Before You Create the Event

1. Confirm that all officials are registered on RRS.org. On the main menu, click Toolbox, then select Officials. Search by name for your PRO, scorers, and judges. If any are missing, add them with the + Official link. They must register themselves on RRS.org before you can assign them an official role — until they do, they will be listed as Judge by default.
2. Gather your event documents. Locate electronic copies of your NOR, Sailing Instructions, and any notices to competitors. Common World Sailing documents and most Class Rules are already in the shared repository, so focus on event-specific documents for now.
3. Have an event logo ready. Any size is fine. A roughly square image works best — wide rectangles get distorted in the upload.
4. Then create your event.

Setting Up the Event Panel

1. Add event documents. Click + Event Documents and add your NOR, Sailing Instructions, and event-specific notices. If RRS.org is your Official Notice Board, indicate which documents are available on the ONB.
2. Add common documents. Link Class Rules and World Sailing documents via + Common Documents. If a document is not in the list, add it under Toolbox > Documents first, then link it to your event.
3. Add officials and assign roles. Search the Officials list and add everyone on the jury panel. Assign roles: the PRO receives scoring inquiry notifications, the Scorer receives scoring change alerts. Officials must be added here to access the event in their Toolbox and to appear on the hearing panel pick-list.
4. Assign tasks. Click Assignments on the left menu, then + Select Tasks to distribute duties to specific panel members.
5. Import competitors. This is the most important step. Go to Competitors > Import Competitors. The application guides you through the required file format — a standard XLSX from the OA works well. Email address and phone number are essential for automated notifications to competitors. You can import multiple times to correct or update the list.
6. Enable optional features as needed in Event Settings: Registration, Event Check-Ins, Launch Sign-Out, Starting Penalties, Score Sheets, Kanban Board, Signals Ashore, and others.

Communicating With Competitors

1. Send competitors the public event links using the Send Links button at the top of the Competitor list. This sends each competitor an email and SMS with direct links to the hearing schedule, decisions, penalties, and jury questions for your event.
2. Post the auto-generated Jury Notice of Public Links document on the Official Notice Board. This document is created automatically when the event is created and is regenerated whenever the event is edited.
3. Share public page URLs with the organizing authority for the event website. Go to Public Pages on the left menu of the Event Panel to find all available links.
4. For a competitor display monitor, load the Display - Decisions or Display - Schedule/Decisions public URL in the browser of the computer connected to the monitor. These pages update automatically in real time without the need for refreshing.

During the Event

1. Set the Protest Time Limit after racing each day. This is displayed at the top of the public schedule and sent to all competitors with contact details via email and SMS.
2. Hearing requests filed electronically through RRS.org automatically create a decision template in the Decisions page. For paper protests, create a new Decision manually and enter the protestor and protestee information from the form. Attaching a photo of the paper form to the decision is recommended.
3. During hearings, use the Shared Work Area so all panel members can see the facts, conclusions, and decision being drafted in real time. Use Suggested Wording to automatically populate the Conclusions and Decision fields with language appropriate for the relevant rule.
4. Schedule hearings from the Schedule list. Changes update the public schedule automatically and notify the parties by email and SMS.
5. Set the hearing status to Hearing in Progress when a hearing begins, and Hearing Complete when it ends — this keeps competitors informed of the schedule. Once the decision is ready, set the status to Publish Abstract or Publish Full Decision to make it visible on the public decisions page. Parties are notified at each stage.
6. Enter On-The-Water penalties promptly — they appear on the public penalties page in real time and are sent to the penalized competitor.
7. Ensure all jury questions receive a formal response. Answers are published on the public Jury Questions page automatically.

After the Event