Officials in Focus: Race Officers

Being a Race Officer places you at the heart of sailing competition - the Race Officer’s role is to conduct consistent, fair and safe racing for all competitors within the Racing Rules of Sailing.

At Club level, leading the race management of a course requires thorough preparation followed by an entire day on-water (sometimes repeat days in a multi-day event). Possession of a range of skills such as race equipment preparation, on water race management and monitoring course safety is also essential.

At a State and National level, a Race Officer plays an important role in sailing by enabling higher level competition through assisting the regatta planning process and conducting quality racing for championship events.

This role should appeal to people who enjoy working within a team to practically prepare and then run sailing racing. Race Officer education and training can be accessed through the Australian Sailing Race Officer courses.

For Clubs and Classes there are many benefits to promote the Australian Sailing Race Officer education and training:

• Clubs and classes can be assured knowing that by using Australian Sailing accredited officials the required levels of competency and high-quality service delivery are being provided.
• Qualified Race Officers can be used to provide education to sailing members regarding the Racing Rules as it pertains to the running of racing.
• Training your developing Race Officers equips them with the knowledge to maintain levels of consistency, fairness & safety in the delivery of their role.
• Developing ‘ín-house’ officials (avoiding costly outsourcing of officials) reduces the overall costs of quality running racing.
• With accredited officials on board, stakeholders will know that the Club meets racing requirements and has a good reputation for service delivery in officiating, and this will help gain hosting rights for race events.
• Providing a quality race services by appointing experienced and accredited Officials will lead to retention of volunteer officials.

From an official perspective, Australian Sailing qualified Race Officers can leverage the below benefits:

• Being recognised within the sport through Australian Sailing training and certification.
• Being listed on the Australian Sailing website’s Officials Finder (useful for obtaining race appointments).
• Gaining Race Officer appointments allows members to contribute to the running of quality racing and participate with other likeminded volunteers in the sailing community.

The Australian Sailing Race Officer courses provide a structured approach to learning which covers the correct procedures to conduct consistent, fair and safe racing.

There are three progressive courses within the Race Officer Program. Click on any of the courses below to find one near you. If you are unable to locate a course near you please contact your Club Services Officer for further information.

For more information on the Australian Sailing Race Officer Policy please click HERE.