MC Fleet 36 and the Clear Lake Yacht Club
invite you to form a team and enter the

MCSA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA

Annually the weekend after Labor Day
September 11 - 12, 2010
Venue Clear Lake Yacht Club (CLYC), MC Fleet 36, Clear Lake IA
A TEAM Event Team sailing is unique. Few MC sailors have experienced it. After a season of doing our best to beat each other, coming together as a team to race against competing teams is special. Competitors become teammates with all the camaraderie that accompanies events like golf's Ryder Cup.

Teams will be treated to great competition, great parties, great music at the Surf Ballroom, and they will sail in one of the finest sailing lakes in North America.

Entries
and
Eligibility		 This regatta is open to all MCSA member sailors who form a team of three boats from their chartered home fleet. All participants and yachts must comply with MC Class scantlings prior to the preparatory signal of the first scheduled race. A boat may sail with a different sail number from its hull number if it registers with that sail number, and must compete with that number for the entire event. Non-MCSA members will be scored DNC for all races. Eligible teams may enter by completing the registration process and submitting required fees.

Skippers must be active members in good standing with MCSA and the MC chartered fleet with which they wish to sail. No more than three boats per team may register. Every qualified skipper may sail for only one team.

Fleets may determine qualification process. We recommend but do not insist on this qualifying process: the top three boats over the course of a time period selected by each fleet will qualify as the team. The first three boats are eligible. Boats ranked four on down will be selected if any top three boats are unable to attend until a three boat team is set. Alternates who are active members in good standing with the MCSA and the MC chartered fleet with which they wish to sail may be substituted at the discretion of the participating MCSA fleet as they see fit before the event starts and under extraordinary circumstances, approved by the PRO and regatta organizers, after the event has commenced.

The spirit of the rules is that the best three active MC sailors of a single fleet who are able to attend comprise the team. We seek to avoid ringers, and we ask every participating fleet to comply with the spirit of the qualification process. This will be a great event of participants who understand our great MC Class is a group of honorable competitive sportsmen and women, and that this is our most valuable and attractive asset.

Special Qualification
Individuals with special circumstances who wish to form a nontraditional team may apply to do so. We will encourage teams of sailors from chartered MCSA fleets first and foremost. Examples of exceptions that come to mind:

  1. Colorado has 8-10 MC's spread out across the state. It would be reasonable and likely accepted for them to choose to gather a team as a regional team.
  2. A team of Youths or Women or Mega Masters who may not have otherwise qualified for their home team may wish to apply as for special team status.
We would seek to accept all special teams if in our judgment they do not impede the original goals of establishing a tradition of MC chartered fleets creating teams for the event.

Rules The races will be governed by the rules defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), except as modified by the Sailing Instructions. All skippers are expected to be familiar with and comply with RRS Appendix D - Team Racing Rules. The Sailing Instructions will take precedence in case of conflict. This changes RRS 63.7. No advertising may be displayed pursuant to ISAF Regulation 20.6.4. We reserve the option to utilize umpired racing.
Competition We will sail team on team competition in a round robin or total fleet format or a combination of the two determined by the organizing committee in response to the number of teams participating and other factors.

We seek to provide an event where cooperative team sailing is encouraged. We seek to avoid aspects of team sailing that are overly aggressive and unfriendly. No pre-start aggressive tactics are allowed. We expect teams to make plans to keep an eye on other team's skippers and their position on the water. We wish to dissuade any action on the water that aggressively impedes a skipper's ability to compete and sail on the course as he or she chooses within the rules. Intentional fouls or attempts to intentionally draw a skipper into a foul will be completely outside the spirit of the event. We want every skipper on every team to sail his or her best in a spirit of sportsmanship and competition. If we need to develop sophisticated rules to govern this we will have failed in our underlying motivation for creating the event.

Schedule
of
Events
Date Time Event
Friday, September 10 1800 Cookout with beverages included in the registration fee for skipper and crew.
Date Time Event
Saturday, September 11 0800 - 0830 Continental Breakfast, Registration, and Launching
0830 Competitors Meeting
1000 Warning Signal Race #1. This race will be a fleet race to seed the draw for the round robin format that will be used for the remainder of the event.
1830 TEAM banquet at the Surf Ballroom
Date Time Event
Sunday, September 12 0830 - 0930 Continental Breakfast
TBD Warning Signal 1st Race of the day. No race started after 1500.
TBD Awards
Registration Boat/Team registration is $249 per team. Team registration includes continental breakfast and lunch (for each skipper only) on Saturday and Sunday along with one (1) Official 2010 MCSA Team Championship Tee Shirt for each skipper.

Guests and crew members may purchase lunches and tee shirts at additional costs.

Register online    See who has registered already

Scoring USSA Appendix A using the Low-Point scoring system with no throw-outs. This changes RRS A2. Scoring will be by team only. Individual scores are added to arrive at the team score. In the end, the team with the lowest score wins.
VHF Radios
and
Recalls		 Bring your VHF radio. It will be the primary way to communicate with the contestants about activity on the race course; e.g. pairings, delays, recalls, weather related issues.

Specifically for Recalls:
Following the display of the individual recall signal, the RC will attempt to announce first by VHF radio and second by hailer the racing number of all boats identified on the course side of the starting line at the starting signal. This changes RRS 29.1. Such announcement is a courtesy and failure by the RC to make the announcement, or of the boats to hear or understand it shall not constitute grounds for redress.

Trophies
  • Top Five Teams will receive team trophies.
  • There will be no individual awards.
  • There will be a permanent trophy mounted at the Clear Lake yacht Club recognizing the Team championship for each year.
  • There will be an online trophy at the MC Scow Site recognizing the top five teams of each year with photos and commentary.
Accommodations We will make every attempt to house all skippers, spouses and crew as well as guests as space allows. Those that prefer hotel housing may check http://www.clearlakeiowa.com/
Boat Storage Boat Storage will be allowed on trailers at the waterfront at the yacht club or you may wet sail with your own anchor and buoy (bring mooring line for depths of 7-10 feet - the bottom is a mixture of sand and mud with few weeds.)
Support Boats Teams are encouraged to provide support motorboats for crew, sails, breakdowns, refreshments and encouragement.
Questions/Inquiries MCSA Team Championship Committee
Directions Map to Clear Lake yacht Club