Our Standard Low Point Scoring System and Series Points
With puddle ducks, the organizer is open to many different types of races they can host. Everything from conventional racing around buoys to simple fun marshmallow scooping type races. Along with the many types of races, there are also a variety of right of way rules that are employed, some are described on the conventional sailboat racing page.
Sailboats typically use a "low point" scoring system, this is our standard scoring system that can be used with any race type. The way it works is the first person in gets 1 point, the 2nd in gets 2, etc. Each race creates points, and the points are added up at the end of the series. The races of the series may be run in a single day, or over multiple days, or a mixed combination.
- If someone races but Does Not Finish (DNF), they get one point for everyone that finished the race +1.
- If someone Does Not Start (DNS) the race, they get one point for everyone who who started the race +1.
Example of A Series of Racing:
| Score | Name | Hull | Boat Name | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | Race 7 | Race 8 | Total |
| Started |
|
3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
||
| Finished |
|
3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
||
| 1 | Ken Abrahams |
2 | Ugly Duckling |
1 | 1 | 3 dnf | 1 | 0 dns | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Shorty |
3 | Bucket Ears |
2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 dns | 2 | 2 | 4 dns | 16 |
| 3 | David Sargent |
7 | Ducky |
4 dns | 5 dns | 2 | 2 | 0 dns | 3 | 3 dns | 2 | 21 |
| 4 | Doug Day |
1 | D.U.B |
3 | 5 dns | 3 dnf | 4 | 0 dns | 4 dns | 3 dns | 4 dns | 26 |
| 5 | James Banik |
6 | un-named |
4 dns | 3 dnf | 3 dnf | 5 dns | 0 dns | 4 dns | 3 dns | 4 dns | 26 |
| 6 | Mike Falasca Jr |
14 | Dasher |
4 dns | 5 dns | 7 dns | 5 dns | 0 dns | 4 dns | 3 dns | 3 | 28 |
| Christina Wycoff |
10 | un-named |
dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | ||
| Andy Jones |
11 | un-named |
dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | dns | ||
| Did Not Start (DNS) = number of start +1) | ||||||||||||
| Did Not Finish (DNF) = number of finish +1) | ||||||||||||
Thow Out -- The race organizer may designate a number of throw outs. This is where at the end of a series of races, you throw out the worst (highest) score that each person received during the series. If there are to be throw outs, the organizer must announce that before the start of the race, and indicate the number of throw outs. Like if you are having a 15 race series, the organizer may designate 2 or 3 throw outs to cushion the effect of not being able to attend a couple of the races.
Tie Breaker -- If there is a series score tie between two or more boats, each boat's race scores shall be listed in order of best to worst, and at the first point(s) where there is a difference the tie shall be broken in favor of the boat with the best score. No excluded scores shall be used. In the event that there is still a tie, the ducker with the lowest hull number shall be favored.
Unable To Start -- For the duckers who did attend with class legal hulls, but were unable to start any of the races (possibly due to damage or something else), they are listed on the table, but without a score. This is because if non-starters were to receive a score, they would all tie.
Hull Measurements -- Measurement of a hull should be performed before that hull enters the series so nobody has a surprise at the end of an event. Here is how to measure a pdracer hull. If a hull is found to be not class legal, as per rule 7 their results are not counted, and are not listed on the table. Would be the same as the other boats which attend messabouts, our score card is just for class legal hulls at the event.
Exchange Homemade Trophies -- We have a tradition of exchanging homemade trophies. Even though some duckers may not have been able to participate in the race (for instance broke something), all duckers who showed up at the event with their hull (regardless of class legal status) participate in the trophy exchange. The trophy is a token of showing up that day, and the score is the competitive placement.
How Our Scoring Differs From ISAF RSS Rules
Like many other sailing clubs, we use a scoring system that is a slightly different variation than the two scoring systems described in the ISAF RRS rules. The first ISAF system is similar to ours, but scores both DNS and DNF the same as the number of boats entered in the series +1. The second ISAF system prescribes a maximum score of 7, even if many more participate in the race. This is to make it easier for a racer that has lower performance to move up higher in the rankings, quicker.
The scoring system we use was prescribed during the first racing season by Ken Abrahams. At the time, he was the president of the Lake Charles Yacht Club, which has a very active racing fleet and this is the scoring system they adopted after many years of experience and trying other scoring system.
The most attractive feature of our scoring system is that it creates a difference in the score between someone who starts a race and had to drop out, compared to someone who just showed up and never started the race. Because of the experimental nature of our boats, many pdracers get damaged during a race due to engineering failures, and our scoring system gives partial credit for being able to start a race.
So the bottom line is our scoring system encourages duckers to try, and gives them a better competitive placement for trying when compared to not starting the race.