ORC Club Rating to be Explained at Irish Sailor Webinar

14th January 2026

Afloat.ie Team

ORC-rated yachts racing in mixed fleets during an Irish regatta as sailors prepare for an ORC Club briefing at Royal Irish Yacht Club

ORC-rated yachts racing in mixed fleets at Calves Week 2025, as ORC Ireland prepares to brief sailors on the ORC Club handicap system at a January meeting and webinar hosted by Royal Irish Yacht Club. Credit: Bob Bateman

ORC Ireland will host an information evening and webinar later this month to explain the ORC Club handicap system to Irish sailors.

The event takes place on Wednesday, 21 January at 7.30 pm in the library of the Royal Irish Yacht Club, with online access available for those unable to attend.

ORC Irish convenor Fintan Cairns said the session will focus on how ORC Club works in practice.

“The idea is to go through ORC Club – how it’s working, the ease of getting a certificate, scoring, simplicity, and any other questions we can answer,” he said.

The meeting will also highlight how ORC differs from average-based handicap systems, with discussion centred on flexible scoring options designed to improve fairness across mixed fleets.

Cairns has pointed sailors to a recent article from the Offshore Racing Congress explaining why a single scoring method can disadvantage certain boats.

Sailors are also encouraged to review ORC Club and active certificate types, as some existing Irish certificates may require updating ahead of the 2026 season.

Details of the webinar link will be circulated closer to the date.

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About the ORC Handicap System and Its Use in Ireland

The ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) handicap system is a measurement-based rating rule used to create fair competition between sailing yachts of different designs. Rather than relying on performance data alone, ORC ratings are calculated from detailed measurements of each yacht’s hull shape, rig, sails and stability. These measurements generate a Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) model, which estimates how fast the boat should sail in various wind strengths and angles. Race results are then corrected using one of several scoring options, such as Time-on-Time or Time-on-Distance, aiming to reward crew performance rather than inherent design advantages.

In recent years, there has been exploration in Ireland toward broader adoption of the ORC system, particularly ORC International (ORCi) and ORC Club certificates.

Clubs on both east and south coasts have explored ORC as an alternative or complement to the IRC rating rule, which has traditionally dominated Irish handicap racing. In 2025, events such as the D2D Race and Calves Week trialled ORC scoring or dual-scoring with IRC to ease the transition.

The move is driven by a desire for transparency, international alignment and access to the robust technical framework that ORC offers. Some Irish sailors are asking for consistency with European events where ORC is already well established.