Real-time handicapping by ORC

27 June 2024 - Source: TracTrac Newsletter  - Using trackers to display the positions of sailing yachts in offshore races is no longer a novel technology. Nearly all prominent long races held worldwide have such a system to help media, spectators, and race managers give real-time information on the positions of the entries on the race course.

However, until now, it has been difficult to understand which teams on the course are doing well in corrected time, the measure used for most trophies and awards given in the race. The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) and TracTrac have partnered to help solve this problem by offering Corrected Time (CT) scoring based on either Time-on-Time or Time-on-Distance boat handicaps. This new system ranks the boats during the race and at the finish line according to their actual CT, not an assumption of their projected finish time.

This new feature premiered at the ORC DH World Championship 2024 in Oslo-Tønsberg, Norway, and we are very happy with how it has been received in the offshore sailing community.

"This innovative advancement has been made possible through the close cooperation between TracTrac and the ORC Tech team,” said Thomas Nilsson, ORC Communication Team Manager and a competitor in the ORC DH World Championship. "By leveraging TracTrac's advanced tracking units and ORC's expertise in scoring methods, we have developed a system that provides enhanced live, real-time corrected time calculations, allowing us to see live result lists during the races. The system can utilise both Time-On-Time and Time-On-Distance methods, ensuring more precise and engaging race results throughout the event."

“This system has been developed in cooperation with the ORC and was very well accepted by the competitors and race followers,” said ORC Chief Measurer Zoran Grubisa. "It was interesting to see changes in the leaderboard during the race. Some further developments and fine tuning are expected soon based on suggestions from ORC that will allow TracTrac to present this unique feature making race tracking even more user-friendly and interesting for the race managers, sailors, and viewers.”

We will continue our efforts to further enhance and fine tune this feature for upcoming distance sailing events. Don't hesitate to contact us if you want to learn more about the real-time CT-corrections and how this can be applied at your regatta.