the High Point Percentage System, the Low Point Averaged System's series scores are based only on the races in which boats compete, and therefore boats that must miss some races are not placed at a disadvantage. Series scores under the Low Point Averaged System are somewhat easier to calculate than series scores under the High Point Percentage System.
Disadvantages: Under the Low Point Percentage System, if a boat wins a race when only a few boats compete, the effect of that win on her series score is the same as if she had won when many boats were competing. This does not seem as equitable as the way in which fleet size is treated under the High Point Percentage System.
Sailing Instructions to Implement Each System
Sailing Instructions that may be used to implement these systems are shown below. Make sure that the notice of race or sailing instructions contains a description or list of races in the series. Select the preferred option if a choice or option is shown in [square brackets]. Fill in the required information in the spaces where <angled brackets> appear.
SCORING - THE HIGH POINT PERCENTAGE SYSTEM
X1. RACES TO COUNT AND MINIMUM REQUIRED
To qualify for inclusion in the final series results a boat shall compete in (come to the starting area for) at least [75 percent][<number or percentage>] of the completed races listed in [NoR<number>][SI<number>].
X2. RACE SCORES
Define 'N' to be the number of boats that compete in a particular race. Each boat finishing a race and not thereafter retiring, being penalized or given redress will be scored as follows:
Finishing place Points
First N
Second N-1
Third N-2
Fourth N-3
Each place thereafter Subtract 1 point
All other boats that compete in that race, including any that finish and thereafter retire or are disqualified, will score 0 points. Boats that do not compete in that race (DNC) will not be scored.
X3. SERIES SCORES
The series score for each boat will be a percentage calculated as follows: divide the sum of her race scores by the sum of the points she would have scored if she had placed first in every race in which she competed; multiply the result by 100.2 The qualified boat with the highest series score is the winner, and others are ranked accordingly. [Each boat’s [worst score][<number> worst scores] will be excluded. An excluded race counts as a race to qualify a boat for a series score but not as one of her scored races.]
X4. TIES AND OTHER RULES
Race ties will be scored using rule A7. Series ties will be broken using rule A8.1. Rules A1, A3, A5, A6, A9 and A10 also apply.
SCORING - LOW POINT AVERAGED SYSTEM
Y1. RACES TO COUNT AND MINIMUM REQUIRED
To qualify for inclusion in the final series results a boat shall compete in (come to the starting area for) at least [75 percent][<number or percentage>] of the completed races listed in [NoR<number>][SI<number>].
Y2. RACE SCORES
Each boat finishing a race and not thereafter retiring, being penalized or given redress will be scored as follows:
Finishing place Points
First 1
Second 2
Third 3
Fourth 4
Each place thereafter Add 1 point
All other boats that compete in that race, including any that finish and thereafter retire or are disqualified, will receive the score for the finishing place one more than the number of boats competing in that race. Boats that do not compete in that race (DNC) will not be scored.
Y3. SERIES SCORES
The series score for each boat will be the sum of her race scores [excluding her [worst score][<number> worst scores]] divided by the number of races for which she is scored. The qualified boat with the lowest series score is the winner, and others are ranked accordingly. [An excluded race counts as a race to qualify a boat for a series score but not as one of her scored races.]
Y4. TIES AND OTHER RULES
Race ties will be scored using rule A7. Series ties will be broken using rule A8.1. Rules A1, A3, A5, A6, A9 and A10 also apply.
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© US Sailing
Revised March 29, 2021
