ONE WORLD REGATTA
A Sailing Event in Second Life
January 7, 2011 – March 5, 2011
RULES AND REGS
DRAFT Jan-4-2011
THE BOAT
Teams must race the Trudeau One v1.14 (after this also mentioned as: the boat, boat, boats etc.) as it ‘comes out of the box’.
By example, the above Rule makes the following illegal (Note: the terms ‘illegal,’ ‘not allowed,’ and ‘forbidden’ all mean the same thing– You Can’t Do It):
- - no deleting of any non-essential items inside the boat, such as the cradle, updatechecker, buoys, etc.
- - no removal of any textures of the boat by substituting colour instead.
- -no removal of scripts
- -no addition of scripts or prim
- (decorative changes that do not affect sailing may be acceptable; please post any such changes in the discussion thread for comment)
- - no removal of any boat prim, including the boat flag.
- - no change in the shape of boat prim.
Exceptions:
- – Teams can add ‘decorative’ prim to their boats, such as an additional flag. Such prims cannot change in any way the shape or sail characteristics of the boat, and no extra scripts are allowed.
- – Competing sailors can use any Trudeau HUD they prefer (or even no HUD). They can also adjust the notecard settings for that HUD.
- – In addition, they can change their boat’s appearance in ways that do not impact performance or racing. This includes adjusting sail alpha and changing the hull and sail textures to personalize the team boats. However, it’s illegal to override the original design of the boat by making key components either invisible or phantom (except, of course, where those features are already set in the ‘out of the box’ version).
- – The above rule also means that teams are not allowed to use the ‘/1 pp’ chat command (or equivalent) while racing.
- – Third party or personal ‘racing HUDs’ or ‘Navigation Aids’ are generally not allowed; however, the use of simple ‘stop-watch’ timers is allowed.
- – Simple landmark setters are also allowed. A simple landmark setter shows race mark locations as ‘world map teleport points,’ or the equivalent. Anything more complicated that shows boat position or gives additional numerical data is not allowed.
TEAMS
One World will be a Boat Race, not a skipper race. A group of sailors working together as part of a Team will win this Regatta. Here are the basic “Team Rules.”
Sail Teams:
Boats competing in the regatta will be registered to a “sailing team” that includes two or more people; there is no upper limit. The team will sponsor their boat and work together for all or part of the series. Boats and Teams will win this Regatta, not skippers, and everyone contributing to the sponsoring team will share the victory.
The emphasis on Sailing Teams and crewed boats that can be skippered by any team member should reduce the scheduling pressure of a long race series, making it more fun and less stressful for all the participants.
Each Team must have a “team coordinator,” a unique contact person who speaks for their team when planning events. (Example: Arrekusu Muromachi was Coordinator last year for the Kazenogen Seringu team, and KazumaH Destiny was Coordinator for team Far East).
For any particular race, the boat’s team will decide among themselves how large a crew should sail (2-3 sailors), which team members should crew that day, and which crew person will skipper for that race. Even in the middle of the regatta series, a team can decide to add new members, and a sailor on one team can conceivably jump over and join a different team. This happens in RL; it may as well happen in SL.
If a team member crashes offline and is not able to log back in, they can return as an ‘ALT,’ but must announce the name-change to the Race Director in Group Chat.
Sailors can only race once in any Qualifying Round. As noted above, a sailor can be a member of more than one team. However, during any given Qualifying Round, a sailor can only compete in one timeslot.
(Clarification by Naeve Rossini: Regarding substitutions: My reading is that if someone substitutes on a boat, they must be (A) eligible (i.e.: has not raced in a previous slot) and (B) becomes ineligible to race in a subsequent slot or for any other team during the same slot. In other words, the moment a sailor steps onto a boat and is recorded as crew, they become ineligible to race on any other boat during the same Qualifying Round.)
Each team entering the competition must have a unique Team Name. (Example: The names of last year’s J-CLASSIC Finalists were “Narwhal, Waypoint All-Stars, Eureka, and TrYC Second Chance.“)
Each competing race boat must use a unique ID registered to the boat’s team. (Team members may find it helpful to prepare several race boats with correct ID numbers and team colors/logos, in case a new team skipper needs to rez a boat following a crash).
Each boat will have a crew of 2-3 sailors and the number crew aboard any boat at the Start must be equal to the number of crew crossing the Finish line. (In other words, if a crew person falls overboard, they must rejoin the boat or be replaced by another team member prior to the Finish.)
RACE GUIDELINES:
Competition boats should arrive a minimum of thirty minutes prior to the scheduled race and check in with the Race Director.
All communication with the fleet will take place over the ONE WORLD SAILING REGATTA chat channel. Competing sailors should join that group and open chat.
The RD will give five minute and one minute warnings prior to starting Countdown. Racing boats must raise sail within 15 seconds of the RD’s announcement that the clock is running.
Race wind
All competing boats will use the race wind provided by the Start line windsetter. Manually setting “Trudeau boatwind” is not permitted.
Competing sailors will also receive ONE WORLD WINDSETTERS that are preloaded with the correct wind for each Round. These windsetters should be used only when re-rezzing a boat following a crash on the race course.
Time Limit
If a boat fails to finish in a reasonable time, the Race Director will contact the boat’s team using open chat and by private IM if necessary. If the RD receives no response in five minutes, the RD may score the boat Did Not Finish (DNF) for that race.
A boat that did not finish (DNF) will be scored one more than the number of boats entered in the series.
RACE RULES and JUDGING
General Rules: The RL ISAF Race Rules will apply unless otherwise noted.
Rule exceptions and SL-specific additions will be listed in the ONE WORLD thread on SLSailing.net, and also published in-world. If a Rule is discussed online but no decision is reached or officially announced, the original version of that rule will remain in force.
Several modifications and additions to the Rules will be in effect. They include:
“Crashes” during a race.
A “crash’ is defined as a raceboat that goes off-grid or loses helm control. Crashes during a race are inevitable. If a boat ‘crashes’ during the race, the crew should rez a new copy of the boat at that crash site (or the nearest prior rez point) and continue racing. A team may also decide to have a ‘backup boat and crew’ ready. If the team’s boat crashes offline, the team may immediately launch a new boat with new crew at the rez point prior to the crash. In either situation, the new boat should have the same race ID number (the team’s ID number) and the crew is responsible to ensure that the new boat is using the correct race wind from the ONE WORLD windsetter.
The newly-rezzed boat must have the same number of crew aboard at the Finish line as well.
Rules regarding Man Overboard [MOB] incidents and crew substitutions while a vessel is on the racecourse:
If a crew member crashes offline unintentionally [MOB], a racing boat can continue sailing. However, it must replace that crewmember before crossing the FINISH.
Rules regarding collision with the EOW on the race course:
The Edge Of the World (EOW) is considered an ‘obstruction.’ It is illegal to intentionally collide with the EOW to gain advantage racing.
More About Crashes and Man-OverBoard (MOB):
If a boat crashes during a race, the Team can immediately announce they are launching a replacement boat. The new boat can begin racing from the crash site or the nearest rez zone prior to the crash site; however, the Team needs to announce the new boat is the ‘official’ race boat; the Starting Boat and Crew will then be removed from competition. As noted above, a racing boat can switch skipper and/or crew at any time, including following a crash. However the total number of crew aboard must be the same at both the Start and Finish of any particular race.
Race Marks
Comments and clarifications of ISAF Rules:
- Judges will use a two boat-length zone to resolve Rule 18 protests over ROW at racemarks. Rule 18 does not apply at start line marks, but will apply at the marks that define a GATE, except as stated in Rule 18.4.
- Rule 30.1 will be enforced:
“…(if) any part of a boat’s hull, crew or equipment is on the course side of the starting line or one of its extensions during the last minute before her starting signal, she shall thereafter sail from the course side across an extension to the prestart side before starting.” - Rule 31 will also be enforced:
“31 TOUCHING A MARK While racing, a boat shall not touch a starting mark before starting, a mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg of the course on which she is sailing, or a finishing mark after finishing.”
Judging GuidelineS:
Please help us make sure the judging and protest review is uniform, valid, and consistent.
PROTESTS
As soon as practical, the protesting boat must announce any protest over the ONE WORLD Group Chat (or SLSA Group Chat if the other fails). A Race Judge will acknowledge receipt of the protest.
A boat that accepts a protest from another boat or Judge shall acknowledge the acceptance of the foul by sailing clear of other boats and doing a 360 degree circle as soon as reasonably possible.
A boat who does not accept a protest can settle the protest following the race with a protest hearing.
In either case, the crew of the protested boat must reply to the protest (Accept or Deny) by IM over the Group Chat channel as soon as practical after the protest is made.
At the conclusion of a race the RD and the #1 Judge should be the first people to speak to the finished boats once they are collected at the raceline. The staff may use local chat or group chat, whichever is most appropriate. The #1 Judge should ask: “Is there any protest?” and each skipper should reply “YES” or “NO.” If any skipper says YES, the #1 Judge is the ONLY race officer who should speak to the involved race teams about the protested event until that matter is resolved.
The #1 judge should collect standard information (in public chat or group channel) from the boat making the protest (“What protest? What Rule? Against which boat? What Circumstances?”). The #1 judge will then get the alleged offending boat’s response to the protest claim (again in public chat).
Please note: One sailor, preferably the skipper, should speak for each boat.
The Judges and umpires (and any others they chose to involve) then confer in private.
If the Protest Committee is in full agreement regarding a protest and penalty, the #1 judge will then announce the decision to the sailors and the observers in public chat. (For example: “Protest by Team Fossett sailing 82JF is DENIED. NO PENALTY.”)
The judge should then immediately go on to consider the next Protest or shout “NEXT RACE!” and turn management back over to the Race Director.
If a team thinks the Protest Committee made an error, the team should ask for an APPEAL.
If the Protest Committee itself fails to reach a unanimous decision, they too should ask for an APPEAL.
The result of that particular race will remain open until an APPEAL Committee is convened, and the appeal must be heard within 24hr of the race.
The Appeal Committee will base their decision on the Rules, the available evidence, and the original statements of the protesting and protested boats. The sailors involved are welcome to attend the protest appeal, but it’s not necessary: the appeal will be based on the original statements of the teams involved.
When available, Soro Dagostino will supervise the judging process and resolve any procedural issues that arise. When available, MarkTwain White will chair the Appeals Committee.
Scoring
The Qualifying Series Race Events will use the ISAF Appendix A Standard Low Point scoring system. Each competing boat will get four discards over the eight Rounds. If a qualifying event is cancelled for any reason, the discard profile will be “0,0,0,0,1,2,3,4.”
ISAF Appendix A 8.1 and 8.2 will be used to resolve any ties.
The Four boats with the lowest scores will advance to the Finals Round. Details of the Finals Round competition will be published separately.
