Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) has announced the rules for its 2024 Boat of the Year (BOTY) competition with the introduction of a new ECHO trophy for the first time.
The BOTY competition is based on a boat's performance in the events listed in ICRA's BOTY 2 EVENTS held that year.
According to the rules, a boat's "Boat of the Year" score for a given year shall be the sum of the boat's Event Scores from the events listed in ICRA BOTY 2 EVENTS (downloadable below) held in that year.
A boat's Event Score for a given event shall be its best Division Score from that event.
A boat's Division Score shall be based on its overall series placing in an IRC or ECHO division at the event, with 3 points for 1st, 2 points for 2nd, and 1 point for 3rd, multiplied by the Division Weighting. The Division Weighting shall be the Event Weighting of the event the division is part of, adjusted according to certain criteria.
The events are divided into three categories: Championship events, National Regattas, and Regional events. The Championship events have the highest Event Weighting of X 2, followed by National Regattas with X 1.5 and Regional events with X 1.
The ICRA Boat of the Year Trophies shall be awarded to the boats qualifying for ICRA Membership with the highest "Boat of the Year" in IRC or ECHO Score for that year. And of those boats, the boat with the highest overall score from the ICRA Series of that year shall be declared the winner.
The winner of the IRC series cannot also win the ECHO series. The trophies shall be presented at the ICRA Annual Conference in 2025.
ICRA BOTY 2024 is an exciting opportunity for Irish sailors to showcase their racing skills on a national level. The competition promises to be intense, with boats from across the country competing for the coveted title of ICRA Boat of the Year.
