While physical fitness, agility and strength are advantageous, good technical sailing skills and experience can count for more.

As part of race tuning, the Contender mast is commonly raked well aft, which results in restricted space between the boom and deck.

Sailing the boat level at all times (except in very light winds) is fastest and reduces capsizes, which can happen fast if the boom dips into the water.

There is a trade-off between raking the mast far aft and keeping the kicker (boom vang) tight at all times (which is faster) and the higher probability of capsizing due to this less forgiving set up.

Unlike older and heavier dinghy designs, the Contender requires the centerboard to be lowered at least somewhat to avoid quick capsizes when reaching and running in a breeze.