About Us
We are the NSC volunteer group of race officials, including race committee (RC), judges and safety boat operators. Contact us if:
- you need race officials for a regatta at NSC
- you want to volunteer on race committee
- you are looking for training
- you want to travel the world, being a race official at cool regattas
Contact us at rcs-r-us@nsc.ca. Our coordinator is listed in the Fleet Committee. As of 2024, our coordinator is Debbie Reinhart.
Why We Love RC
Delivering top quality regattas is not easy, but it is always satisfying. You will gain satisfaction from being part of a competent team of NSC volunteers, you will earn the appreciation of racers, and you will be on the water!
The nickname RCs-r-Us was coined by a former member, David Searle, who focused on fun and excellence in Race Management. You can read some of our history from the early 2000’s.
More Info
RCs-R-Us maintains a list of RC skills and interests of NSC members. We create RC pathways based on their interests. We also know the lead officials at other clubs in the region.
In the Fall, we help the chairs of NSC regattas to find the lead officials (lead RO and CJ) for the following season. Several months before each regatta, we contact the lead officials, and propose names from our roster of volunteers. The lead officials make the final decision on who joins their team.
RCs-R-Us advises volunteers through training pathways.
Race Officials roles are defined by Sail Canada, and training is provided by Ontario Sailing. We frequently host those training courses at NSC. Check out NSC Fleet Training.
The club reimburses training registration fees for NSC members who take official courses.
At the Club level the official positions are :
- Assistant Race Officer (ARO). Timekeepers, signallers and recorders often take this course.
- Club Race Officer (CRO)
- Assistant Mark Layer, Mark Layer (ML)
- Club Judge (CJ)
There are also Regional, National and International Race Officer and Judge levels. These are for experienced people who are aiming higher.
Sail Canada focuses on race management standards to ensure that volunteers organizing and running sailing competitions have competent knowledge and skills.
Once you are certified in any of the technical roles, Sail Canada asks you to re-register each year, to allow them to list you at Find An Official. It’s helpful for us, because then we can find you. It’s helpful for you, as you may be invited to regattas at other clubs.
The race bosuns are paid seasonal employees of NSC. They are led by the head race bosun. The race bosuns are not part of RCs-R-Us, but we are good friends!
Race bosuns are the race officer and mark layer for most of NSC’s weeknight racing.
For regattas, the race committee often includes a race bosun, because they have good familiarity with the RC equipment and club procedures.