What does DNC mean?
| Meaning | Did Not Come |
|---|---|
| Category | Sports & recreation |
| Type | Code |
The sailing result code DNC identifies a boat that did not start and did not come to the starting area. Did Not Come is a short label for those circumstances; the 2025–2028 Racing Rules of Sailing give the complete description. It does not mean every failure to finish.
A result code records a specified circumstance; the points assigned to it depend on the scoring provisions in use. Appendix A10 lists DNC separately from DNS and DNF. Its DNS description excludes DNC and OCS, while DNF identifies did not finish. These distinctions stop several different records being flattened into the boat did not race. In our invented results-reading exercise, the table explicitly marks Boat A as DNC and supplies the A10 legend. A faithful note retains that the boat did not start and did not come to the starting area; it does not invent why the boat was absent. Another fictional sheet gives DNC but no applicable scoring provisions. The code’s wording alone is insufficient to reconstruct a points total for that event. Look for the event’s published scoring arrangements before comparing totals. The exercise below reads supplied codes and legends; it does not act as a race committee or decide which code an actual incident should receive. That matters because a short story about a boat can omit circumstances relevant to the rules.
Meaning in context
- DNC circumstances
- Did not start and did not come to the starting area in Appendix A10.
- Code and points
- A code description is separate from the applicable scoring provisions.
Practical examples
Retain the full legend
- Before
Invented sheet: DNC, with the A10 legend. Draft: the boat started and failed to finish.
- After
The code records that the boat did not start and did not come to the starting area.
The draft substitutes a different circumstance for the supplied DNC description.
Do not invent a points rule
- Before
Invented sheet: DNC, with no scoring provisions supplied. Draft: this proves one fixed points value in every event.
- After
Check the scoring provisions applicable to that event before assigning a points value.
The meaning of the code does not supply every event’s scoring arrangements.
Original illustrative examples, not quotations or reports of actual events.
Read the sailing result code
What does a recorded sailing DNC tell me, and which scoring details still need the event’s documents?
See all guidance
Read DNC
Keep both parts of the A10 description.
The boat did not start and did not come to the starting area.
Compare codes
Use the actual code table.
DNS is listed separately from DNC and OCS.
Compare points
Find the applicable event provisions.
The code alone does not supply the full points calculation.
Read the complete code description and keep the recorded circumstance, the reason and the event’s points rules separate.
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By AcronymIndex Editorial Team · Editorial policy