In an effort to promote IRC racing in the United States, US Sailing will offer a special discount on IRC certificate costs this fall. All certificates issued after September 30, 2007, will be priced at 50% off the regular price.Discounted certificates will be issued after September 30th, and will be valid for all IRC events through the end of the year.US-IRC and US Sailing are encouraging yacht owners considering racing under IRC this fall to apply for a certificate now. Applications and a list of measurers can be found at . Completed applications and any questions should be directed to IRC@ussailing.org. In another effort to promote the ratings system, US-IRC announced in July that it is recommending the use of ‘standard ratings’ for IRC events other than championships. The standard certificate allows the yacht owner to submit specifications for the yacht based on his own or designer’s and builders measurements or on the data from a sistership. This data could be supplemented by information from earlier rating certificates and manufacturer’s brochures. In this event, the boat will be assigned the lightest weight (least favorable) of others of its kind that have been weighed and measured. Custom boats will normally require weighing because there is no comparative data available.The endorsed certificate is more complex and requires the services of a US SAILING-certified measurer and actual weighing of the vessel. The endorsed certificate will result in a more accurate rating vs. the standard rating for a similar boat.Organizing authorities wishing to adopt IRC for their events should contact US-IRC Executive Director John Mendez for help with the process.US SAILING administers the IRC rule in the U.S., and owners should contact Nathan Titcomb for help with certificate application or with rating questions.
