Levelling the playing field with Portsmouth Yardstick

The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) system remains one of the most widely used and effective methods for ensuring competitive racing across different boat classes. 

An enjoyable and rewarding race experience is what keeps sailors coming back for more – and the PY system is key to supporting better competition, accuracy and accessibility in mixed fleet racing.

2025 has seen some significant changes to the calculation formula – the biggest in 30 years – which aim to improve accuracy, inclusivity and ease of implementation for sailing clubs.

We delve into the key updates to PY for 2025, which have been developed alongside Sheffield Hallam University, and explore why it’s a must-use tool for clubs at their racing events.

Key updates for 2025

Expansion of data set for more accurate PY Numbers:
For 2025, the RYA has implemented a broader data analysis approach, incorporating a larger number of race returns. By increasing the volume of data considered, the PY system can provide more precise and representative handicap numbers, ensuring more competitive racing across a wide variety of boat classes. This improvement helps eliminate anomalies and ensures that clubs receive more reliable results.

Adjusted threshold for performance inclusion:
A major refinement in 2025 is the expansion of the average corrected time threshold from 105% to 110%. This change allows a wider range of competitive results to be included in PY calculations. In doing so, more sailors’ performances will contribute to the system, providing a more representative assessment. This also means that clubs with a more diverse fleet will see greater accuracy in the handicaps applied to their races.

Shift in average corrected time calculation:
Historically, the PY system used the mean to calculate the average corrected time, but for 2025, it has moved to using the median. This change prevents extreme outliers from skewing the results, ensuring that the calculation better reflects the performance of the majority of competitors. The median is less influenced by a single unusually fast or slow result, making the system more stable and improving its consistency.

Increased transparency and reporting:
The 2025 update includes improved reporting tools for clubs, allowing them to better understand how PY numbers are determined and how their race results contribute to the national dataset. This increased transparency helps clubs tailor their racing formats, ensuring that all sailors benefit from the most accurate weighting possible. Clubs will now have greater insight into the calculations behind the numbers, building greater confidence in the system.

Class-specific adjustments:
In response to feedback, the RYA fine-tuned class-specific configurations to better reflect real life racing conditions and circumstances (e.g. double-handed boat being sailed as a single-hander; sailing without spinnaker in a river) and has also standardised formats for how classes should be recorded.

These improvements in data reporting and accuracy ensure that there’s better quality information being fed into the PY tool, which leads to more representative information coming out of it.

How does all this help improve club racing?

The PY system continues to be the go-to option for clubs looking to maintain competitive racing across mixed fleets.

Here’s why PY should be a core tool for your club events:

Rewarding racing, greater participation:
The PY system allows boats of different designs to race competitively. It ensures a fair system for all competitors, which in turn encourages a greater level of participation and helps clubs build a more engaged racing community. More inclusive mixed fleet racing means clubs can retain members and attract new sailors who might otherwise be discouraged by solely class-based racing.

Adaptability to different conditions and club needs:
One of the Portsmouth Yardstick’s greatest strengths is its adaptability. Whether a club races on a small inland lake or in open sea, the PY system takes into account varying performance factors. The 2025 refinements further enhance this by ensuring that class-specific adjustments and data-driven calculations better reflect the racing conditions experienced at different venues.

Easy implementation:
The Portsmouth Yardstick remains one of the most accessible racing handicaps, requiring only simple calculations that can be automated with commonly used club software. The new transparency and reporting features for 2025 further simplify the process, making it easier for race officers to manage and adjust. Clubs no longer need to worry about complex calculations, as the updated system provides clearer guidance and tools for implementation.

Supports long-term development of club racing:
By contributing race results to the national database, clubs play a role in refining the PY system for future years. The more data that is collected, the better the system becomes, ensuring that fair racing continues to evolve and improve with time. This allows clubs to be part of a larger effort to refine mixed fleet racing and contribute to the continued growth of sailing as a sport.

If your club doesn’t already use the Portsmouth Yardstick system, this season is the perfect time to start.

For those that already do – please continue to submit race results via PY Online to ensure that the RYA can keep on listening, learning and evolving the system for your benefit in the years to come.

Find out more on our PY pages or contact technical@rya.org.uk for any questions on how the system works or implementing it at your club.