Clubs and classes can use the Categorisation Code to distinguish between sailors with a financial interest in the sport or who are being paid to race, and sailors who race only as a pastime.

Sailing is a terrific sport that provides the opportunity for ‘mere mortals’ to compete against world beating or industry professionals. By going to the Moth, A-Class or Etchells Nationals or World Championships, sailors can line up against medal winning Olympians, America’s Cup champions, and seasoned professionals from the Ocean Race.

The Categorisation Code provides clubs and classes a way of distinguishing between sailors with a financial interest in the sport or who are being paid to race (Group 3 sailors), and sailors who race only as a pastime (Group 1 sailors). First, the club or class needs to make a decision on whether that distinction matters.

At one end is the Australian Maxi Championship with no limitations on professional sailors, at the other, the first J/70 Corinthian World Cup which required that boats only be crewed by sailors categorised under the Code as amateurs. The former is a celebration of elite sailing. The latter is recognition of the world’s best crew of friends and family, and it was hugely successful. Why was it so successful? Because the open J/70 World Championship with its cap on entries, would otherwise be dominated by professionally crewed boats and amateurs probably won’t even get the opportunity to race.

To use the Categorisation Code, either the class rule or the race documents need state what applies. This makes the Code a rule and applicable at the event. An example of its use in a class rule can be seen here in clause 14.2 of the Sydney 38's class rules. An example of its use in the race documents can be seen here in clause 3.2 of the J/70 Corinthian World Cup.

Sailors will need to go to the World Sailing website and make sure they apply to be categorised. The organising authority can check sailors’ categorisations as part of the normal entry vetting process. The more important the event, the greater the scrutiny.

Best practice for a pinnacle event would be to notify entrants that a cross section of crew from every boat entered will be checked, and then go about doing it with the assistance of World Sailing’s Categorisation Commission. Sailors can also be interviewed at events. This is all best done on the ground before the first race so that boat owners can make a crew change, should a problem arise.

There was a case at Kieler Woche 2023 where use of the Categorisation Code started well, being properly laid out in the rules, but still ended up with a protest from the Technical Committee. The full protest decision can be read here, but in short the Technical Committee learned that a large number of boats were in breach of a rule because of they did not have the required valid group 1 categorisations. In the end, a few of the protested boats were given time to rectify their categorisations and the remaining majority were given a discretionary penalty. A notice to competitors and applying some checks in advance of the event starting would likely have avoided the problem.

What the Categorisation Code can do is encourage participation by making attendance worth while for sailors who would be disheartened from, or even prevented from entering events dominated by professionals. Because the Categorisation Code looks at all sailors globally through the same lens and criteria, it provides consistency across those events.

We would like to congratulate Ed Psaltis, Richard Hudson and Rupert Henry who finished in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively under the Corinthian IRC division in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Click here to visit the Categorisation website.
To read frequently asked questions, click here.
The Categorisation Code can be read here.

By Glen Stanaway