TOPIC:

Does anyone have experience of running a personal handicap system at club level?

Does it always end in tears?

I think Burghfield do it successfully as a pursuit race - Trevor could advise, his handicap was so high he had to start after everyone else had put their boats away!



The PRATT system (Personalised Rating Against Time Taken) also seems to add a bit of fun to the event with a Yellow Jersey for the current series leader and a Joker to play in your favourite conditions.



www.yandy.co.uk/news/?article=151713



I personally think it is a great idea, as it means the top sailors still have to push hard to win however good they are and the backmarkers get a chance of glory.



JW

Yes it was good fun but of course the later you start the shorter the race. The description of how it works is available at www.burghfieldsailing.org/index.php?modu...4&MMN_position=15:15
Initially you should start with class PYs (except for you Jerry who I recommend starting +20 minutes!!). Look out for tactics such as deliberately sailing slow for the first few weeks to establish a nice early start time then putting on a sprint faster than the system can adjust your handicap due to the smoothing involved (No I never did that!). I always ended up starting with Graham Camm in his N12 who always seemed to beat me! Give it a try and if you want to talk to anybody at the club about it I think I still remember some names, Trevor

Hi Jerry,

Our club have been running a personel handicap for several years now, it's based on a model proposed in RYA YR2 results are compared with average performance

The average club sailor would be scratch, a novice would get a plus on to the standard h/c and a good result would get you a minus number. The system takes a couple of months to balance, to keep it fair, it needs to be calulated weekly, it certainly encourages the novices and makes the good guys try even harder.

Crawford