EXCLUSIVE! RULE CHANGES CONFIRMED FOR 2012 ALPARI WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR


MOVING THE GOALPOSTS


All professional games evolve to find that


right balance between what’s right for the athletes, for the officials, and for the spectators, and the Alpari World Match Racing Tour has just taken a major shift in that evolution. Te Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) have


not undergone any major revision for about 15 years, yet this month the Tour will be allowing teams to use moves that previously would have brought them penalties from the match umpires. And even the penalties themselves have been reduced in their severity in an effort to keep the match close despite rules infractions.


For the fleet and match racer alike, these


changes will seem profound: marks can be hit now by a boat’s sails or rigging (but not the crew or the hull); a leeward boat is no longer constrained by its proper course, and now has more power over the windward boat; a boat moving backwards using sails no longer must keep clear; inside the mark zone a luffing boat now is less prone to get a penalty for forcing the opposing boat to keep clear; kinetic propulsion is now allowed when tacking or gybing; and pumping is also allowed unless signaled to the contrary.


now until close to the layline to the finish or the bottom mark.”


“Te lead boat will not want to gybe


32 MR360° May 2012


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