Table of Contents
Terms used in STS might be slightly different than official meanings or as used in local customs. With that said, here are some definitions of words and acronyms as they apply to Starboard Tack Scoring.
Table 3.1. Glossary
| Term | STS Definition |
|---|---|
| STS | Starboard Tack Scoring, a yacht race scoring program. |
| Regatta | Regatta, as used in STS, is a container for one or more related races having a common set of fleets, entries, and scoring properties. Nothing can be done in STS without creating a regatta, so you must create one when running an actual regatta, a long series, or a single race unrelated to other races. |
| Active Race | Most regattas will have more than one race. In STS one race is "active", meaning that the race information is visible on screen and can be edited. In order to edit the information for another race, it must first be made active by selecting its entry in the "Races" menu. |
| Series | Synonym for a regatta containing more than one race. For example, "Score Series...", is the menu-item text for the action which computes the final score for the regatta. |
| Fleet | Entries are usually sub-divided into fleets based on the boat class (e.g. one-design fleets), handicap (PHRF-A, PHRF-B, etc), ability to fly a spinnaker (non-spinnaker fleets), etc. For each race, the fleets are started at different times. Each fleet can be assigned a different handicapping system. Fleets are defined on a per-regatta basis. |
| Class | This term is used to denote a boat's type. For example, "Martin 24-2" is a class -- PHRF-A is not. |
| Start | In each race, there is one start per fleet. The scheduled start time is determined by adding the fleet's start-time offset to the start time of the race. The start data in STS is also used to record the actual start time (in the case the start was delayed), and the course that the corresponding fleet was assigned. STS supports sending each fleet on different courses. |
| Disposition | An indication of an entry's status in a single race. In Appendix A, this is called a 'scoring abbreviation'. Values include DNC (did not come to the starting area), DNS (did not start), DNF (did not finish), DSQ (disqualified), OK (finished normally), etc. |
| Handicapping System | A system for mathematically correcting the finish times of boats based on handicaps. In STS, handicapping systems are responsible for adjusting the finish time and calculating the "place" of each boat in a fleet. STS is implemented such that handicapping systems are loaded as plug-ins. This design is meant to allow new handicapping systems to be added later. A default plug-in provides support for PHRF-TOD (time over distance). STS treats "one-design" as a handicapping system in which a boat's actual finish time is simply copied to the corrected time field. |
| Scoring System | A system for assigning a numeric score to each boat based on her finish place in each race. The system also calculates each boat's overall placement in the regatta using the boat's individual race scores. In STS, scoring systems are loaded as plug-ins. Default plug-ins are provided which support the low point and bonus point systems. |