What do you mean, it's not in class?

This post is a light-hearted rant about sailing’s lax terminology. 

Starting with “sailing”! Is it pottering or is it racing? For our purposes, it is that activity governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing excluding Appendices B, C, D and F. Obvious when you think about it!

More significantly, what’s a “class”? Is it a) a group of similar boats racing together, b) a type of boat such as a Solo or an Optimist, or c) an organisation representing a type of boat? All three are used from time to time. 

And what, in the sailing world, is the name for that which others might call a competition. Candidates include series, regatta, meeting, open, championship and so on; even just “racing” as in evening racing. Each  has its own subtle meaning but it would be helpful if there were one generic term that covers them all. Fortunately the RRS seems to have come to our aid. Prior to the 2020 edition it used the clumsy race or series. Subsequently it’s been (mostly) event even if an event happens to be a series! 

Does this lack of uniformity matter or is it all part of the charm and mystique of our idiosyncratic yet wonderful pastime? The trouble starts when computers get involved (always the way, I hear you say). Computers like to have the same name for the same kind of thing wherever it is used. Actually, with a bit of effort, this can be worked around – take Sailwave and its variable column headings. The major issue is with documentation – how to describe processing a class when class means different things to different people? 

SailEvent’s approach is to align, more or less, with Sailwave. So a class is a set of boats with the same design, either identical or conforming to a rule – Optimist, ILCA7, Fireball, J70. A fleet is a set of boats competing against each other, either all of the same class – a one-design fleet – or a mixture of classes – a handicap fleet.

When one or more fleets compete on one or more related occasions, SailEvent is with the RRS – that’s an event. It’s an event in HalSail too but a series in Sailwave. Ho hum.

Terminology is something of a hobbyhorse for the SailEvent team – we touch on it elsewhere - because we believe it’s important. Way back the RYA convened a meeting of sailing software developers and, among other things, asked us to address this very issue. It hasn’t happened! What do you think? There’s a comments box below...

New Competitor Fields

 We’ve added some handy new fields to competitor records. They are:

• Boat Name
• Nationality
• Gender
• Division

These fields can appear on entry forms, be exported and imported, synchronise with Sailwave via the Importer app, and be upload into Halsail.

Division is anything you want for populating the Sailwave Division column. For instance Gold/Silver/Bronze or Master/Grand Master/Legend.

To compliment the new fields, we have added to the portfolio of SailEvent built-in entry forms. You can now choose from:

• Dinghy Club
• Dinghy Open
• Dinghy Championship
• Cruiser Club 
• Cruiser Open
• Cruiser Championship

Select them on the event set-up page to preview.

Recognising that the built-in forms will not meet all requirements, the new fields are also fully supported by the Jotform integration and custom forms. 

If there are other commonly used competitor-related fields to be added, please let us know. 

Announcing GPS Resource Tracking

“Where’s that RIB gone?”, is a question many a race officer has asked themselves. Often a quick look round provides the answer but it can be less obvious with a big race area, multiple patrol boats and other craft, and maybe murky weather.

SailEvent Resource Tracking lets you see the latest reported GPS location of things on a chartlet on your phone, tablet or computer. 

A thing in this context is anything to which you can attach a GPS tracker. Typically that’s a RIB or committee boat but it could equally be a racing mark, a representative competitor or even the PRO!

GPS trackers can be dedicated devices, either rechargeable or wired in. Or more simply, a free app turns any phone into a very acceptable tracker.

Resource tracking is most likely to be of interest to larger clubs so unlimited use is available only with SailEvent Plus plans. But you can try it out with the Free (1 tracker) and Club (2) plans so why not give it a go. All you need to get started is that free phone app.

Full instructions are in Help. Let us know how you get on. The most innovative use gets a free round of applause.😀

Seven Good Reasons For Using SailEvent - Part 4 of 4

We've already looked at knowledge, consistency, adaptability, communications, automation and integration. Now the grand finale...

No 7 It’s expected!

SailEvent is end-to-end phone friendly because today’s sailors expect to access the world on their mobile. And that’s good for event organisers too because, via SailEvent, they have a direct line to virtually all participants.

The policy is phone-first because that’s where over half of all web requests originate. Yet SailEvent is equally at home on tablets, laptops and desktops. 

With SailEvent you can do everything from putting your name down for club racing to running a world championship, all on that ubiquitous little device.

And a bonus reason - it’s free!

SailEvent’s Basic subscription tier is completely free yet provides all the functionality needed by many clubs and classes. It is limited only by capacity. 

That means it’s easy to get started with Basic SailEvent then upgrade as your usage grows.

 

Register 

Spring Sale Now On!

Seven Good Reasons For Using SailEvent - Part 3

Knowledge, consistency, adaptable, communications and now...

No 5 Automation

Tell SailEvent to do the boring stuff and it keeps on doing it. That leaves your volunteers free to concentrate on more important matters.

SailEvent accepts entries, sends confirmations, reminds competitors that there’s sailing today, puts up, takes down and collates signing sheets, and even pins the course to the notice board.

No 6 Integration

SailEvent works with a portfolio of services and applications to bring you the best possible software experience.

Jotform for building custom entry forms,

Stripe for collecting entry fees.

Sailwave and HalSail for results publication,

Yachts & Yachting for publicity 

and more...

Next up, the grand finale...

Seven Good Reasons For Using SailEvent - Part 2

Last time we looked at how SailEvent provides insights and supports the implementation of consistent event management.

Here are two more good reasons for choosing SailEvent.

No 3 Adaptable

No two sailing events are the same! 

Sailors are an ingenious bunch and devise many variations on the standard theme. All sailing events (probably) all have an entry list, races, winners and losers but the devil is in the detail. That’s why SailEvent can be configured for all known eventualities, and most likely some as yet unknown too. So, for everything from what goes on the ONB to how many meal tickets, SailEvent has it covered.

No 4 Communication 

Configurable virtual ONBs, Notices to Competitors, reminders that sailing is on today, entry confirmation... 

Email, text and push notifications mean it’s never been easier to keep in touch with competitors. SailEvent leverages today’s technology to keep competitors informed promptly and efficiently.

Good Reasons 5 and 6 coming soon...

Seven Good Reasons For Using SailEvent - Part 1

In the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, where a lot of sailing goes on, plans for the 2025 season are turning into reality. Here are seven good reasons why your club or class association should choose SailEvent to help your sailing programme run smoothly.

No. 1 Knowledge

Know who has entered, who is sailing today, who has finished sailing. No more spreadsheet hell and undecipherable paperwork. 

It’s all down to SailEvent’s single, central entry list held securely in the cloud. Multiple views and multiple access levels control its availability yet it’s the one and only place that holds all data for all competitors – up to date, secure, backed-up and available 24/7. 

No. 2 Consistent

SailEvent provides a repeatable, reliable yet flexible way to managing all events.

Implement your club or class methodology so that it is consistently applied from club racing to championships. Volunteers may come and go but ground rules defined in SailEvent remain the same. Established your way of working, SailEvent applies it to every event.

Two more good reasons coming soon...