SailGP fixes split-fleet scoring mess

SailGP has quietly fixed the split-fleet scoring problem exposed in Auckland.

The league updated its Notice of Race this morning to address the points imbalance that left teams frustrated after the season’s second event. The solution: equal weighting for races regardless of when the split happens mid-regatta.

Under the new system, if boats are divided into groups after racing has already begun, points allocation shifts to a compressed scale: 10 for first, 8 for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth, and 2 for fifth. No more scenarios where a dominant Sunday performance earns a quarter of the points available on Saturday.

The mathematics in Auckland – where split fleets were called halfway through the event – were problematic. Win four full-fleet races on Saturday, bank 40 points. Win both your split-fleet races on Sunday, walk away with ten. Teams lobbied hard on Saturday night when they saw what was coming, but the rulebook offered no flexibility.

As Freddie Carr put it on The Foil podcast last week: "This split-fleet point scoring system was written to do a whole weekend like it, and it absolutely fell over when you had to change halfway through the weekend."

24:30 onwards:

Spain making the final despite not sailing in Sunday's opening race illustrated the issue clearly. Under the alternative scoring teams had proposed, Germany and Artemis would have made the final on 20 points each, with Spain down in sixth.

Well, now that scoring system is a reality. Perhaps SailGP management tune in to The Foil podcast?

There's another change buried in the update. If an entire event runs under split-fleet conditions, we'll see something SailGP has never tried before: a four-boat final. That would be a totally different dynamic, with potentially tighter racing and the reality that fourth place means walking away with zero prize money.

The fix arrives ahead of Sydney this weekend. With 11 boats on the start line – New Zealand and France sidelined after Auckland – split fleets aren't on the cards. Should the weather force another split, at least teams know the points will be fair this time.