Team Racing Tie Breaking

Team Racing Tie Breaking

The kSail Events Results Service provides an event with multiple options for how to break ties for a range of Team Racing scheduling and format options.

The following Tie Breaking formats for Team Racing are included within the System.

Round Robins- RRS D4.3 and D4.4
The kSail system will rank a Round Robin stage based on the scoring as defined is RRS D4.3 with  ties broken as detailed in RRS D4.4.

The kSail system can manage single or multiple Round Robin groups within single or multiple stages. Teams within each Round Robin Group are ranked independently.
Knockouts - DDS D4.5
The kSail results portal provides the race team the tools to rank each round within a Knockout Stage at all times that a ranking is calculable.

Scoring Knockout Stages using RRS D4.5 can be challenging depending on the structure of the Event Sailing Instructions and the description of the stages and round which are being scored.

We will soon provide some additional guidance about how best to structure an Event and Write Sailing Instructions to ensure a fair and transparent outcome for all.
HLS - Hebbert-Lucas-Sammons
The kSail System is fully integrated to run events using the HLS System with a comprehensive library of HLS Schedules and automated scoring and tie breaks.

The HLS (Hebbert-Lucas-Sammons) system is a set of tie break and scoring rules which when combined with a specificly engineered and structured schedule provides events with a simple and effective ranking solution for an incomplete Round Robin.
  1. Teams always sail a similar number of races in the schedule and are therefore initially ranked on Percentage Wins.
  2. Tie-Breaks initially follow similar principles to the RRS however move to a comparitive analysis with emphasis being placed on the standard of teams that have been beaten and the points scored.
Please see our more in-depth article about HLS Scheduling and Scoring.
kSail Single Change Swiss League
In early 2025, the kSail Team developed the Single Change Swiss League. Similar to a standard Swiss League, the Single Change Swiss is a dynamic scheduling system which develops more peer to peer racing meaning that the better teams should sail more teams at the top of the ranking, the less good teams should sail more teams at the bottom of the ranking.

The kSail System will rank and score any stage which is set up to use Single Change Swiss League scoring.
  1. Teams are ranked based on the percentage of their races won.
  2. The principle of tie breaking considers the number of races teams have sailed, won and lost; firstly against teams ranked higher and subsequently teams that are ranked lower.
  3. When, at any stage in the tie breaking process, just two teams are tied, the tie is broken in favour of the team which won the last match between them.
More information about the kSail Single Change Swiss, its history, logic and creation will be available soon.
    kSail Swiss League
    The kSail System provides events with the ability to run and score a dynamically created Swiss League.

    Swiss League Schedules are generated based on the results of races already completed and the ranking of teams. In a standard Swiss League, racing is in Rounds with each team being scheduled to sail a single race in each round. Rankings are generated at the end of each Round.

    Swiss League Ranking and Tie Breaks
    1. Ranking is initialy based on the number of race wins
    2. The principle of tie breaking considers the number of races teams have sailed, won and lost; firstly against teams ranked higher and subsequently teams that are ranked lower.
    3. When, at any stage in the tie breaking process, just two teams are tied, the tie is broken in favour of the team which won the last match between them.
    Please see our more in-depth article about the kSail Swiss League.
    Win-Points
    Win-Points scoring provides a method of ranking teams across multiple Round Robins using established Match Racing principles. The primary advantage for Team Racing is that for an incomplete Round Robin all races can be used, even when less than 80% of races in the Round Robin are completed.

    The kSail System will rank and score any stage which is set up to use the Win-Points scoring system.
    1. Win-Points are calculated by sharing one Win-Point between all matches sailed between any two teams.
    2. In the first Round Robin, a Win is worth one Win-Point to the winning Team.
    3. When the teams meet for the second time in the second Round Robin, the Win-Point is then split between the two matches, therefore if each team has won one match, each will carry 1/2 Win-Point.   
    4. When the teams meet for the third time in the third Round Robin, the Win-Point is further split over the three matches, therefore if one team has won two matches, and the other team has won one match, they will carry 2/3 Win-Points and 1/3 Win-Points respectively.
    5. Subsequent Round Robins continue this fractional change for each repeat of each match. 
    When a stage concludes with an incomplete Round Rovin, Win-Points provide the initial ranking. When a Stage concludes with a completed Round Robin, the initial ranking reverts to absolute wins. In both cases,  tie breaks continue to be broken using RRS D4.4.
    Custom Tie Breaks
    Should events wish to use their own tie breaks, the kSail system will still score races and provides the core data such that the Race Management team can calculate and manually rank teams within a stage.
     

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