The USA Canoe Ocean Racing (COR) National Series is a component of the National Development Program sponsored by the ACA Ocean Racing Committee to encourage USA ocean racing competition production and participation. Participation in the National Series is entirely free for competition organizers and athletes. Ocean racing / surfski competition organizers located anywhere in the United States may submit their race results to the ORC for inclusion in the National Series rankings -- all races are eligible.
Ocean racing athletes earn National Ranking Points by participating in National Series competitions. Athletes must complete a competition's official course in order to earn points. Multiple course options (eg, long, short) are often available, and the ORC considers these valid but separately-scored races. DNS, DNF, and DQ void any potentially-earned points, and decrease the overall weight of the race for everyone. Let's avoid that!
National Ranking Points accumulate over the course of a single calendar year, from January 1st to December 31st. At the end of the calendar year all athletes scores reset to zero. The ACA Ocean Racing Committee memorializes National Development Program members' points totals for each calendar year.
Ocean races are unique. Not only do course settings vary dramatically from course to course, but individual courses vary as well from one year to the next due to wind, tides, geomorphology, and more. The dynamic nature of the environment in which we choose to perform, and the game-time decisions we're forced to make because of this, are a large part of what makes our sport so interesting and fun. However, this beautiful fluidity also means comparisons between courses are somewhat difficult to make.
In addition, the ICF has defined the characteristics of an ideal Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships course, and the ORC encourages race organizers to approximate this specification as closely as practically possible. The ORC uses the term "Benchmark Race" to indicate courses which align well with the ICF specifications.
With these aspects in mind, the ORC considers the following parameters when determining National Ranking Points:
ICF Course Specification Alignment: including wave height, wind speed, fetch distance, current speed, and course length.
Competition Field Size: The total number of finishing COR/Surfski participants, potentially split into sub-categories.
Athlete Classification System Scenario, which is an estimation of competitive field strength.
Organizers can simply submit their race results to the ORC and we will take care of the number crunching!
Why is the ACA Ocean Racing Committee experimenting with a National Series?
The ORC mission comprises four objectives: Community Representation, Competition Promotion, Athlete Development/Qualification, and Participation Encouragement/Facilitation. The National Series experiment is intended to function as a lightweight game layer that encourages competition production and participation and provides a country-level perspective on our sport, while embracing the qualities that make each competition unique and fun.
Are competition organizers and athletes forced to participate in the National Series experiment?
No one is being forced to participate in the National Series experiment. Competition organizers control whether or not to include their event in the National Series experiment by choosing to submit their results to the ACA Ocean Racing Committee. Athletes may have their names anonymized in the rankings, if desired, by contacting the ACA Ocean Racing Committee.
Do competition organizers need to purchase the ACA's insurance policy in order to participate in the National Series experiment?
Competition organizers do NOT need to purchase the ACA's insurance policy in order to participate in the National Series experiment. The ACA does offer robust event insurance coverage at a reasonable cost, however several excellent alternative insurance providers exist for competition organizers to consider.
Who is eligible for inclusion in the USA COR rankings?
For the 2024 pilot period, all USA COR community members, regardless of ACA member status, are included in the "overall" rankings. Community members who choose to become ACA competition members will be additionally included in the National Series "Members Cup" rankings, are eligible to earn Athlete Classifications, and may be eligible for participation on the USA COR National Team at the Pan American COR Continental Championships and the ICF COR World Championships, as well as a few other nifty perks that the ORC is working to establish.
Are international paddlers included in the USA COR rankings?
All competition participants are awarded National Ranking Points and listed in the "Overall", "Mens", and "Womens" categories, according to the defined rubric. This means that an international paddler who comes in first will be awarded the highest number of points for that competition, and will be accordingly ranked in the standings. Additionally, if an international paddler is an ACA competition member they will be included in National Series "Members Cup" rankings and are eligible to earn Athlete Classifications. The ACA welcomes both domestic and international paddlers as competition members, with no citizenship or residency constraints.
Does a one-day / single-event ACA membership make me eligible for inclusion in the USA COR rankings?
All competition participants are awarded National Ranking Points according to the defined rubric and included in the "Overall", "Mens", and "Womens" categories for the 2024 National Series experiment. However, only current full-year ACA competition members are included in the National Series "Members Cup" rankings and qualify for Athlete Classifications as well as additional benefits and perks. Please consider joining the ACA as a competition member!
Can athletes opt-out of the USA COR rankings?
Absolutely -- contact the ORC and we will anonymize your record in the public USA COR rankings list. However, note that in most cases the race results feeding the rankings algorithm are also accessible to the public via services such as PaddleGuru, as well as competition-specific websites, newsfeeds, social media channels, and more.