Getting Started
Race Crew Network (RCN) is a private scheduling and communication tool for sailing race crews. It helps skippers organize their race calendar and crew members stay on top of upcoming events.
After your first login, set up your profile by navigating to Profile Settings from the avatar dropdown in the top-right corner. From there you can:
- Set your display name and initials
- Upload a profile picture or use the auto-generated avatar
- Update your email address and password
How to Request Access
RCN is invite-only. To get access:
- Ask your skipper or team admin if they have a Race Crew Network account
- They can invite you by sharing a registration link or sending you an email invitation from the My Crew page
- Click the link, create your account, and you'll automatically be connected to your skipper's crew
If you're a skipper looking to set up your own crew, contact us using the form below.
Viewing the Schedule & RSVPs
The Home page shows your upcoming race schedule. Events are listed chronologically with key details like date, location, and event type.
- RSVP to each event with Yes, No, or Maybe so your skipper knows who's available
- On desktop, you'll see a full table view with crew RSVP status at a glance
- On mobile, events are shown as cards optimized for smaller screens
- Use the tabs to switch between Upcoming and Past events
Calendar Subscription
Subscribe to your race schedule so events automatically appear in your personal calendar. Events you've RSVP'd Yes or Maybe to will sync automatically.
Click Calendar in the navbar to get your subscription URL, then add it to your preferred app:
- Apple Calendar — Click the "Open in Calendar App" button for instant setup
- Google Calendar — Copy the HTTPS URL and add it under "Other calendars → From URL"
- Outlook — Copy the calendar URL and subscribe via "Add calendar → From internet"
Your subscription URL is private. Don't share it with others.
Documents
Skippers and admins can attach documents to events — typically Notice of Race (NOR), Sailing Instructions (SI), and other race documents.
- View attached documents from the event detail page
- Documents open in a new tab for easy reading
- Supported formats include PDF and common document types
Profile & Notifications
Manage your account from Profile Settings (avatar dropdown → Profile Settings):
- Display name & initials — How you appear to your crew
- Email — Used for login and notifications
- Password — Change your password at any time
- Profile picture — Upload a photo or keep the auto-generated avatar
- Email preferences — Choose to receive email notifications or opt out entirely. You can also choose between immediate delivery or a digest summary
For Skippers: Crew & Events
As a skipper, you have additional tools to manage your crew and race schedule.
Inviting Crew
- Go to My Crew to see your current crew roster
- Share the registration link or send email invitations directly
- New members are automatically linked to your crew when they register
Managing Events
- Add events manually with date, location, and details
- Edit or delete events from the event detail page
- Import schedules — paste a URL, upload a file, or paste text from a regatta schedule. The AI-powered importer will extract event details automatically
Notifying Crew
- After adding or updating events, use Notify Crew to send email updates to your team
- Notifications respect each crew member's email preferences
For Developers
Race Crew Network is open source and built with Flask, SQLAlchemy, and Bootstrap. If you're interested in contributing or learning how it's built:
- Check out the training directory — an 18-day Flask curriculum that walks through building a web app from scratch
- The full source code is available on GitHub