1. Why Have Rules Anyway?
2. Competition Formats
3. Scoring Systems - Part 1
4. Scoring Systems - Part 2
5. Determining your Scoring System
6. Discards (Throw Outs)
7. Penalty Scores
8. Tie Breaking Rules
9. Planning for Your Event
10. Recap Tabulation Methods - Part 1
11. Recap Tabulation Methods - Part 2
12. Sport Class Cooperative Competition
13. Behavioristic Windsurfing
14. The Race Committee
15. Preparing for an Event
16. Proposed Event Budget Form
17. International Sailing Federation New Brief Racing Rules for Slalom and Course Racing Including Course/Slalom and Long Distance
18. Hawaii Wave Riding Rules
19. Conducting Your Event
20. Explaining the New Racing Rules
21. Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions
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Everything you need to know about
Why Have Rules Anyway?
but didn't know who to ask
The RC Help Articles are especially written for people new to the Race Committee. This article helps explain why rules are our friends, not our enemies.
Here in the United States, the Notice of Race for every windsurfing event sanctioned by the United States Windsurfing Association begins with the statement,
"This Event shall be governed by the Racing Rules for Sailing including Appendix B4, the prescriptions of US SAILING, any Class Rules, the US Windsurfing Event Manual, and this Notice of Race".
All sports have rules to assure that their competitive events are FUN, SAFE and FAIR for all. Yacht Racing Rules were first written in the 19th century and regularly updated for the non contact sport of yachting and yacht racing. These rules helped sailors enjoy racing and avoid collisions. (If you remember nothing else from this article, remember these three words: FUN, SAFE and FAIR. That's what rules are all about and why they exist!)
The INTERNATIONAL GOVERNING BODY for the sport of sailing, including windsurfing, is the INTERNATIONAL SAILING FEDERATION (formerly the International Yacht Racing Union or IYRU until January, 1996). They have written the RACING RULES FOR SAILING or RRS (formerly INTERNATIONAL YACHT RACING RULES IYRR) which are reprinted in the United States by the United States Sailing Association, the NATIONAL GOVERNING BODY for the sport of sailing, including windsurfing. Under the auspices of US SAILING are a number of NATIONAL ORGANIZING AUTHORITIES (NOA) which govern the various kinds of sailing. The United States Windsurfing Association (originally formed in 1987 as the United States Boardsailing Association) is the duly authorized NOA for the sport of windsurfing. Under the auspices of US Windsurfing are a number of LOCAL ORGANIZING AUTHORITIES (LOA) and that's where some of you come into the picture!
Here in the United States, US SAILING and US Windsurfing have agreed, in order to achieve the objective for fun, safe and fair competition, that all member LOAs shall conduct and judge their events by the RRS, prescriptions of US SAILING and any Class Rules. Early on however, LOAs requested specific guidance and thus US Windsurfing developed and published the EVENT GUIDELINES which have been updated annually. In 1993, US Windsurfing published the SCORING SYSTEMS HANDBOOK to help Race Directors and Race Committees understand the rationale behind US Windsurfing's approach to setting up and scoring an Event. Notice the words "setting up" an Event. It's possible to score your Event perfectly and still get results that are unfair or biased if you setup or conduct your Event improperly! Thus, how you setup, conduct and score your Event are all equally important.
Here in the United States, US Windsurfing Event Manual require Race Committees to setup and score their Events a certain way based on the level of Event or Regatta they want to conduct. Sometimes, LOAs have the freedom to choose from several options (like for Fun Events) and sometimes they don't (like for National or International Championships). If LOAs don't like a particular Rule, Guideline or Option in The Event Manual, they may request a change from US Windsurfing. If US Windsurfing approves the request, then the LOAs must publish the change in their Notice of Race so that everyone knows in advance what rules and guidelines are applicable for a particular event. However, US Windsurfing recommends that LOAs under their authority just follow the EM without changes. They're the consensus of many top competitors and experienced event organizers, both nationally and internationally.
Nobody likes to be told what to do and how to do it! That's just human nature! But someone defined maturity once as "the ability to live under authority without losing your cool". That's not to say we can't make changes if we disagree with what's going on! But there's a right way and a wrong way to make changes! US Windsurfing, for example, is always looking for ways to improve the sport, simplify the rules and make racing even more fun, safe and fair for everyone! Therefore, they invite racer's to communicate their ideas to a Regional Director or one of the National Directors.
We hope you've gotten the point that rules are needed to make Events fun, safe and fair for all. Why not buy a copy of US Windsurfing's Event Guidelines (or, if you're living in a country other than the USA, your own NOA's current Event Guidelines) and study them thoroughly. Then if you have any questions or need further clarification or interpretation or want to offer alternatives, contact your NOA's Events Committee. Meanwhile, we recommend you keep it simple and easy. Avoid making up rules on the fly; instead, just use your NOA's recommended options for your Events. Remember that an Event conducted properly is more fun for everyone! Best wishes for a successful racing season.