New to sail racing? Get more enjoyment from Olympic class racing by reading this beginners guide to the sometimes baffling world of Olympic and Paralympic sailing.

Race series:
An Olympic class regatta consists of an eleven race series, from which sailors discard one race result (only counting ten races). After ten races, the top ten boats in each class move on to a final required and non-discardable medal race which counts as double points which are added to their standing score. The sailor with the lowest score will win the event.

Unlike other Olympic classes, the 49er class will sail a 16 race series, and discard their worst two results.  After 15 races of the series, the top ten boats will move on to the final double-points scoring medal race.

At the Paralympic Games, the Sonar, UD-18 and 2.4mR will sail eleven races and discard two races. Again the sailor with the lowest score at the end of the series is declared the winner.

Courses:
Each class will complete several laps on a course designed for its own specific type of racing. Course length and shape varies according to the type of boat racing and the wind speed.

Starting:
In sailing, races begin with a rolling start. The start line is set between a committee boat, from which officials run the racing and a buoy. Starting lines vary in length according to how many boats are competing in the event. Sailors aim to cross the line immediately following the starting gun. During competition sailors have two main objectives, to get a good start and to sail as fast as possible. By getting a good start sailors are able to take advantage of the changing weather and of their competitors position on the course. Unlike other sports, sailors can start anywhere on the line which means sailors continually jostle for the best position determined by the course, the wind direction and the fleet this leads to very intense moments during the timed countdown to the start.

Explanation of the starting signals:
If a sailor has a premature start, the race officer will sound another signal and raise the X flag. This informs the fleet that somebody was over the start line early and indicates that sailors over the line early must turn back and cross the start line again.

If the race officer displays a black flag during the starting sequence, any boat over the line within a minute to the start signal will be disqualified from the race.

Race winning:
The winner of an individual race is the first boat to sail the course and cross over the finish line that is between the committee boat and a buoy. The winner of a racing event or regatta is the boat with the lowest points.

Rules:
If a competitor believes a fellow sailor has broken the rules the helm will instantly call protest to signal that the sailor believes a rule infringement has been made.

Depending on the type of infringement made, a sailor can negate the protest by immediately completing a 360 or 720 degree turn. Sailors who believe they have been wrongly protested or sailors who fail to negate their protests can appear before an official protest committee that will listen to all parties involved and decide which boat was in the wrong and penalise the offending boat.

With the exception of the RS:X windsurfer, sailors may only use the natural action of the wind and waves to propel the boat around the course. In the Finn and 470 classes the sailors may use kinetics above certain wind speeds (normally 10 or 12 knots) but otherwise pumping the sails and the use of body kinetics to move the boat is illegal. There is on the water judging on kinetics with a yellow flag signaling an infringement. If a sailor gets one yellow flag, they have to do a 720 degree turn, if they get a second yellow flag, they are disqualified from that race and three flags mean you are disqualified from the whole event.