Club2Class Knowledge Base

Rating and Handicap Systems

Handicap racing allows boats of differing designs and speeds to race against one another. The elapsed racing times for the competitors are equalized via the application of a boat specific adjustment factor (the rating) which takes into account differences between boat models. The corrected elapsed times are then ranked to determine the finishing order of the competitors.

Club2Class stores and curates a number of popular handicap rating systems, such as the Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) system used by the RYA. When you create or edit a race series you can specify the rating system to be used.

Club2Class also allows Club Administrators to create their own rating systems or clone and edit systems curated by Club2Class. Additionally, Club Administrators can upload and download their customised boat classes and ratings systems. Custom rating systems created in this way can be applied to any of the club's race series.


A note on Elapsed Time Factor and Published Rating

The Elapsed Time Factor is a number which is used to multiply the time taken by a boat to complete a race (the elapsed time). The result of this multiplication is the corrected elapsed time. The corrected elapsed time of competitors is used to determine their finishing order.

The Published Rating is related to the Elapsed Time Factor. However, at Club2Class we don't explicity enforce any particular relationship. Instead we allow you to specify both the Elapsed Time Factor and the Published Rating. The Elapsed Time Factor is used to correct times in our scoring algorithms. The Published Rating is used for information only and is displayed in race results.

For example, the Portsmouth Yardstick system uses a rating known as a Portsmouth Number (PN). For a class such as the RS 800 in 2018, PN = 799. To calculate the Elapsed Time Factor we follow the rules of the Portsmouth Yardstick system as specified by the UK's Royal Yachting Association. These state that corrected elapsed times are calculated by multiplying the elapsed time by 1,000 divided by the PN. In this case then the Elapsed Time Factor to enter into Club2Class would be 1,000 / 799 = 1.25156. We would enter the PN of 799 into the Published Rating field though. Then all race results will display the PN as the rating applied. This is beneficial as the PN is more easily reconciled by competitors familiar with the Portsmouth Yardstick system than the Elapsed Time Factor.

Using this approach allows the specification of a broad range of rating system methodologies and separates the calculation inputs and display outputs.

If there is a common or popular rating system that is not already in Club2Class please contact support@club2class.com.