FORMULA EXPERIENCE
Formula Experience Class Rules (effective 1st april 2003)

:: Main Menu :: | :: Events :: | :: Forum :: | :: Class Rules :: | :: Philosophy :: | :: Team ::


© Formula Experience Class Association 1 February 2003

1. General
1.1 The Formula Experience Class (FE) shall be a single-handed sailboard class.
1.2 The international authority for the Formula Experience Class shall be the Formula Experience Class Association
1.3 Interpretations of these rules shall be made by the Formula Experience Class Association
1.4 No liability or legal responsibility in respect of these rules can be accepted by the International Formula Experience Association or its delegated representatives.
2. Administration
2.1 Language
    2.1.1 The official language of the Class is English and in the event of a dispute over interpretation the English text shall prevail.

    2.1.2 The word "shall" is mandatory and the word "may" is permissive.

2.2 National Authority: In countries where there is no National Authority (NA) or in which the NA does not wish to undertake the administration of the Formula Experience Class its functions as stated in these rules shall be carried out by a "National Board Sailing Association" which is recognised by the Formula Experience Class Association

2.3 Eligibility to Race
    2.3.1 No sailboard shall race in the Formula Experience Class unless it complies with the current Class Rules.

    2.3.2 It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that his equipment complies with the rules at all times and that alterations or replacements to the sailboard do not contravene the rules.

    2.3.3 No sailboard shall sail in Formula Experience International Events unless it is registered with the Formula Experience Class

    To be eligible for International championships a board shall have completed registration and been added to the "Formula Experience Boards list by 30 November of the previous year

    Registration is deemed complete only when the registration forms have been received and approved and all fees and costs paid.

2.4 Measurement
    2.4.1 The primary method of determining compliance with measurement rules shall be by measuring boards and equipment of high finishing competitors after race completion. This procedure shall be followed in International, World or Continental events or when the notice of race so prescribes.

    2.4.2 Only a measurer officially recognised by the Formula Experience Class Association, the National Authority or the National Board Sailing Association of the country in which the measurement is undertaken shall measure a sailboard, its mast, sail and equipment.

    2.4.3 The measurer shall report to the Formula Experience Class Association and the NA anything which he may consider to depart from the intended Spirit of Formula Experience or to be against the interests of the sport and in this event notwithstanding anything in these rules, the Class Assn. or NA may refuse to let a sailboard race. Major underside refairing or deliberate removal of the finishing coat(s) are not permitted.

    Normal damage repairs , to the original fairlines , are permitted.

    2.4.4 All sailboards shall be liable to measurement checks by a recognised measurer at the discretion of the Formula Experience Class Association the NA or the race committee at any time.

2.5 ISAF Measurement instructions
    2.5.1 Except where other methods of measurement are specifically indicated, all measurements shall be carried out in accordance with the current ISAF Measurement Instructions.

    2.5.2 All measurements shall be in metric units.

2.6 Identification Marks
    2.6.1 The sail shall carry the National Letters, National number and the sailboard insignia, if it has one, in accordance with the Appendix H of the Funboard Racing Rules The minimum size of sail letters and numbers shall be:-

    Height 230mm. Minimum Space 45mm

    National letters and sail numbers shall be of a single colour and when applied to a transparent sail be either black or red. or blue

    2.6.2 All insignia, letters and numbers shall be of a durable material, of a colour contrasting with the sail, and shall be securely attached.

    2.6.3. If the racing is divided into groups, A woman's group shall carry an equilateral diamond on both sides of the sail in the proximity of the head. The minimum length of each side shall be 150mm.
3. Construction and Measurement Rules
3.1 Boards
    3.1.1. Junior Boards:
      3.1.1.1 Only one Skeg may be fitted, the size and construction of the Skeg is optional, skegs shall not project more than 700 mm below the hull, measured at 90 degrees to the fairline of the underside of the hull. The original skeg provided with the board shall be fitted. An alterna ative skeg may be fitted, provided the retail price in Euroland is not in excess of € 150
      3.1.1.2. The hull shall be fully filled with foam and the outer layer shall be of thermoformed skin.
      3.1.1.3: The maximum beam is limited to 1005 m.m. measured 90 degrees to the centerline
      3.1.1.4 The weight in a clean dry state without deck plate, straps and fin shall be no less than 9 kg plus or minus 3%.
      3.1.1.5 Spare
      3.1.1.6 The maximum number of footstraps is 5
      3.1.1.7 The retail price including fin and straps shall not be in excess of €1000 in Euroland

    3.1.2. Youth and senior Boards:
      3.1.2.1 Only one Skeg may be fitted, the size and construction of the Skeg is optional,skegs shall not project more than 700 mm below the hull, measured at 90 degrees to the fairline of the underside of the hull The original skeg provided with the board shall be fitted. An alternative skeg may be fitted, provided the retail price in Euroland is not in excess of € 150
      3.1.2.2. The hull shall be fully filled with foam and the outer layer shall be of thermoformed skin.
      3.1.2.3: The maximum beam is limited to 1005 mm. measured 90 degrees to the centerline
      3.1.2.4 The weight in a clean dry state without deck plate, straps and fin shall be no less than 10 kg plus or minus 3%
      3.1.2.5 Spare
      3.1.2.6 The maximum number of footstraps is 5
      3.1.2.7 The retail price, including fin and straps, shall be no more than: € 1000 in Euroland

    3.2 A centreboard or daggerboard is prohibited.

    3.3 Mast
      3.3.1 The size and construction of the mast is optional The maximum length of the mast, measured from the fair deckline shall not exceed 5000mm for the 6.5m2 division, 5300mm for the 8.5m2 division and 6250mm for the 11m2 division. At any cross section normal to the mast's axis, the mast shall be circular and of uniform wall thickness. The bending curve shall be equal in every direction. A tapered mast is allowed. Pre-bent masts are prohibited. The bend curve shall be checked as follows: support the mast 50mm from each end, suspend a weight of approximately 20kg at 1700mm from the base and measure the deflection from the horizontal. Rotate the mast through 90°, 180° and 270° on the longitudinal axis and repeat the test. There shall be not more than 10% difference in any of the deflections and the deflection shall not exceed 100 mm when not under load.
      The minimum weight of the mast (bare pole, 2 piece) shall be not less than 0.46 grams per millimetre for the 11 m2 division, 0.44 grams per millimetre for the 8.5m2 division and 0.42 grams per millimetre for the 6.5 m2 division.
      (For example, a 520 cm mast for the 11m2 division will have a minimum weight of 2.39 kg ) A one piece mast shall weigh not less than 0.40 grams per millimetre (for example a 520 cm mast shall weigh not less than 2.08 Kg).

      3.3.2 The construction of the joint and downhaul fitting between the mast and board is optional but it shall be possible to incline the mast to an angle of at least 90 degrees to the vertical in every direction unless the sheer of the deck prevents this.

      3.3.3 The mast shall be capable of quick release from the board, without the use of tools.

    3.4 .1 Boom ...The size of the boom is optional. The boom shall be constructed from aluminium alloy. (carbon boom tubes and ends are NOT permitted) The "operational length" shall not exceed 2250mm for the 6.5m2 division, 2400mm for the 8.5m2 division and 3010mm for the 11m2 division (measured from the front of the mast to the maximum outhaul position when rigged)

    3.4.2 Harness attachments may be fitted to the boom and may be adjustable.
4. Sail
4.1 The size and construction of the sail shall be optional

The maximum size of sails shall be,

Junior 6.5 m2 division:..6.5 Sq.m. A maximum of 7 full width battens are permitted. The number of additional leach battens is free provided the length of each is not more than 25% of the distance from the leach to the luff along the centre line of the batten. A maximum of 2 cambers are permitted.

The 6.5m2 sails complying with the present Aloha Class rules will be permitted to race without further measurement or registration

Juniors 8.5m2 division: 8.5 Sq.m. A maximum of 7 full width battens are permitted. The number of additional leach battens is free provided the length of each is not more than 25% of the distance from the leach to the luff along the centre line of the batten. A maximum of 3 cambers are permitted

Youth and seniors: 11.0 Sq.m. the standard Formula Windsurfing sails shall be used

All sails shall be Production Sails from Class licensed Sail Makers registered with the class and fall within the tolerances of the data sheet for that sail registered with the class.

4.2 The sail shall carry the identification marks required by rule 2.6. Sailmakers marks shall not exceed 300mm in diameter.

4.3 At International. Continental or World Championships the sails Shall be restricted to those from ISAF and Formula Experience Class licensed sailmakers only. For this restriction to apply it SHALL be specifically included in the Notices of Race. The List of currently licensed sailmakers will be posted on the official Formula Experience Class Website

All registered sail models will be measured in accordance with the following System by the Formula Experience Class approved sail measurer , prior to being placed on the approved list

4.4 The mast pocket shall extend downwards to within 300mm of the Tack Measurement Point or beyond. The width of the mast pocket is optional.

4.5 The Tack Measurement Point (point Y) shall be determined in one of two ways depending on the sail configuration:

    (a) If the mast pocket extends downwards beyond the intersection or fair extension of the foot of the sail, point Y shall be the point on the forward edge of the mast pocket which is opposite to the point at which the foot or its extension intersects the rear edge of the mast pocket, measured perpendicular to the forward edge of the mast pocket.

    (b) If the mast pocket is not as specified in (a), point Y shall be defined by the corner of the 90° template shown in the diagram. The template shall be placed so that when the 450mm arm is aligned with the leading edge of the mast pocket the foot of the sail shall touch the 250mm arm of the template and no point of the sail shall lie below the extension of the 250mm arm.

4.6 The Clew Measurement Point (point Z) shall be the point at which the foot or its extension intersects the leach or its extension.

4.7 The Head Measurement Point (point X) shall be the highest point on the forward edge of the mast pocket where the sail is 150mm wide, measured perpendicular to the forward edge of the mast pocket. The sail shall be made so that the head can be found in this way.

4.8 Headboards are prohibited.

4.9 A clewboard is permitted.

4.10 Battens and camber inducers shall not be removed for measurement.

4.11 The sail area shall be measured in accordance with the following method:

    4.11.1 With sufficient tension applied between points X and Y, or as close as possible to those points, to remove all wrinkles perpendicular to the line between the points, the distance from X to Y shall be measured, to be the luff length, a.

    4.11.2 With the tension maintained a straight chalk line shall be marked on the sail from point X to Y. With the tension removed, measurement d shall be the maximum perpendicular offset from the chalk line to the forward edge of the luff pocket, projected if necessary through local variations in shape.

    4.11.3 With sufficient tension applied between points Z and Y, or as close as possible to those points, to remove all wrinkles perpendicular to the line between the points, the distance from Z and Y shall be measured, to be the foot length, c.

    4.11.4 With the tension maintained a straight chalk line shall be marked on the sail from point Z to Y. With the tension removed, the area between the chalk line and the edge of the sail shall be measured by dividing it into trapeziums, triangles and segments and measuring the area of each. For the purpose of this instruction the area of a segment shall be taken as two thirds of the product of the chord of the round and the maximum perpendicular offset to the chord. This area shall be called the foot area.

    4.11.5 With sufficient tension applied between points Z and X, or as close as possible to those points, to remove all wrinkles perpendicular to the line between the points, the distance from Z and X shall be measured, to be the leach length, b.

    4.11.6 With tension maintained a straight chalk line shall be marked on the sail from point Z to X. The procedure described in rule 4.12.4 shall be used to measure the area between this chalk line and the edge of the sail, to be called the leach area.

    4.11.7 The distance from point Z to the chalk line between points X and Y, measured perpendicular to the chalk line, shall be e.

    4.11.8 The area of the sail shall be calculated

4.12 Multiple attachment positions may be fitted at the tack and clew.
5. Crew
The crew shall be one person.
6. Limitation of Equipment
6.1 During a series of races not more than One board and two rigs and two skegs shall be used. Only one board and one rig and one skeg shall be used during a race. All sails shall carry Class identification tags securely fixed at the clew cringle, all boards shall have EITHER a permanent unique serial number applied by the manufacturer, OR shall carry a Class identification tag securely fixed through a towing eye

Registered skegs shall carry a unique ID number on the head stock, this may be applied by the measurers during event registration. The limited equipment shall not be altered in any way during the regatta without the permission of the Jury. The Jury may only permit substitution of irreparably damaged limited equipment on a 'like for like' basis. Other equipment is interchangeable provided it complies with these rules.

6.2 A harness is permitted.

6.3 Wind indicators and tell tales are permitted.

6.4 A weight jacket is prohibited. The total weight of clothing and equipment worn or carried by a competitor shall not be capable of exceeding 9kg when soaked with water and weighed as provided in Appendix J of the Racing Rules of Sailing.

7. Racing Rules
Competition shall be in Male and Female groups.
Fixed time limits for finishing SHALL be defined in the event sailing instructions, FRR 35.1 and FRR 35.2 shall not apply to Formula Experience races.

8. Buoyancy
If personal buoyancy is prescribed, every competitor shall wear, above the waist, a jacket, harness or vest with a minimum buoyancy of 4kg uninflated, in fresh water. The buoyancy shall be tested with a metal weight of 4kg, which shall remain supported for a minimum of 5 minutes.

9. Safety:
Racing shall not take place in wind speeds in excess of 35 knots

10. Advertising
Advertising (Category C) is allowed in accordance with ISAF Funboard Racing Rules . In World and Continental events, a competitor may be required or induced to display advertising on the board, the sail, the clothing or the equipment.