Big brother - part 2

Peter Bentley looks at how well ISAF Sailor works in practice

Using ISAF Sailor

So what happens when you log an and register? The site appears to be well designed though sometimes a little slow to download. Used on a PC running Windows 2000 it seems stable and reliable. Internet Explorer on the Mac produced some occasional lines of spurious Java code. Navigation is simple and the whole thing works in a largely self explanatory manner.

Some, but not much, of the site is available without signing up to ISAF Sailor. If you want to post anything to the forums, read sailor biographies or sign up for any other information, you will have to hand over your personal details.

If you already have a competitor classification, ISAF have already generated an ID and password for you. You can find the ID by searching for yourself using your family name and nationality. The password will be the same one as you used to create you classification. Though there is a facility for retrieving a lost password don't hold your breath waiting. Mine had not arrived after two days and was only recovered by telephoning ISAF.

And when you are in, what can you do?

Sailor Classification - the good, the bad and the ugly.

As the one existing area of ISAF Sailor that is effectively compulsory for many current competitors Sailor Classification will undoubtedly see the most use.

Entering in details is simple and straightforward and relies totally on the honesty of the applicant. If you answer 'No' to all the questions, you will get a category one classification back instantly. According to ISAF IT and events coordinator Craig Mitchell, 'this is what happens in 80 percent of cases." The remaining 20 percent are sent for review by a panel of the great and wise. "95 percent of those are returned within 30 days," says Mitchell.

Once a classification has been given, the competitor's name and status is available by simple search on the ISAF site. There is currently no formal system for one competitor to query the status of another, though ISAF is very much aware that such a system needs to be put in place. For the time being an e-mail to ISAF would seem to be appropriate.

Failing that, the only other recourse is to the protest committee at an event. Recognising that this could lead to problems with inconsistent rulings, ISAF are intending to have at least one member of the Classification Committee present at all high profile events where there could be a need for their services.

By November 2002, all ISAF classes and events will be required to use the ISAF Classification system. The individual databases generated by US Sailing, the RYA and various class associations will no longer be valid. As far as can be determined, there are no plans to transfer any of the non-ISAF classifications and everyone who needs to will have to sign up with ISAF individually in due course.

From a sailor's perspective a single classification is probably a good thing. Each sailor only needs to register once and the service is free. From the perspective of those National Authorities and Classes who currently charge a (sometimes substantial) fee for registration it will mean a loss of income.

Biography

Once you have signed up, you can submit a personal biography. Currently ISAF have no plans to check or otherwise censor the information though they do (for obvious reasons) intend to have a look at any pictures you may wish to post. Apart from the usual dire warnings in 'Terms and Conditions' there does not seem to be much to stop people publishing spurious information. Commercial information is limited to a link to you own or sponsor's website.

If you have signed up to ISAF Sailor, searches produce rather more information than if you have not subscribed. At present searches without a subscription produce only the ISAF competitor classification of the sailor concerned. It appears that those sailors with an ISAF ranking will have their full event history published as part of the biography but so far as it was possible to tell, Ben Ainslie is the only one available right now. Searches for Percy, Robertson and Scheidt all produced nothing.

e-mail services.

There is a facility to sign up for direct delivery of e-mail ranking lists and other services direct from ISAF. Simple and effective.

Forums

Forums are a bit thin on the ground right now. Craig Mitchell informs us that they will be electronically moderated (ie. searched for rude words before publication) but not specifically edited by ISAF.

To sum up.

A well put together site that promises plenty but does not as yet deliver much. When it's all working it should be good.

You will have to make your own mind up about how you feel about giving your personal details to an organisation that sometimes likes to think of itself as big-brother to the world of sailing.