EurILCA Master Series 2024

1. 

RULES

1.1.

Each regatta will be governed by the “rules” as defined in the World Sailing Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS).   The prescriptions of the National Authority will not apply.

1.2.

ILCA class rule 7 (a) is restricted as follows “only one person shall be on board whilst racing. The person shall be named on the entry form”

1.3.

Appendix P will apply with the following changes:                                                                                                   1. If a first penalty is signalled after a boat has crossed the finish line, the penalty will be a 10% Scoring Penalty calculated as stated in RRS 44.3(c). However, she shall not be scored worse than DSQ.                                                                                                                                   

2. RRS P2.3 does not apply and RRS P2.2 is changed so that it applies to any penalty after the first.

3.RRS P3 is replaced with “If a boat has been penalised for the first time under RRS P1.2 and the race is restarted or resailed the penalty is cancelled, but it is counted to determine the number of times she has been penalised during the event.                                                                                                  

4.RRS P4 is replaced with “An action by the jury under RRS P1.2 shall not be grounds for a request for redress by a boat under RRS 60.1(b). The jury may initiate a redress hearing and may give redress for an action under RRS P1.2 by a member of the jury or its designated observer”.

1.4.

Sails shall have the full sail number AND NATIONAL LETTERS in accordance with the Class Rules and RRS. The national letters shall denote the National Authority of which the sailor is a member in accordance with RRS 75.2 and with 2.1 Entry regulations above. This changes RRS Appendix G 1.1.

2.   

ENTRY REGULATIONS

2.1       On 1/3/22 World Sailing published the following recommendations in reaction to the situation in Ukraine              https://www.sailing.org/2023/03/01/world-sailing-statement-6/

             To help and preserve the integrity of the 2024 EurILCA Masters Series shall be open to competitors of

             all nationalities but not to competitors holding only Russian or Belarussian nationality. The organizing                       

            may amend this rule The organizing authority may amend this rule following any further World Sailing                                                                                              decisions  on the situation with Russia and Belarus

2.2.

Only current fully paid members of the International Laser Class Association may enter the regatta. These memberships shall be with the Fleet/District Association and with the World Sailing National Authority of the country, where the sailor normally sails, even though such place may not be his permanent residence; however, such member, for any valid reason and with the approval of both District Chairmen, may select instead the Fleet/District and the World Sailing National Authority in which he has permanent residence in accordance with the ILCA constitution article 10 (3) and ILCA rule part two article 9. The sailor can only be member of one Fleet/District Association. The World Sailing number of the sailor must be with the World Sailing National Authority as defined above. This rule does not apply to competitors holding only Russian or Belarussian nationality.

During registration each sailor will be required to show clear written evidence of current membership of their national class Association.

2.3.

Crew substitution of the registered sailor is not permitted.

2.4.

Competitors shall reach the following ages during 2024 but shall be 30 at the time of the first race of the event.

2.5

Any sailor who has not, by the closing time for registration, completed registration at the venue will be removed from the list of sailors for that event and will not be scored at that event. This also applies to sailors who have not complied with all other entry requirements.
 

3.

ENTRY FEES & MAILING ADDRESSES FOR ENTRIES

Entries must be made by the date specified on the EurILCA website. Payment of entry fees may be made on site at some regattas provided the competitor has entered and sent the completed entry form to be received by the entry closing date. Please check the information on the EurILCA website for individual regattas. Where on site entry is available, sailors who did not complete an entry form by the entry closing date, or sailors who cannot show confirmation that the host has received their entry form by the entry closing date, will be charged the late entry fee. See also Notice of Race 2.4.

4. 

MEASUREMENT/INSPECTION

Boat and equipment may be inspected at any time for compliance with the class rules, wet clothing rules and sailing instructions at the discretion of the regatta measurer, class representative, race committee or international jury.

5.

SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Copies of Sailing Instructions will be available from the local website of the organising club the latest one day before the Regatta(s).

6.

RACING FORMAT / COURSES

The courses will be detailed in the sailing instructions. In principle trapezoid courses will be used with inner and outer loops. The target time for the first boat in each race will be 50 minutes.

Three races will be scheduled per day, back-to-back. More than 3 races will not be allowed (except in exceptional circumstances such as sailing races lost to too much or too little wind).  There will be a separate start for the ILCA 7 and ILCA 6 Rigs and for the ILCA 4 if there are at least 5 competitors.

Under 60 participants in each fleet (ILCA 7, ILCA 6 or ILCA 4):  Fleets should not be split. If there are 60 or more participants in one or more fleets (ILCA 7 or ILCA 6), then the organisers may decide whether to split the fleet(s) or not.  The Organizing Committee has the right to determine the number of participants to create the fleets and the method of splitting the fleets (by age category, a qualifying / finals series or round robin). These fleets will be composed of one or several age categories of the same Rig. The Sailing Instructions will describe the fleet’s composition procedure.  Where fleets are split by age category and more than one age category races together the results will be scored from the participants’ race finish positions and shall not be re-scored within their age category.

7. 

BOATS AND EQUIPMENT

7.1.

All competitors shall use only one hull, sail, mast, boom, centreboard and rudder. The EurILCA Master Series will be sailed in ILCA class boats as recognized by World Sailing and which comply with the ILCA Class Rules. All boats must have a valid World Sailing Plaque attached in accordance with the ILCA class rules to the aft face of the cockpit.

7.2.

In the event of damage, boats and equipment may only be substituted with the written permission of the Equipment Inspector, Jury or Race Committee. If the damage occurs later than 90 minutes before the first scheduled start on a racing day and before the start of the last race of the day, provisional verbal permission shall be obtained from the Equipment Inspector, Jury or Race Committee and the written permission of the Equipment Inspector, Jury or Race Committee shall be applied for before the end of Protest Time at the end of the day in which the substitution takes place.

7.3.

Women competitors shall place a red diamond on each side of their sail (back-to-back).  The diamond shall be 240mm high and 180mm wide +/- 5mm and shall be located in the centre of the sail immediately above the top batten with ILCA class rule 4(g). Each boat in the following categories shall display a coloured sleeve of 30 cm long at the base of the mast, between the vang fitting and the boom, corresponding to the colour of the age category in which the competitor is sailing, as follows (each competitor should re-use the coloured race sleeve from a previous event or bring their own coloured sleeve) :

• Apprentice:                          Green
• Master:                                Red
• Grand Master:                     Blue
• Great Grand Master:            Yellow
• Legend:                               White

8. 

PROGRAMS

The programs of the individual regattas are detailed on the event mini-site of each EurILCA Master regatta located on the eurilca.eu website. Information regarding the time and date of the first start and last start possible on the last day are also located on the event mini-site of each regatta. The notice of race of the EurILCA Master Series is a general document which includes all contents of the event mini-site of each regatta. A separate notice of race can be published as long as it contains what is in the general notice of race. Further information may be obtained from the website of the organising club and / or the Notice of Race of the individual regatta.

9.

INTERNATIONAL JURY

An international jury may be appointed in accordance with RRS Appendix N and perform the duties listed in RRS Appendix N2. Their decisions will be final as provided in rule 70.5 RRS.

10.

ALTERNATIVE PENALITIES

For protests where only a rule of Part 2 and rule 31 is alleged to have been broken, an arbitration hearing may be offered prior to any formal protest hearing.

11.

RADIO COMMUNICATION

A boat shall neither make radio communication while racing nor receive radio communications not available to all boats. This restriction also applies to mobile telephones.

12.

ANTI DOPING & DRUG TESTING

Competitors shall comply with rule 5 and World Sailing Regulation 21 Anti-Doping Rule and Anti-Doping Code, which ban the use of drugs. Drugs testing may take place during the event.

13.

SAFETY

Competitors shall wear personal flotation devices at all times when afloat, except briefly when changing or adjusting clothing or personal equipment. Wet suits and dry suits are not personal flotation devices.

14.

SCORING

14.1.

Individual Regattas

The Low-Point Scoring System (RRS Appendix A) will apply.

A minimum of 1 completed race is required to validate the individual regatta.

When 4 or more races are completed, 1 race score will be excluded.

There will be separate rankings for each Master category as defined in 16.1 Prizes below. It will be by extraction for each age category from the overall position in the ILCA 7 fleet and ILCA 6 fleet unless there is more than one start in the ILCA 7 or ILCA 6 fleets when the ranking will be extracted from the overall position in the starting fleet. Results will not be re-scored by age category from a combined fleet.  A separate ranking will be extracted from each age category for the Radial women. The ILCA 6 Legend Masters (75 & over) result will be determined by the series score in the combined ILCA 6 Great Grand Master and ILCA 6 Legend Master fleet. (Note: This result will be extracted from the overall result and published without recalculation). Where the fleet is not split, or the method of splitting allows, prizes shall be awarded to the top 3 overall winners of the ILCA 7 and/ or ILCA 6 fleet mixed and/ or ILCA 6 Women.

If a points scoring penalty would result in a score worse than DSQ, the penalty will be that corresponding to DSQ.  The scores of other boats will not be changed.

14.2. 

OVERALL SERIES

The overall EMS Series ranking will be composed by adding the results (position, not points) for each age category at each individual regatta. A separate ranking will be made for each age category for the ILCA 6 women.
 

The 2024 EurILCA Masters Series consist of the 13 regattas as of this Notice of Race for the Series plus the European Master Championship for a total of 14 regattas. A minimum of 2 regattas must be sailed by a competitor to be included in the 2024 EurILCA Master Series ranking and a competitor’s best 3 results will be scored for the Overall Series ranking. For regattas not where a sailor does not compete or the event is cancelled for whatever reason, the competitor shall score NIL points.

Competitor’s results from each EMS regatta shall be re-calculated on the basis described below and the series’ winners shall be the competitor with the highest total score. When there is a tie on the total points between two or more boats, the tie shall be broken in favour of the boat with the most first places in the individual regattas, and when any such boats remain tied, the most second places and so on, if necessary for such races as count for total points. When the tie still remains, it shall stand as part of the final series results. This changes RRS A8.

Results in individual regattas will be re-scored based on a Factor of 1.0 for each event except the EurILCA Master European Championship where the Factor will be 1.2.

Race Factor x 100 x ((total number of participants + 1 - finishing position) / total number of participants) = score

Example: 100 boats fleet

1st:  1.0 x 100 x ((100 + 1 - 1) / 100) = 100

2nd: 1.0 x 100 x ((100 + 1 - 2) / 100) = 99

5th:  1.0 x 100 x ((100 + 1 - 5) / 100) = 96

Example: 40 boats fleet

1st:  1.0 x 100 x ((40 + 1 - 1) / 40) = 100

2nd: 1.0 x 100 x ((40 + 1 - 2) / 40) = 97.5

5th:  1.0 x 100 x ((40 + 1 - 5) / 40) = 90

Example: Masters European Championships 60 boats fleet

1st:  1.2 x 100 x ((60 + 1 - 1) / 60) = 120

2nd: 1.2 x 100 x ((60 + 1 - 2) / 60) = 118

5th:  1.2 x 100 x ((60 + 1 - 5) / 60) = 112

15.

PRIZES

15.1.

Prizes for each Regatta will be awarded in the following Master categories.

ILCA 7 Fleet:
Apprentice Master ILCA 7 (30 to 44 years)
Master ILCA 7 (45 to 54 years)
Grand Master ILCA 7 (55 to 64 years)

Great Grand Master ILCA 7 (over 65)

ILCA 6 Fleet:
Apprentice Master ILCA 6 Open (30 to 44 years)
Apprentice Master ILCA 6 Women (30 to 44 years)

Master ILCA 6 Open (45 to 54 years)

Master ILCA 6 Women (45 to 54 years)

Grand Master ILCA 6 Open (55 to 64 years)
Grand Master ILCA 6 Women (55 to 64 years)

Great Grand Master ILCA 6 Open (65 to 74 years)
Great Grand Master ILCA 6 Women (65 to 74 years)

Legend ILCA 6 (over 75)

ILCA 4 Fleet:

ILCA 4 Women Overall

15.2

Overall Series

EurILCA prizes will be awarded in each category. In addition, the names of all sailors who complete in 3 or more 2024 EMS regattas will have their names entered into a draw for a new sail.  There will be 3 separate draws - ILCA 7 three sails, ILCA 6 Men two sails and ILCA 6 Women one sail.  Attendance at the prize draw event is not required and will take place during the annual prize giving.

16.

PHOTOGRAPHY CONSENT

By entering the Championships competitors accept that they may be photographed and/or videotaped participating in the race and/or using the regatta facilities and they consent to the taking of such images and to the use, reuse, publication and republication of such images in any media, in conjunction with the competitor’s name or not, without compensation and without the competitor’s approval of such images or any use thereof.

17.

LIABILITY

The Sailing Clubs, the National Authorities, EurILCA, their officers, members and volunteers do not accept liability for loss of life or property, personal injury or damage caused by or arising out of the EurILCA Masters Series regattas

All those taking part in an event do so at their own risk and responsibility. Attention is drawn to the RRS Fundamental Rule 4 – Decision to Race, which states: “The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone”.

The establishment of the Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions in no way limits or reduces the complete and unlimited responsibilities of a competitor being solely and e sails for the ILCA 7 fleet, 2 for the ILCA 6 Fleet and one for the ILCA 6 Women fleet entirely responsible for the management of a boat he or she is sailing.

A competitor shall maintain their boat in a safe and seaworthy condition.

A competitor is wholly and exclusively responsible for third party liability insurance on the boat that he or she is sailing and for his or her personal accident and health insurance. Insurance requirements details for each regatta can be found in the regatta information below.

All competitors shall be insured with valid third party liability insurance with a minimum cover of € 2,000,000 (2 million Euros) per event or equivalent there of in any other currency.

18.

INDEMNIFICATION

To the fullest extent permitted by law, each competitor agrees to indemnify and hold the Sailing Clubs, the National Authorities, EurILCA, owners, affiliates, officers, employees, agents, committee persons and race officials acting in their official capacities harmless, from any third party claim to the extent arising from a competitor's acts or omissions.

19.

CHANGES TO THE NOTICE OF RACE

This Notice of Race may be subject to amendments which will be identified in the Notice of Race and noted on the EurILCA website.

20.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional information will be notified either from EurILCA or from individual organising clubs.

21.

VENUE INFORMATION

Please visit the EurILCA.eu website: https://eurilca.eu/euromasters/