Odds & Evens - Update 07/06

Fair and easy to use.

Scoring large fleets of model sailboats has always been a challenge. The challenge being - how to give every skipper a fair chance to sail up to his/her level of ability against all the other skippers entered.

A number of systems have been used such as the Heat Management System, Matrix, Divisions, etc. But a system has emerged recently that is so simple, and fair, that it makes one wonder - "Why didn't I think of that?" Below are the details for your understanding.

Terminology - Each Race in this system counts. So every finish is recorded and counts. There are no Heats. Instead, we have alternating Odd and Even Races. Odd races include boats from the previous set of races that had Odd finishes (1,3,5,…), etc.

Number of Boats - The total number of boats that can be handled with this system is twice the number that you feel comfortable starting on one start line. Most model sailors find that 14 boats in a race is getting hectic, some tolerate 16.

Let's say you agree that 14 is the maximum number of boats that you want to start in any one race. As soon as you have 15 boats entered, then you break the fleet into Odd and Even races.

If you have more boats entered than twice the number you allow on the starting line, then you can double the regatta capacity with a second venue and rotating sailors on an infrequent basis.

Odds & Evens - The name tells it all. If you finish 3d in your last race, you are Odd (nothing to do with your personality). If you are 6th, you are Even. The entire regatta, whether one day or multiple days, is arranged in alternating Odd and Even races.

To start the regatta, all skippers are randomly assigned as Odd or Even. There is no need to "seed" this first race by skill levels, since this system compensates by how it works.

Begin the regatta sailing Odd Race #1. At the end of the Odd Race #1, finishes are recorded on the Odd Race #1 score sheet. Then the Even Race #1 sails. Again, finishes are recorded on the Even Race #1 score sheet.

Now! The second set of races is ready to start. Odd Race #2 is called. All the odd place finishers in Odd Race #1, and Even Race #1 are in this race. Next, Even Race #2 sails, likewise all the even place finishers in Odd Race #1, and Even Race #1 take to the course.

When you are ready to start Odd and Even Race #3, only the finishes in Odd Race #2 and Even Race #2 are used for positioning in Odd and Even Race #3. And so on.

What this does is to evenly shuffle the fleet based only on whether you finish in an odd position or an even position in your last race. That means that the first place finisher will go to the Odd race next time, and the 2d place finisher will go to the Even Race next time. That goes the same for the 9th and 10th place finishers.

Scoring - Every time a skipper races, he is vying for the best position in that race since his accumulated score is what counts. Because the odd and even finish positions keep shuffling the sailors EVERY RACE, everyone sails against everyone else with a much more random and fair arrangement.

So a first place finish in the Odd race is worth the same as a first place finish in the Even race - and it doesn't matter whether it is the first RACE of the series of the 15th race. At the end of the regatta, it is personal accumulated score that wins.

Specifics

DNF, DNS, DSQ - Once a regatta begins, the number of boats in the odd and even races can not be changed (as far as scoring goes). For example. The regatta starts with 23 boats. That means that the odd race will have 12 boats racing. Let's say that one boat drops out of the regatta half way through. For scoring purposes, the Odd fleet will still have 12 and the Even 11. Now, a DNF or DNS scores as last in that race. A DSQ scores last place plus 1. So if we have a DNS in the Odd race, he gets 12 points even if there were only 9 boats in the race. The DSQ boat in that race gets 13.

Who Starts Next - The very best system to get the right sailors on the water is for the Race Director to use a bull horn. He simply calls the participants by sail number (or name) for the next race - and requires that they answer "here"! Having to answer gets everyone's attention, and no one misses their next race. This method has proven faster than any other, and it insures that you have the right skipper's attention for the next race.

Protests - Since the outcome of protests only affects the overall score, and not the positioning of boats in the next set of races, protest hearings can be postponed until an appropriate break in sailing.

Scoring - Scoring is very simple, since each race is scored like a single race. Compiling the score is simply a matter of adding up all the finishes of each competitor and applying any "throw out" rule in affect.

To make it easy, the Race Finish Sheets are given to the score keeper who records the finishes to each skipper on the running score sheet. The Race Finish Sheets are maintained as backup.

Each race has a numbered Race Finish Sheet. So in the third race, the finish sheet has a place to record the finishes of both the Odd and Even race ##3.

Is there a downside? It is my personal opinion that there is no downside to Odds & Evens. Some top skippers complain that they are randomly placed in races with less qualified skippers and that has an adverse affect on their ability to compete to their level. My response to that is "good sailors know how to keep clear and out of trouble no matter what the skill level of their opponents." The clear upside is that it helps sailors of all levels to be constantly mixed with the best.

For questions or suggestions, please contact Steve Lang, RC Laser Class Secretary, at 303-670-4670

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