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Over the last few
years the task of getting accurate results up on
this website is getting harder and harder. I try to
do my best given the information I am supplied but
if you want them to be truly correct, there a couple
of things that need to be done. |
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At the end of the day
slightly incorrect results are better than no
results so don't let this stop you from sending in
what you have, I'm just asking you to give the
following some thought to make my job a little
easier. |
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Problem 1 - Grades |
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I need to
know which sailor is in which grade - As
you all know, the results at any regatta are
split into 3 grades. A-Grade, B-Grade and
C-Grade. This system has always worked well
and is the only real way of rewarding the
guys that put in the effort and sail really
well but are still new to the class or can't
afford (or justify the cost) of a brand new
boat. |
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Remember
grades help to keep the class alive -
The racing always just as good between
second to last and last place as it is at
the front of the fleet and this system
reinforces that. Without it new sailors
would quickly become disillusioned and leave
to another class. It also creates a
structure for improvement i.e. The winner
of the B-Grade one year may decide to
upgrade to the A-Grade the following year. |
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Problem 2 - North Island Champs |
| DNC DNS
DNF DSQ - Results very rarely
differentiate these and I need to know who
got what (especially the difference between
DNC and DNS). Although all these score the
same in a single regatta, they can have
different values in a series that is longer
than one regatta i.e. the North Island
Champs. |
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| ISAF and
Yachting New Zealand Racing Rules of Sailing
rule A9 is as follows; |
RACE SCORES IN A SERIES LONGER THAN A
REGATTA
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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 after finishing 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.
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| One key
thing to remember is that "came to the
starting area" means exactly that.
Sitting on the beach is not defined
as the starting area. Whether you are
sitting on the beach, or sitting at an All
Blacks game in South Africa when the start
takes place, your score should be DNC.
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| If you
make the effort to get to the line and
capsize or decide to bail back to the wife
for a cuddle (or whatever) without going
thru the start line then your score should
be DNS. |
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rewards the sailor who did make the effort
to get out there. |
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difference between DNC & DNS
can have a huge effect on overall results of
a series especially if there is quite a big
fleet and there are lots of different people
at each regatta. |
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A
quick note about class naming |
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Another thing
to keep in mind, especially when organising
a regatta is the proper name of this class
of yacht. |
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Although our
class is widely known as the A-Class, our
official title is A-Division Catamaran.
This was set by the IYRU (International
Yacht Racing Union) in England way back in
1956. That is why our international
association is known as the IACA
(International A-division
Catamaran Association) and
our national association is the NZADCA
(New Zealand A-Division
Catamaran Association) |
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This leads to
why the term "Grades" is used for splitting
the fleet, it avoids any confusing doubling
up of words i.e. "Mr Smith is the current
New Zealand A-Division Catamaran Association
B-Grade Champion" and not "Mr Rangi
was the New Zealand A-Division Catamaran
A-Division Champion last year". |
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Fortunately
New Zealand is generally a pretty laid back
country, so this has never been an issue,
just next time you are thinking of holding
the "New Zealand A-Class Nationals" consider
calling it the "New Zealand A-Division
Catamaran Nationals". |
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