FYCA Yacht Handicap Policy : Allocation of rating

The policy agreed by FYCA member clubs is that all FYCA open yacht racing results shall be calculated using the RYA Portsmouth Yardstick handicap system. The opinions of member clubs were polled in the 2002 FYCA questionnaire and the policy was ratified at the FYCA Handicap Workshop in October 2002.

FYCA seek to pursue a policy of transparency when allocating handicaps.

The FYCA Handicap Committee shall publish an annual list of racing yachts on the Forth with appropriate handicap values and corresponding status for use in open events. The Handicap Committee shall consider the annual RYA YR2 list of handicap values, performance data from races, submissions from member clubs and data from other relevant sources in its annual review and update of yacht handicaps. The list of yacht handicaps shall be maintained and updated on the FYCA web site.

Any changes to the list will have a very brief description attached as to why.

This yacht information will be highlighted.

There will be a clear route for appeal and treatment of appeals (add).

Primary Yardstick (PY), Secondary Yardstick (SY) & Recorded Number (RN) Handicaps:

Forth based yachts that are included in the current RYA Portsmouth Yardstick YR2 edition as Primary Yardstick (PY), Secondary Yardstick (SY) or Recorded Number (RN) status shall be given the listed YR2 handicap and status unless there is compelling evidence to justify changes.

Club Number (CN) Status Handicaps:

CN status handicaps shall be included in the YR2 Standard Corrected Time (SCT) calculation for any race as part of the achieved performance analysis. CN status shall be applied on the following basis:

·        Yachts that differ from the current YR2 listing of PY, SY or RN types by minor configuration details (e.g. IB2 instead of IBF) and have been adjusted by the standard FYCA allowances.

·        Yachts with a handicap based on a record of achieved performance from results on the Forth reviewed either by the club concerned or the FYCA Handicap Committee.

·        Yachts included as PY, SY or RN status in the YR2 list, but whose handicaps have been modified by the FYCA Handicap Committee based on Forth performance evidence.

·        Yachts with a recent (current or previous year) IRC rating certificate that has been converted to an equivalent PY number using the current FYCA conversion formula.

Forth Number (FN) Status Handicaps:

The FYCA Handicap Committee shall allocate FN status to individual yachts or yacht classes that meet the following criteria:

·      Yachts that have a substantial record of results over several years with an accurately established average achieved performance.

·        Yachts whose performances are consistent.
This will be indicated by their performance histogram, being significantly  better than the FYCA generic fleet model performance distribution.

·        Yachts for which there is no evidence of significant performance trending from year to year.
This will be indicated by yacht ‘Trend’ graph.

Trial Number (TN) Status Handicaps:

Yachts without any YR2 handicap, previous type evidence on the Forth or specific IRC rating certificate, shall be given an estimated handicap with Trial Number status. Yachts that have a generic IRC rating, e.g. from the Irish Sailing Association ECHO list, shall be given an equivalent PY number using the current FYCA conversion formula, with TN status. TN status yachts shall not be included in the YR2 Standard Corrected Time (SCT) calculation for any race. Clubs should regularly review the achieved performance of TN status yachts and upgrade them to CN status as soon as some performance consistency is apparent. This will allow them to contribute to the SCT calculation for races and improve the averaging across the fleet.

The FYCA Handicap list will only be altered with the sanction of a FYCA Handicap Committee member.