Wednesday Night Racing · Boston Harbor
Burden of Winning
The Burden of Winning (BOW) is a handicap adjustment that adds time to the top finishers from one series into the next — keeping competition tight and rewarding improvement across the season.
How It Works
Earn a Series Finish
At the end of each series, the top three finishers in each class earn a BOW adjustment that carries into the following series.
Time Added to Elapsed
Additional seconds are added to your elapsed (uncorrected) finish time for every race in the subsequent series — before handicap correction is applied.
Season Stays Clean
BOW adjustments affect individual series scoring only. The overall Wednesday Night Season Championship is scored without any BOW adjustments.
The Adjustment Tables
Spring → Summer Series
Top finishers from the Spring Series receive the following adjustments added to every race in the Summer Series:
- 1st Place: +3 minutes
- 2nd Place: +2 minutes
- 3rd Place: +1 minute
Spring → Fall Series
Spring Series finishers also carry a reduced adjustment into the Fall Series:
- 1st Place: +2 minutes
- 2nd Place: +1 minute
- 3rd Place: +30 seconds
Summer → Fall Series
Top finishers from the Summer Series receive the following adjustments added to every race in the Fall Series:
- 1st Place: +3 minutes
- 2nd Place: +2 minutes
- 3rd Place: +1 minute
Cumulative Adjustments
BOW adjustments stack. If a boat finishes in the top three in both the Spring and Summer Series, the adjustments from both are combined and applied to every race in the Fall Series.
Example: A boat finishing 1st in Spring and 2nd in Summer would carry +2 min (Spring→Fall) + 2 min (Summer→Fall) = +4 minutes per race in the Fall.
Example: A boat finishing 1st in Spring and 2nd in Summer would carry +2 min (Spring→Fall) + 2 min (Summer→Fall) = +4 minutes per race in the Fall.
Example: How BOW Plays Out Across the Season
Scenario
Class A — Tracking Three Boats Through the Season
Let's follow three hypothetical Class A boats — Salty Dog, Windswept, and Blue Heron — to see how BOW adjustments accumulate from series to series.
Spring Series Final Standings (Class A)
| Place | Boat | Points | BOW Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Salty Dog | 6 | +3:00 → Summer, +2:00 → Fall |
| 2nd | Windswept | 9 | +2:00 → Summer, +1:00 → Fall |
| 3rd | Blue Heron | 13 | +1:00 → Summer, +0:30 → Fall |
| 4th | Night Heron | 16 | None |
| 5th | Rascal | 20 | None |
Summer Series — BOW Applied Per Race
| Boat | BOW Adjustment | Effect on Each Race |
|---|---|---|
| Salty Dog | +3:00 | 3 minutes added to elapsed time before handicap correction |
| Windswept | +2:00 | 2 minutes added to elapsed time before handicap correction |
| Blue Heron | +1:00 | 1 minute added to elapsed time before handicap correction |
| Night Heron | None | No adjustment — races at their standard elapsed time |
Summer Series Final Standings (Class A)
| Place | Boat | Points | BOW Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Night Heron | 7 | +3:00 → Fall |
| 2nd | Salty Dog | 10 | +2:00 → Fall |
| 3rd | Windswept | 14 | +1:00 → Fall |
| 4th | Blue Heron | 15 | None |
| 5th | Rascal | 21 | None |
Fall Series — Cumulative BOW Applied Per Race
| Boat | From Spring | From Summer | Total BOW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salty Dog | +2:00 (1st Spring→Fall) | +2:00 (2nd Summer→Fall) | +4:00 per race |
| Windswept | +1:00 (2nd Spring→Fall) | +1:00 (3rd Summer→Fall) | +2:00 per race |
| Night Heron | None | +3:00 (1st Summer→Fall) | +3:00 per race |
| Blue Heron | +0:30 (3rd Spring→Fall) | None | +0:30 per race |
| Rascal | None | None | None |
The boat names above are hypothetical examples used for illustration.
Key Rules at a Glance
Top 3 Per Class
Only the top three finishers in each class at the end of a series receive a BOW adjustment.
Added to Elapsed Time
The penalty is added to your raw elapsed finish time — before ORR-EZ handicap correction is applied.
Cumulative Stacking
If you finish top 3 in both Spring and Summer, both adjustments are combined for the Fall Series.
Season Championship Clean
BOW adjustments do not affect the overall season championship scoring — only individual series results.
Burden Relief Races
The Fleet Captain may designate up to two Fall Series races as Burden Relief Races, where BOW adjustments do not apply.
Published in Advance
The Fleet Captain or Race Chair will publish all applicable BOW adjustments before the start of each new series.
Why Burden of Winning?
BOW keeps competition close across the entire season. Winning a series is still a great achievement — but it means the rest of the fleet gets a fair shot next time around. It rewards consistency and improvement, and keeps every race competitive from May through September.
Questions?