There are two divisions of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings - Open and Women. Ranking points can only be gained towards the women's rankings when all crew members are women. Sailors will only receive ranking points from events that fully comply with the Regulations.

Events must submit a Grading Form to the ISAF Secretariat at least four months prior to the event. ISAF will publish the dates of WC events on or before 15 October each year and establish a calendar of events. Events may be re-graded retrospectively when there is a clear reason to do so.

The ISAF World Match Rankings rate skippers based on their performances at ISAF Graded events over the 24 month period prior to the release date of the Rankings. Skippers score points by competing a Graded Events with the highest points awarded to the event winner and decreasing down. The most points are up for grabs at the World Match Racing Tour, followed by ISAF Grade 1 events, Grade 2 through to Grade 5.

Bonus points can be scored for success in events featuring the top ranked skippers.

A skipper can count points from a total of eight events - four from the most recent 12 months and four from up to 24 months ago. Events contested within 12 months of each ranking release count for double. The winner of an ISAF Grade 1 event can expect to score around 1,800 points if the event took place within the last 12 months or around 1,000 if it was 12-24 months ago.

As well as reflecting the current form and perfomance of the world's top match racer, the ISAF World Match Race Rankings are also used to decide 10 of the 12 skippers who will compete in the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship.

The following Grades apply:

• Grade WC
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5