Migrate from Sailwave.
Verify before you switch.

Import your entire series — competitors, races, and results — with pre-import score verification. See that the numbers match before you commit.

Start Migration Read the Guide

Why race committees are switching

Sailwave

✗ Desktop only — PC at the clubhouse
✗ Manual data entry from clipboard
✗ Results published by exporting HTML
✗ No mobile finish capture
✗ No live tracking
✗ No race replay
✗ No online entry forms
✓ Free
✓ Trusted by 1000s of clubs

Flying Start RC

✓ Web-based — phone, tablet, laptop
✓ Tap-to-finish on your phone
✓ One-tap publish to the web
✓ Mobile finish capture with audio
✓ Live GPS tracking for spectators
✓ Multi-boat animated race replay
✓ Online entry forms + notice board
✓ Also free
✓ Same RRS scoring engine

How migration works

Export from Sailwave

In Sailwave, go to File → Export → XML. This creates a single file containing your competitors, handicaps, all races, finish times, corrected times, positions, and points.

Drop the file into Flying Start

Go to Import in the RC admin. Drag and drop your XML file. Flying Start parses everything and shows you a preview — competitors, races, and results.

Pre-import verification

Click "⚡ Full Import". Before importing anything, our scoring engine independently calculates every corrected time, position, and point from your raw data. Then it compares our results against Sailwave's — race by race, boat by boat.

Review the verification report

You see exactly where Flying Start and Sailwave agree — and where they differ. Most imports show 100% match. Minor rounding differences (1-2 seconds) are normal and flagged clearly.

Choose and import

Toggle between Sailwave's original scores or Flying Start's calculated scores. Click import. Your series is live — with every race, every result, exactly as you expect.

What you see

Step 1: File preview

After dropping the XML file, you see everything the file contains:

rc.flyingstart.app/dashboard/import
Import
File Summary
• Series: WEDNESDAY EVENING SERIES 2025
• Venue: Itchenor Sailing Club
• Rating system: PY
• Scoring: Low point
• 6 race(s) with results available for full import
• 48 result record(s) found
Preview (8 competitors)
⚡ Full Import — verify & import 6 races Import 8 Competitors Only
Sail #HelmClassPY
173462Sarah MitchellILCA 71100
4821James CrawfordRS400942
2198Mike O'BrienSolo1142
1547Rachel ThorntonFireball952
211590Pete LangfordILCA 61150
3392Lucy ChenRS Aero 71065
876Andrew FosterMirror1390
45209Hannah ScottILCA 71100

Step 2: Pre-import verification

Our scoring engine calculates everything independently and compares against Sailwave. You see the result before anything is imported:

rc.flyingstart.app/dashboard/import
Pre-Import Verification
✅ 97% Match

97% of comparisons match exactly. Minor rounding differences on 4 corrected times (1-2 seconds). No position or ranking changes. Safe to import.

6
Races
45
Finishers
131
Matches
4
Mismatches
RaceFinishersMatchesMismatchesStatus
R18240✓ Perfect
R26171⚠ 1 diff
R37210✓ Perfect
R48222⚠ 2 diffs
R57201⚠ 1 diff
R68240✓ Perfect
RACE 2 — MISMATCH DETAIL (click any race to expand)
BoatFieldSailwaveFlying StartSeverity
4821 James Crawford correctedTime 37:01 37:00 minor
Series Standings Comparison
HelmSW RankFS RankSW PtsFS Pts
Sarah Mitchell1177✓
James Crawford2299✓
Mike O'Brien331111✓
Rachel Thornton441111✓
Pete Langford551313✓
Ready to import
Sailwave's original scores will be preserved
Sailwave scores Flying Start scores
⚡ Import 6 races with 45 results

What gets imported

Competitors
Sail numbers, helm names, crew names, boat classes, handicaps (PY/IRC/YTC/PHRF/NHC). Existing competitors not duplicated.
Series & Races
Series name, handicap system, scoring system. Each race with date, time, and race number.
Results
Elapsed times, corrected times, positions, points. All penalty codes: DNS, DNF, OCS, DSQ, RET, DNC, UFD, BFD.
Series Standings
Total points, overall rankings. Verified against Sailwave before import. Your competitors see the same numbers.

Not using Sailwave?

Flying Start imports from every major format:

📄
Sailwave XML

Full migration with score verification. The recommended format.

🌐
World Sailing XRR

International standard used by HalSail, Manage2Sail, and national federations.

📊
CSV / Spreadsheets

From any system. Flexible column matching — just drag and drop.

📁
Sailwave .blw

Sailwave's native format. Imports competitor lists and handicaps.

🛰
GPX Tracks

From RaceQs or Garmin. GPS tracks for race replay and analysis.

🔄
Auto-detect

Drop any .xml file — we detect if it's Sailwave or XRR automatically.

Built for confidence

Migrating mid-season? Use Sailwave scores (the default toggle). Your existing results stay exactly as they were — competitors see the same numbers. From the next race onwards, Flying Start handles everything.
Testing before you commit? Import a previous season's data with Flying Start scores and compare. If the rankings match, you know our engine is accurate for your fleet. Delete the test series when you're done.
What if there are differences? Minor rounding differences (1-2 seconds on corrected times) are normal — Sailwave and Flying Start round at different stages of the calculation. These never affect positions. Significant differences are flagged with severity levels so you can investigate.
Volunteer at multiple clubs? One Flying Start account works across multiple organisations. Race officers who help at their home club, a neighbouring club, and the annual regatta switch between them with one click — no separate logins. When you accept an invite from another organisation, it's added to your account automatically.

Ready to switch?

Export your Sailwave file, drop it into Flying Start, verify the numbers match, and you're done. The whole process takes about 5 minutes.

Start Migration Step-by-Step Guide

Flying Start Race Committee is free to use with optional Pro features for advanced race management.

flyingstart.app · User Guide · Scoring Reference · RC Admin

Flying Start Race Committee — the modern alternative to Sailwave.