Scoring

The overall aim in Olympic sailing is to score as few points as possible. In this low-point scoring system, competitors/crews will record a point per position. For example, the winner(s) of each race will be awarded one (1) point, the second-placed competitor/crew will win two points, and so on.

Sailing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will adopt a fleet racing format. This is the most common form of competitive sailing which involves boats racing around a course.

Each event will see all entered competitors/crews take to the racecourse at the same time, and the number of competitors/crews involved in each race will differ for each event, due to athlete quotas. For example, 44 competitors will feature in each race in the Laser Radial event, while 19 competitors will feature in each race in the Finn event.

If a competitor/crew is disqualified or fails to finish a race, they will be awarded one (1) more point than the total number of competitors/crews. For instance, if there are 20 competitors/crews, failure to finish or disqualification would result in a score of 21 points.

Each fleet racing event will consist either of a 10-race series or a 12-race series. The Laser, Laser Radial, Finn, 470 Men and 470 Women events will each aim to complete a 10-race series, while the RS:X Men, RS:X Women, 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 events will aim to complete a 12-race series.

After they have completed their series, the points from the worst race performance for each competitor/crew will be discarded. The remaining points will be added together and used to determine the rankings.

In each event, the 10 competitors/crews with the best (lowest) overall score will advance to one final race, called the Medal Race. In the Medal Race, points are doubled – so the winner of the Medal Race will score two points, while the competitor/crew in 10th place will score 20 points.

Points earned in the Medal Race will be added to the total points for the opening series to determine the final rankings. Any ties in these final rankings will be broken in favour of the competitor/crew finishing higher in the Medal Race.