ORC Weather Routing Scoring Ready for 2026 – After a Breakthrough 2025 Season

20. Feb 2026

20 February 2026 - The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) confirms that race organizers can now apply to use Weather Routing Scoring (WRS) for the 2026 season.

The 2025 season marked a major breakthrough for WRS, with 105 race routes worldwide scored using the system. These routes represented approximately 75 regattas, as several events included multiple races (such as offshore races sailed out-and-back) or separate courses for different classes. This milestone firmly established WRS as a modern and fair alternative to traditional “one-size-fits-all” scoring models.

Weather Routing Scoring uses advanced weather simulations to predict the true wind speed and angle each boat is expected to experience, leg by leg, during the race. These data are combined with ORC polar performance curves to generate a customized Time Correction Factor (TCF) for every entry, based on Predicted Elapsed Times (PETs).

Organisers may use WRS either as primary scoring or as shadow scoring for comparison with traditional methods.

To use WRS as the official scoring method, organisers must:

Clearly state this in the Notice of Race (NoR) and/or Sailing Instructions (SI)

Submit the following information to ORC no later than two weeks before the start:

The NoR and/or SI
Starting times
Description of the start and finish areas
A detailed course description, including marks, islands, exclusion zones, or other restrictions
An entry list including the reference number of a valid ORC certificate for each boat

(The entry list may be updated up to two days before the start.)

ORC will provide the TCFs to the organiser a few hours before the start. Scratch sheets will be made available to allow easy comparison between competitors.

By integrating Weather Routing Scoring, organisers can enhance fairness, competitiveness, and post-race performance analysis.

Applications for 2026 can be submitted here:

https://data.orc.org/public/wrsappl.php

ORC looks forward to building on the success of its 2025 breakthrough season and expanding the use of WRS even further in 2026.