Hi John,

Can I just mention making the most out of one set of results; there is usually lots of data to be mined but most clubs/events don't take advantage of it.

If you take elapsed times (or start/finish times), competitors can reflect if that one bad tack might have made a difference and it also allows you to score without and with single-handed/double-handed handicaps (the latter just for 'fun'). Taking elapsed times also facilitates including/excluding other classes in the results that may have started later but sailed the same course; like we did with the As when you sailed at Mumbles.

It's also fun to score the event (and give token prizes) based on club, age-group (how about introducing a 'Masters' category) and platform (Stealth/Blade etc) - adds extra dimension and mini-competitions to the main event in such a way that everybody is included to a greater degree and provides good bar banter. Most scoring software will do all this with minimum hassle; almost every competitor can be winning in some way or another.

At formula events like F16/F18 I personally think it's interesting to get the competitors to include platform, spar, foil and sail manufacturer etc when registering and include them in the published results.