Sailing Scoring Notations

Written for the 2025-2028 Racing Rules of Sailing.

This post summarizes the scoring notations (abbreviations) you may find in sailing results, and the rules behind them. If you run across a notation you don’t remember, look it up here.

The official abbreviations are in rule A10 of Appendix A – Scoring of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2025-2028. Two of them changed for 2025: SCP and NSC.

Notations

Notation	Rule A10 meaning	Scoring
DNC	Did not start; did not come to the starting area	Points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series (rule A5.2), unless the NoR or SIs say rule A5.3 applies.
DNS	Did not start (other than DNC and OCS)	Points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series (rule A5.2), unless the NoR or SIs say rule A5.3 applies.
OCS	Did not start; on the course side of the starting line at her starting signal and failed to start, or broke rule 30.1	Points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series (rule A5.2), unless the NoR or SIs say rule A5.3 applies. See rule 29.1, Individual Recall.
ZFP	20% penalty under rule 30.2	A 20% Scoring Penalty calculated under rule 44.3(c), without a hearing.
UFD	Disqualification under rule 30.3	Disqualified without a hearing, but not if the race is restarted or resailed.
BFD	Disqualification under rule 30.4	Disqualified without a hearing, even if the race is restarted or resailed.
SCP	Scoring Penalty imposed	Calculated under rule 44.3(c). Could be from rule 44.3 (if the NoR or SIs say so), Appendix T (Post-Race Penalty), US Sailing Appendix V, or the SIs.
NSC	Did not sail the course (other than DNC, DNS, OCS and DNF)	Points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series (rule A5.2), unless the NoR or SIs say rule A5.3 applies.
DNF	Did not finish	Points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series (rule A5.2), unless the NoR or SIs say rule A5.3 applies.
RET	Retired	Points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series (rule A5.2), unless the NoR or SIs say rule A5.3 applies.
DSQ	Disqualification	Points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series (rule A5.2), unless the NoR or SIs say rule A5.3 applies.
DNE	Disqualification that is not excludable	A DSQ score that can’t be dropped from the series score (rule 90.3(b)).
RDG	Redress given	Set by the protest committee (rules A6.2 and A9).
DPI	Discretionary penalty imposed	Set by the protest committee (rule 64); may be less than disqualification.

Source: World Sailing, Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028 (with changes and corrections as of April 20, 2026), rule A10, p. 62. Read it online at racingrulesofsailing.org.

Preparatory signals P, I, Z, U and black flag, from the Race Signals

Not in the Rule Book

You may also see these. They are not in rule A10, so check the notice of race (NoR) or sailing instructions (SIs):

STP – Standard Penalty. A penalty often set in the NoR or SIs for minor breaches, such as failing to check in or out with the race committee, or not returning a tracker. Scoring: as stated in the NoR or SIs.
TLE – Time Limit Expired. A score some events use for boats that finish after a set time limit. Scoring: as stated in the NoR or SIs.
DFL – Dead F…….. Last (unofficial). Scoring: compulsion to spend more time on SailZing.com to improve one’s skills.

Why the Change?

Optional reading. Skip ahead to Select Rules if you like.

SCP: rule A10 now reads “Scoring Penalty imposed.” It previously read “Scoring Penalty applied.”

NSC: rule A10 now reads “Did not sail the course (other than DNC, DNS, OCS and DNF).” It previously read “Did not sail the course.” The effect: NSC is used only when none of those other notations fit.

A5.2 and A5.3: the old rule A5.2 scored a boat that “did not start, did not sail the course, did not finish, retired or was disqualified.” The 2025-2028 rule drops “did not start” and “did not finish,” so it now reads “did not sail the course, retired or was disqualified.” Rule A5.3 drops the same two phrases.

Those words are no longer needed because the Sail the Course definition now covers them. A boat sails the course when “(a) she starts;” passes the marks correctly, “and then (c) she finishes.” A boat that doesn’t start or finish hasn’t sailed the course, so DNS and DNF still score under rule A5.2.

Sources: World Sailing, Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028 (with changes and corrections as of April 20, 2026): Definitions (Sail the Course), rules A5.2 and A5.3 (p. 60) and rule A10 (p. 62). Earlier wording from the previous edition of the rules.

Select Rules

A5.2 A boat that did not sail the course, retired or was disqualified shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series. A boat that is penalized under rule 30.2 or that takes a penalty under rule 44.3(a) shall be scored points as provided in rule 44.3(c).

A5.3 If the notice of race or sailing instructions state that rule A5.3 will apply, rule A5.2 is changed so that a boat that came to the starting area but did not sail the course, retired or was disqualified shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats that came to the starting area, and a boat that did not come to the starting area shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series.
World Sailing, Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028 (with changes and corrections as of April 20, 2026), rules A5.2 and A5.3, p. 60. Read it online at racingrulesofsailing.org.

30.1 I Flag Rule
If flag I has been displayed, and any part of a boat’s hull is on the course side of the starting line or one of its extensions during the last minute before her starting signal, she shall sail across an extension so that her hull is completely on the pre-start side before she starts.

30.2 Z Flag Rule
If flag Z has been displayed, no part of a boat’s hull shall be in the triangle formed by the ends of the starting line and the first mark during the last minute before her starting signal. If a boat breaks this rule and is identified, she shall receive, without a hearing, a 20% Scoring Penalty calculated as stated in rule 44.3(c). She shall be penalized even if the race is restarted or resailed, but not if it is postponed or abandoned before the starting signal. If she is similarly identified during a subsequent attempt to start the same race, she shall receive an additional 20% Scoring Penalty.

30.3 U Flag Rule
If flag U has been displayed, no part of a boat’s hull shall be in the triangle formed by the ends of the starting line and the first mark during the last minute before her starting signal. If a boat breaks this rule and is identified, she shall be disqualified without a hearing, but not if the race is restarted or resailed.

30.4 Black Flag Rule
If a black flag has been displayed, no part of a boat’s hull shall be in the triangle formed by the ends of the starting line and the first mark during the last minute before her starting signal. If a boat breaks this rule and is identified, she shall be disqualified without a hearing, even if the race is restarted or resailed, but not if it is postponed or abandoned before the starting signal. If a general recall is signalled or the race is abandoned after the starting signal, the race committee shall display her sail number before the next warning signal for that race, and if the race is restarted or resailed she shall not sail in it. If she does so, her disqualification shall not be excluded in calculating her series score.
Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, Part 3 (World Sailing)

44.3(c) The race score for a boat that takes a Scoring Penalty shall be the score she would have received without that penalty, made worse by the number of points stated in the notice of race or sailing instructions. When the number of points is not stated, the penalty shall be 20% of the score for Did Not Finish, rounded to the nearest tenth of a point (0.05 rounded upward). The scores of other boats shall not be changed; therefore, two boats may receive the same score. However, the penalty shall not cause the boat’s score to be worse than the score for Did Not Finish.
Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, Part 4 (World Sailing)

Example: in a 15-boat series, DNF scores 16 points. A 20% Scoring Penalty is 3.2 points, so a boat that finished 5th scores 8.2.

90.3(b) When a scoring system provides for excluding one or more race scores, any score that is a Disqualification Not Excludable (DNE) shall be included in a boat’s series score.
World Sailing, Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, rule 90.3(b), p. 57. Read it online at racingrulesofsailing.org.

64 Discretionary Penalties
When a boat reports within the protest time limit that she has broken a rule which is subject to a discretionary penalty, the protest committee shall decide the appropriate penalty having first considered the evidence that it considers appropriate. There is no requirement to hold a hearing.
World Sailing, Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, rule 64, p. 46. Read it online at racingrulesofsailing.org.

Notation The notation ‘[DP]’ in a rule means that the penalty for a breach of the rule may, at the discretion of the protest committee, be less than disqualification. Guidelines for discretionary penalties are available on the World Sailing website.
World Sailing, Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, Introduction, p. 5. Read it online at racingrulesofsailing.org.

T1 Post-Race Penalties
(a) Provided that rule 44.1(b) does not apply, a boat that may have broken one or more rules of Part 2 or rule 31 in an incident may take a Post-Race Penalty at any time after the race until the beginning of a protest hearing involving the incident.
(b) A Post-Race Penalty is a 30% Scoring Penalty calculated as stated in rule 44.3(c). However, rule 44.1(a) applies.
(c) A boat takes a Post-Race Penalty by delivering to the arbitrator or a member of the protest committee a written statement that she accepts the penalty and that identifies the race number and where and when the incident occurred.
World Sailing, Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, Appendix T, p. 153. Read it online at racingrulesofsailing.org.

Note: check the current Racing Rules of Sailing, the notice of race and the sailing instructions for the rules, requirements and penalties that apply at your event.

Thank you to John Porter, Lake Beulah Yacht Club member and certified race official, for input on this list.