Art and Steve,
I know this is an old posting but I have just read the stuff on points systems.
I am taking a punt that Steve's club is one of three remaining clubs on the Brisbane River whose raison de etre' over the last century are the Australian open boat classes.
Steve's clubs point system reflects the emphasis these classes placed on winning. It is fair, everyone knows the score before entering and it is simple. To encourage particapation by less than champion crews, handicaps were utilised. During the season a number of Handicap Starts would be put on. This was spectacular racing that had a major public following. The public could work out the points as a race progressed during a series. The winner would be awarded his Prize Ribbons on the water and could then parade them through the spectator fleet (often collecting quite a few beers on the way).
One of these classes was notorious for the amount of illegal betting that surrounded it. This was only possible because of the clear and transparent scoring system that operated in real time.
I am only writing this because I am wondering if we are making things too complicated. Sailwave is a tool for easing the task of scoring racing. I am yet to use it but I can see some things in it that a race officer can not do without in certain situations. Overall I am posing the question , are we making things too complicated? Would our sport have more attraction to the general public if we simplified things a bit?
Have a look at the way the Sydney Hobart has gone over recent decades.
Regards,
MWJ.