ORC Ireland Sets Online Handicap Briefing for Sailors

25th January 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Irish sailors are invited to a webinar to check out the ORC system, which ORC Ireland will explain in detail during an online competitors’ briefing focused on certification, scoring options and fleet fairness

ORC Ireland will hold an information session and webinar for competitors later this month to explain the ORC Club handicap system.

The session takes place on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, at 7.30 pm and will be delivered online via a Teams webinar.

It follows an announcement by the country's largest yacht racing club, Dublin Bay Sailing Club, that it will adopt the ORC Rule for 2026.

The meeting had been postponed to allow for further clarification ahead of the presentation, according to organisers.

ORC Ireland convenor Fintan Cairns said the briefing will focus on how the ORC Club system 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 session will outline how ORC differs from average-based handicap systems, with emphasis on flexible scoring options across mixed fleets.

Sailors are encouraged to familiarise themselves with ORC Club and active certificate types, as some Irish certificates may need updating for the 2026 season.

Webinar access details are here

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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.