2026 ORC Rules and Sailor Services now online

ORC European Championship © Janis Spurdzins for ORC

The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) is pleased to announce that the 2026 editions of ORC Rules and Regulations are available at orc.org/organization/rules-regulations. These rules serve as the framework that allows the world's largest measurement-based rating system to help serve the needs of a wide diversity of racing sailboats: Monohulls, Multihulls, Superyachts and Sportboats.

Also available is the 2026 updates to the ORC's unique Sailor Services system, the open and transparent web portal to ORC certificates, Speed Guide polars performance data, and Target Speeds for windward/leeward racing.

2026 Rules and Regulations

A fundamental pillar in the ORC rating systems are protocols for measurement, which is explained in the International Measurement System (IMS) rule book. IMS is the platform that defines the procedures and methods for measuring a boat's hull, appendages, propeller, stability, rig, sails and accommodation. The complete data set of IMS is intended to be used primarily for ORC International and ORC Club, but it can also be used by other handicapping systems that wish to adjust their performance analysis by secret or public formulae. For 2026 these rules are largely unchanged from 2025, except for some revised descriptions of rigging systems as they relate to Non-manual power.

The ORC Rating Systems (ORC International and ORC Club) use IMS as a measurement platform and the ORC Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) to rate boats of different characteristics in size, hull and appendages shape and configuration, stability, rig and sails measurement, propeller installation and other details affecting their speed.

ORC Rating Rules includes the limits and defaults for the hull, rig, sails and crew, the rules applying while racing, certificate layouts and description and an explanation of different ORC scoring options.

ORC Multihull Rating Systems (ORCmh International and ORCmh Club) use IMS as a measurement platform and the ORCmh Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) to rate boats of different characteristics in size, hull and appendages shape and configuration, rig and sails measurement, propeller installation and other details affecting their predicted sailing speed. ORC Multihull Rating Rules includes the limits and defaults for the hull, rig, sails and crew, the rules applying while racing, certificate layouts and description and a complete explanation of different ORCmh scoring options.

Combining the power of the ORC VPP with an application specified to small, light and fast keelboats, the ORC Sportboat class is attracting attention throughout the world as a fair and transparent handicap solution for these style boats. According to the ORC Sportboat rules, three divisions are defined: Division A for boats with DSPM/LSM0³ of <3.70 and have only asymmetric spinnakers, Division B for boats with DSPM/LSM0³ of <6.66 that have no trapezes, and Division C for boats with DSPM/LSM0³ of <6.66 and are equipped with trapezes. These parameters are flexible, however, to address the needs of local fleets.

The ORC "Green Book" contains ORC Championship Regulations that apply at the World and Continental Championships recognized by the ORC and by World Sailing. ORC Championship Rules may also be used for regional and national championships, and a Standard Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions may be used for any event that uses the ORC Rating system rules. The ORC Green Book is available in PDF format, and the Standard Notice of Race and Standard Sailing Instructions templates are available in both.PDF and.docx formats.

The ORC Race Management Guide is a comprehensive guidebook to the way ORC ratings are applied to racing and some best practices tips learned from decades of race management experience at annual ORC championship and other major international races and regattas around the world.

The structure of organizing races and regattas is also discussed, along with many examples of the various scoring methods and recommendations for their intended use.

The 2026 editions of other ORC publications - the ORC Superyacht Rule, the ORC VPP Documentation and the ORC Speed Guide Explanation - are still in process of being updated and will be available in due course.

ORC Sailor Services

The ORC Sailor Services (SaS) system is offered as a self-service online tool for boat owners, skippers, and other interested parties such as measurers, race organizers and sail makers to explore and exploit the boat information in the ORC database. ORC Sailor Services allows the registered user to access the ORC Database of all ORC certificates issued worldwide, and there are >208,000 measurement records in this massive database.

For a small fee, users can run test certificates to explore the effects of changes in sails, crew weights, and rig dimensions, as well as generate a customized ORC Speed Guide of polars in digital, tabular and graphic formats, as well as generate a Target Speed output for windward/leeward racing.

This Sailor Services system is immensely popular in the racing community: there are >50,000 registered users around the world.

For more information on the ORC system, the 2026 calendar of racing events, links to ORC championships, software and tools available to designers and sailors, and the latest ORC news and stories, visit www.orc.org.