Notice of Race vs Sailing Instructions
What belongs in the Notice of Race, what belongs in the Sailing Instructions, and the mistakes that catch even experienced race officers.
In brief
The dividing line
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The Notice of Race comes first and sets the terms a sailor accepts when entering.
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Sailing Instructions explain how the race team and competitors operate on the day.
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Dates, rules and scoring may appear in both documents, but they must agree.
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Publish every change clearly so nobody has to compare files to find new terms.
Visual guide
Two documents, two jobs
The Notice of Race sets entry terms. Sailing Instructions explain how racing will run.
Follow the marked routeWhat each document is for
The Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions are the two governing documents for any organised sailing event in the UK. They sit under the Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028 published by World Sailing and adopted by the RYA, and they exist for different reasons.
The Notice of Race (NoR) advertises the event. It's a recruitment and information document. Its job is to give a sailor enough detail to decide whether the event is for them, what it will cost, when it runs, and how to enter. The NoR comes first in the timeline. For a UK open meeting it's usually published six to twelve weeks before the event and circulated through the club website, the class association, and a few sailing forums. For a section-by-section breakdown with a template you can copy, see our full Notice of Race guide.
The Sailing Instructions (SIs) tell competitors how the racing will run on the day. They are an operational document for people who have already entered. SIs cover the start sequence, the course, signal flags, scoring, time limits, the protest procedure, and the chain of decisions the race officer will follow if conditions change. They are normally published at registration or in the days immediately before the event, and they are the document a competitor reads in the dinghy park while rigging.
The Racing Rules of Sailing require Sailing Instructions for every race. The Notice of Race is required for events open to entries from outside the host club, and it's good practice for any event where competitors might be travelling.
What goes in the Notice of Race
Think of the NoR as the brochure. A sailor in another county should be able to read it once, understand the event, and decide whether to enter without phoning the club. If they have to email you to ask "what classes are eligible" or "where do I sleep on Saturday night", the NoR hasn't done its job.
A standard UK club open meeting NoR covers the following ground.
- Event title and dates. Including registration window and any practice race.
- Venue. Club name, address, postcode, and a brief note on launching, parking, and access for visiting trailers.
- Organising authority. Usually the club, sometimes jointly with a class association.
- Classes invited. Specific class names, and any eligibility for handicap fleets (Portsmouth Yardstick, NHC, IRC, club PY).
- Eligibility and qualifying conditions. Membership of a recognised club, RYA membership if required, age limits for junior events, third-party insurance.
- Rules to be applied. The Racing Rules of Sailing, the relevant class rules, the prescriptions of the RYA, and any club-specific rules that override defaults.
- Entry procedure. Entry form location, entry deadline, and how late entries are handled.
- Fees. Standard entry fee, late entry surcharge, family or junior discounts.
- Schedule overview. Number of races scheduled per day, target start times, any social or prizegiving slots.
- Prizes. What is on offer and how it is awarded.
- Accommodation and catering. Camping availability, nearby B&Bs, Saturday night meal arrangements.
- Contact details. A named person, an email address, and a phone number for entries and queries.
The NoR is a public document. Once published it's hard to change without sending out an amendment, so spend the time getting it right before it goes live. The most common error is silence on a question competitors will ask, which then floods the contact email in the week before the event.
What goes in the Sailing Instructions
The SIs are the operating manual for race day. They are read by competitors who have already entered, by the race committee on the water, and by the protest committee in the clubhouse afterwards. They have to be unambiguous, because every disputed decision will be litigated against this document.
A typical UK club SI covers the following.
- Notices to competitors. Where the official notice board is and the deadline by which any amendment must be posted.
- Schedule of races. Date, target time of warning signal, number of races scheduled.
- Class flags. Which flag denotes which class.
- Racing area. Defined by location and any limits.
- Course details. Either described in full or by reference to a course chart attached as an addendum.
- Marks. Description of rounding marks, change-of-course marks, and start and finish marks.
- Start. Start sequence and timing, line definition, and individual recall and general recall procedures.
- Change of course after the start. How a change is signalled.
- Finish. Finish line definition.
- Time limits. Cut-off times for the first boat, for finishers after the first, and for any course shortening.
- Penalty system. Whether the standard two-turn penalty applies and any class-specific variations.
- Protests and requests for redress. Time limit for filing, location of the protest committee, hearing arrangements.
- Scoring. Series score, discards, handicap system used (NHC, club PY, IRC, class rules), and any tie-break method.
- Safety. Check-in and check-out procedure, retiring procedure, safety boat call signs.
- Prizegiving. Time and location.
The race officer's discretion clauses sit inside the SIs. If the SIs say nothing about postponing for wind, the race officer has limited room to act without competitors questioning the call later. Spell out the latitude you want the race team to have.
Items that can sit in either document
Some items legitimately belong in either the NoR or the SIs, and different clubs make different choices. The principle: pick one document, be specific, and don't let the other contradict it.
The number of races scheduled often appears in both places, headline figure in the NoR ("up to eight races over the weekend") and the per-day breakdown in the SIs. That's fine, as long as the two documents add up. The scoring system is another grey area. Many UK clubs name the handicap system in the NoR so visitors know what they are signing up for, then put the discard rules and tie-break method in the SIs where they affect the result.
Abandon-and-resail conditions, course-shortening triggers, and the policy on combining fleets if entries are low can sit in either place. Whichever you choose, write it in one document, then reference it in the other rather than restating it. A club that puts the discard rule in both the NoR and the SIs will eventually publish two slightly different versions and have to resolve the contradiction in front of a protest committee.
Mistakes that catch experienced race officers
SI changes that contradict the NoR
The NoR says four races scheduled. The SIs say five. Now you have a problem before the first warning signal. The NoR is the senior document and amendments to either must be made formally with a written notice and a date stamp, not by quietly editing the PDF on the website.
Missing protest committee composition
SIs that say "protests will be heard by the protest committee" without naming who that committee is, or how it's convened, fall apart the moment a redress request lands. State who chairs it, how members are appointed, and where hearings happen.
Undefined "club rules" reference
A line saying "club rules apply" without a link or attachment is meaningless to a visiting competitor. If the rules matter, attach them as an addendum. If they don't, drop the reference.
Ambiguous course definitions
"Round the marks in order" is not a course definition. Specify mark numbers, rounding direction, and the number of laps. If you use a course board, define how the board is read and where it is displayed.
Missing safety statement
The decision to race is each competitor's, but the SIs should state it explicitly, alongside the check-in and retiring procedures. A boat that DNFs and goes home without telling the race office triggers a search call before anyone realises.
Sample NoR outline
A typical club open meeting Notice of Race uses these section headings, in roughly this order.
- Organising authority
- Rules
- Eligibility and entry
- Classification
- Fees
- Schedule
- Sailing Instructions (where they will be available)
- Venue
- Courses
- Penalty system
- Scoring
- Support boats
- Berthing
- Hauling out and storage
- Radio communication
- Prizes
- Disclaimer of liability
- Insurance
- Further information and contact
Sample Sailing Instructions outline
A typical Sailing Instructions document uses these section headings.
- Rules
- Notices to competitors
- Changes to Sailing Instructions
- Signals made ashore
- Schedule of races
- Class flags
- Racing area
- The courses
- Marks
- The start
- Change of the next leg of the course
- The finish
- Penalty system
- Time limits
- Protests and requests for redress
- Scoring
- Safety regulations
- Replacement of crew or equipment
- Support boats
- Radio communication
- Prizes
- Disclaimer of liability
How SailHQ helps with race admin
SailHQ handles the operational layer around your racing programme. Series templates let you reuse a recurring race structure season after season without rebuilding the schedule by hand. Event scheduling pulls dates, classes, and notes into one calendar members see in their portal. The duty rota module assigns and tracks the race-day crew (Race Officer, Assistant Race Officer, Safety Boat) with qualification gating and email reminders.
SailHQ does not currently host or generate Notice of Race or Sailing Instructions documents. Those still come from your usual Word or PDF workflow and live wherever you publish them now.
The free Notice of Race Builder gives you a checked starting document. Pair it with the club's risk assessment before publishing an open meeting.
Frequently asked questions
For weekly club racing under standing club rules, many UK clubs run on a single set of standing Sailing Instructions for the season, with a short Notice of Series at the start of the year that covers entry, eligibility and the overall calendar. For a one-off open meeting or championship, you produce a separate Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions for that event. The Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028 require Sailing Instructions for any race, but they do not force you to write two long documents for a Tuesday evening pursuit if your standing arrangements already cover it.
Yes, but only by a written amendment posted on the official notice board (or its electronic equivalent) within the timing the Sailing Instructions themselves specify. Verbal changes briefed in the dinghy park are not a valid amendment to the Sailing Instructions. If the change is to the schedule, the Racing Rules of Sailing require it to be posted by the deadline stated in the Sailing Instructions, typically the evening before the day it takes effect.
The organising authority is responsible for the Notice of Race. In a UK club that is usually the club itself, sometimes jointly with a class association. The Sailing Instructions are issued by the race committee under the authority of the organising authority. In practice, the racing chair or sailing secretary drafts both documents, the club committee approves them, and the principal race officer reviews the Sailing Instructions for operational accuracy before they are published.
The Notice of Race goes on the club website and is sent out with entry information so competitors see it before they enter. The Sailing Instructions are typically made available at registration on the day of the event, either on paper or as a downloadable PDF linked from the event page. Both should also be posted on the official notice board at the venue. Many UK clubs link the Sailing Instructions PDF from the event page in their member portal so competitors can read it on a phone before launching.
Next on SailHQ
Prepare for race day
Write the entry terms first, then give the duty team a clear plan for the day.