NOTICE OF SERIES FOR THE 2026 UK J/70 CLASS GRAND SLAM

NOTICE OF SERIES FOR THE 2026 UK J/70 CLASS GRAND SLAM (Rev 2.0)

The notation ‘[NP]’ in a rule means that a boat may not protest another boat for breaking that rule. This changes RRS 60.1(a).

ORGANISATION

The 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series is managed by the UK J/70 Class Association. Each individual event host yacht club or organisation will be the Organising Authority (OA) working in collaboration with the UK J/70 Class Association

RULES
The 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series will be governed by;
1. The Racing Rules of Sailing 2025 – 2028(RRS), including the National Authority (RYA) prescriptions.
2. Current International J/70 Class rules (IJ/70CR) (IJ70CA Rules)
3. The specific Event Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions that will be published by each OA.

ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY [NP]
1. The 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series is open to Boats and Owners that meet the International J/70 Class Rule. Attention is drawn to the requirements of IJ/70CR B1, B2 and C3 regarding compliance of boat and crew.
2. Charter boats shall be eligible to compete in the 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam series, but in this case the results will accrue to the charterer(s) rather than the chartered boat.
3. Entries for the 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series’ individual events shall be made on the official entry forms in accordance with each event’s NOR. All entries should be sent directly to the event OA. There is no separate series entry process.
4. In accordance with IJ/70CR I.4, the 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam series will include prizes for a Corinthian division. Attention is also drawn to NoR 8 of this Notice.
5. Attention is drawn to the boat and sailor eligibility requirements within the International J/70 Class Rules, particularly section C3 and I.4 within those rules, which must be adhered to.
  1. For the UK Grand Slam events all crew must have valid and current World Sailor IDs and Group 1 or Group 3 World Sailing Categorisations. These must be declared using the J/70 UK Declare app (see below) before the event.
  2. Competitors must ensure that J/70 class memberships are current as required:
    1. All J/70 Owners must have Full membership of the J/70 Class Association;
    2. any non-owner Group 1 category helms also need Associate Membership unless they are using a club 70 chartered from RYS, RTYC, RSrnYC or Ryde School for which Cat 1 helm membership is already covered;
    3. all Group 3 category sailors must also have Associate Membership of the Class Association and they may not helm unless they both own 100% and pay 100% of all boat costs.
6. Each event in the 2026 UK J/70 Grand Slam series will utilise the Vakaros Racesense system.
  1. Each boat shall be equipped with a working Vakaros Atlas 2. Details (serial no., software version etc) of each boats Atlas 2 unit shall be provided using the UK J70 Class Crew and Equipment Declaration Form before the event.
  2. Each Boat’s Atlas 2 device must have a current Vakaros RaceSense subscription.
  3. Each Boat’s Atlas 2 must be installed on the aft face of the mast below the boom and must also have the latest version of software installed at each event.
  4. The entrant is solely responsible for ensuring that their Atlas 2 is functioning properly for the duration of each event and details are registered correctly in advance of the event. Failure to do this may mean that no result is given to that competitor for the event or individual races.
  5. A set of instructions about the use of the electronic device may be posted on the Official Notice Board.
7. J/70 UK Declare: Pre-event Boat and Crew Declarations
  1. For each of the 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Events, Entrants will be required to provide information regarding crew World Sailing ID’s and Categorisation status. Entrants must also provide details of their Vakaros Atlas 2 serial number and software version number and must also hold a valid Vakaros RaceSense subscription for their Atlas 2.
  2. This information shall be submitted via the J/70 UK Declare app which is found at: https://j70-uk-declare.web.app/ . The required declaration shall be supplied at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled warning signal for the first start of the relevant event. The required information includes, but is not limited to, the following:
    1. Names, current WSID numbers and valid World Sailing Classification for all crew members.
    2. A declaration of status for that Event as either Corinthian or Open in accordance with Class Rules. If an entrant makes no declaration, then the entrant is classified as Open.
    3. A declaration if they are eligible for either of the mixed gender and/or youth categories
    4. A declaration of the driver/helmsperson for that event (either Cat 1 sailor or 100% owner)
    5. Details of the serial number and current software version for the Atlas 2 unit that the boat will use for that event.
  3. Specific details of how to complete and submit this information will be provided on the J/70 UK Declare app. Please note that failure to provide this information will result in that entry being ineligible for results in the Grand Slam series.
  4. The Atlas 2 required software version will be communicated via the J/70 UK Declare app and failure by the competitors to have their device at the required software level may mean that the Race Committee is unable to provide start or finish information.
8. Entrants shall sail with the same Owner and driver combination for at least 3 of their counting events to be eligible for a series placing.

ADVERTISING AND BOW NUMBERS
1. Boats may be required to display advertising chosen and supplied by the OA or/and the UK J/70 Class Association.
2. Bow numbers and other decals may be issued for use.

RACE DOCUMENTS
1. The Sailing Instructions for each event of the 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series will be made available to all entries by the individual event organising authorities.
2. Links to relevant documents may be posted on the UK J/70 class website where possible.

SCHEDULE

Event	Date	Event	Organising Authority
1	April 25^th-April 26^th		Royal Thames YC
2	May 9^th-May 10^th		Royal Thames YC
3	June 6^th-June 7^th		Royal Yacht Squadron
4	June 26^th– June 28^th	UK Nationals	Royal Southern YC
5	Aug 1^st– Aug 4^th	Cowes Week mini series	Cowes Week Ltd
6	Sept 19^th-Sept 20^th		Royal Southern YC
7	Oct 3^rd-Oct 4^th		Royal Yacht Squadron

Note 1 – UK Nationals are non discardable

SCORING
RRS Low Points System of Appendix A shall be used for scoring of the 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series with the following changes:
1. The 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series consists of seven (7) separate Events, as per NOR 6.0.
2. One (1) race is required to be completed at each Event to constitute an Event to count towards the 2026 UK J/70 Class Grand Slam Series.
3. A boat must compete in five (5) or more Events to qualify for the 2026 UK J/70 Grand Slam Series.
4. A boat’s series score will be the total of its best five (5) overall rankings from the seven (7) Events.
5. [NP] A boat must compete with the same Owner and driver combination for at least three (3) of the counting five events in order to be eligible for a series placing.
6. The UK National Championships will be a non-discardable Event.
7. RRS A9 will not be used.

TROPHIES AND PRIZES
1. Perpetual series trophies will be presented to the top boat and the highest ranked “Corinthian Team”.
2. A series prize will also be awarded for the top mixed gender boat. For the purpose of this prize category, mixed gender is defined as having sailed with at least 2 females on board in at least 4 of their 5 counting events.
3. A series prize will be awarded to the top youth boat, defined as having sailed with all crew under 26 as of 1^st January 2026 in at least 4 of their 5 counting events.
4. Other series prizes may be awarded.
5. Details for individual event prizes and prize giving presentations will be provided in the event NOR and SI’s.

RIGHTS TO USE NAMES & LIKENESS
1. By entering the events, the owner (or charterer) and crew members on competing boats grant at no cost the absolute right and permission to use their names, voices, images, likenesses, and biographical material, as well as representations of their boat in any media (including film, print and internet), to the UK J/70 Class Association and sponsors.

RISK STATEMENT
1. Rule 3 of the Racing Rules of Sailing states: “The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone.” Owners should pay particular attention to the Risk Statements in the Notice or Race and Sailing instructions for each event in the Series.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Websites – UK J/70 Class: http://j-70.co.uk
International J/70 Class: http://www.j70ica.org
UK J/70 Class Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/j70uk
Please encourage your crew to join our “J/70 UK Sailors” Facebook Group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/534311636772573/
And join the J/70 UK Sailors WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/9ctEzHKTwzo50d364RkIEw

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The International J/70 Class Association issues invites to restricted entry International J/70 Class events, typically the Open Worlds, though this may extend to other events as potential entry numbers increase. As part of the process, each National Class Association (NCA) also receives an allocation of places and is expected to nominate teams to fill those places.

Nominations by the UK J/70 Class Committee for invitations to restricted International J/70 Class events in 2027 will be based on ranking achieved in the 2026 UK J/70 Grand Slam Series. The intent is to offer Open places to the team or teams that finish highest in the 2026 UK J/70 Grand Slam Series, irrespective of their status (Open or Corinthian) in that series. Corinthian places will be offered to the highest finishing teams racing as Corinthian in the 2026 UK J/70 Grand Slam series.

Given that the International J/70 Class Association has not yet published its invitation criteria for 2027, whilst the UK J/70 Class Committee intends to nominate places by the above method, they reserve the right to interpret or amend the nomination procedure in whatever way they deem fit and fair.