J,

You Venmo'd your HC Class dues to the HC Class treasurer. Those dues go towards trophies and such, but also towards the Regattaman (RMS) fees for scoring "free" club races. For the last two years, RMS has been used to register and accept CC payment for entry fees for Race to the Coast and Gulfport to Pensacola very successfully. The HC Class dues are handled separately from RMS.

When ORR-Ez first came on the scene in the Gulf region, Regatta Network (RN) indicated they would incorporate the API to lookup and score with EZ ratings, but then they changed their minds. EZ ratings (well, all ratings, really) must be entered manually in RN, which I agree is problematic and puts too much burden on the Race Committee to verify. RMS looks-up the ratings automatically, so the RC doesn't have to worry about it.

I believe Kevin Blank from Tammany YC has been working on his NextSailor system to incorporate the API for GYA-PHRF/ORA-1 scoring. That may be the preferred solution in the future. I don't know if he is going to incorporate ORR-Ez, however.

Truthfully, the age of boat owners entering their own ratings during registration is nearing its end. Everything is moving online. Even single-number GYA-PHRF ratings can be managed in an online database via RMS (and maybe NextSailor). It makes things much simpler for owners and RC alike.

Interesting times!

Cheers,
Kett