After last year's inaugural event, we return to Falmouth again with a two-day format including Sprint, Technical and Distance races, our Challenge Tour and Juniors.
Gyllyngvase Surf Life Saving Club will partner with us once again to deliver the event of the stunning Gylly Beach in Falmouth. We plan to have a festival atmosphere with multiple races, clinics, massage therapists, kit demos and more.
We are looking forward to running the Falmouth Bay Open again, and here are the initial details for you.
Entry is open until Saturday, July 1st.
Event format
Saturday will play host to the Sprint and Technical competitions. Our preferred plan is to run qualifying heats to a final in both competitions. This format will depend on the number of entries across the fleets. Due to the potential number of races taking place on Saturday, we will have a virtual briefing during the final week before the event. The Briefing will include course details, final timings and what to expect on both days. A Paddler Pack will support this with further information included,
Sunday will bring us the Distance race, our Challenge Tour and Junior events before we conclude our event ceremony. After the success of last year's event, we are looking to reuse the distance course across Falmouth Bay. We are looking at options for an additional longer course for the Open fleet, and details of the distances are further below.
Entry and Competition Details
The Falmouth Bay Open is part of our Ocean Tech National Series for 2023. Paddlers competing in our Race Fleets and looking for a series result must compete in all three disciplines. A paddler's results will be combined using a points system to decide the final standings in our competition fleets.
How will this work?
With three very different race formats and different types of competitions across our Sprints, Technical and Distance events, we will use the following matrix to calculate a paddler's final points tally.
Sprints
Paddlers who make the final will receive the highest points (places 1 to 8) according to their finishing position.
Paddlers who do not make the final will be ranked by their fastest time in the heats (places 9 onwards).
Technical
The above criteria will apply if a heats-to-final format is used for the Technical competition.
If a standard, single race is used, then points will be awarded by the finishing positions.
Distance
Points will be awarded according to the finishing positions.
What points system will be used?
We will use the same points system as our overall series standings, which is:
606 points for 1st, 600 for 2nd, 595 for 3rd, 591 for 4th, 588 for 5th and so on, decreasing through increments of 3 points for the remaining positions. DNF placings are awarded 10 points.
How will the series results be classified?
A paddler's final position and points total will be within their Competitive Fleet only, not overall. Competitive Fleets are a paddler's Board Category, Gender and Age Group.
International Selection
Any paddler wishing to be put forwards for International Selection must compete in the 14' HB Open fleet.
Proposed event timings
Virtual Briefing
Estimated for release around Tuesday 4th, July
The event Paddler Pack will be sent out during the final week of registration, with a final updated version sent in tandem with the virtual Briefing
Saturday 8th July
Competitor Check-in - 7:00 to 8:30 am
Sprints Briefing - 9:00 am
Sprint Heats - 09:30 am to 11:30 am
Lunch Break & Activities - 11:30 am to 2:00 pm
Technical Briefing - 2:00 pm
Technical Heats - 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Sprint & Technical Finals - 5:30 pm
Sunday 9th July
Competitor Check-in - 7:30 - 8:30 am
Distance Briefing - 9:00 am
Distance Race - 10:00 am
Junior Activities - 1:00 pm
Event Ceremony - Estimated 3:30 pm
A fully confirmed schedule will be released in the run-up to the event.
Event Ceremony
During our event ceremony, we will celebrate all our competitors, including our Challenge Tour paddlers, Juinors and podium finishers from our Race Fleets.
Event Ceremony Schedule
Challenge Tour Paddlers
Juniors
Race Fleets
Sprint Placings
Technical Placings
Distance Placings
Series event winners
Falmouth Bay Open Winners
King and Queen of the Bay
Race or activity formats
Below are the proposed formats for each competition or activity.
Sprint Course
200m course with around 150m of water
Paddlers start on the Beach for a running start
Paddle out to a gated turn where paddlers can turn left or right.
Paddlers return to finish at the Beach by ditching their board and running up between the finish flags.
Technical Course
est 500m course, including a beach transition
Paddlers start using a dynamic format, such as Beach starts
Multiple laps of an M-shape course with a beach transition at the end/start of each lap
Paddlers finish by ditching their boards and running between the flags.
Distance Course (Race Fleets)
Course set to optimise conditions on the day
The ideal course is to use a wide triangle course across the bay
Multiple laps of large course
10 km for Age Groups
15/16 km for Open fleet and international qualifiers
Paddlers start at the water's edge or in shallows
Paddlers finish at the water's edge
Challenge Tour
Takes place with the Sundays Distance Race
5km distance
Paddlers follow the same course as the race fleets over 1 lap
Same start and finish procedure as the race fleets
Juniors
Technical race format on Sunday Afternoon
Short course, set appropriate to the conditions
Takes place after the conclusion of the Distance race
Potential other activities TBC
International Event Qualification
We are working on securing the Falmouth Bay Open as our single event for ICF and ISA championships qualifications.
Full details are being finalised, and we will release a full blog on the specific details.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to have a fair selection process for the international Qualifiers, any paddler wishing to be put forwards for selection will need to compete in the 14' HB Open fleet.
