2024 Olympic Sailboat Lineup: a Proposal

This is a summary of the proposal for the 2024 Olympics, as presented on the Sailing Illustrated webcast of January 25.

Please download the 10 slides in .pdf at this LINK.

Here are key points

- Goal: to be able to get 75% of support or more from MNAs, WS board, to reverse the December 2018 Sarasota decision

- To disrupt as little as possible the 2020 lineup

- To accommodate a wide range of physiques, including heavy weight male sailors

- To have only pinnacle events - not experiments such an mixed double-handed offshore

- To be compliant with Article 23.1 of World Sailing regulations, and to deliver gender balance

- Goal here is not to decide here if kiteboarding is sailing or not, so kicking out kiteboarding from the lineup is not proposed here

Currently adopted Sarasota Lineup for 
2024 Olympics is weak because:

- The newcomer mixed double-handed offshore event is very little practiced in sailing, is mostly untested, and does not meet the Olympic « pinnacle event » criteria

- Both Marseille 2024 and Long Beach 2028 are low wind venues in summer, especially at night, making the racing potentially boring and uninteresting, including for media coverage

- The short expected duration of the racing - 60 hours or so -, coupled with low winds, will not make this a true offshore event - it may be more a sleep deprivation contest than a real athletic competition

- The boats that are currently contemplated by WS for the event such as the L30 are not true offshore boats either - in the (unlikely, but not impossible) case of strong winds, racing may be dangerous

- The campaign costs of offshore sailing are excessive and go against the Olympic universality principle; there were already big complaints about the Star; this will be even more expensive 
(i.e. campaign costs of several millions of dollars)

- Excluding the Finn - the only realistic platform for male sailors above say 85 kgs, introduces an unacceptable and unnecessary discrimination and goes against the universality principle

- There were likely irregularities and lots of controversy with the 2018 Sarasota vote and the contentious adoption of the minutes, which tarnishes the image of the 2024 Olympic games

It is suggested to have an exhibition event in 2024, in the form of a Mixed Keelboat with 4 Crew

- Would present boats that are modern yet would better represent sailing than most other equipments, such as the 49er and Nacra 17, currently used at Olympics

- Would attract many of the very best sailing athletes in the world, both young and older ones, as can be seen in events such as the J70 Worlds

- Teams would consist of 2 male and 2 female athletes - with a strict total athlete weight range. This is more common and easier to implement than mixed double-handed dinghies

- A successful boat such as the J70, the Melges 20 or equivalent would be used

- Ideally have same sails, same masts and same hulls, to avoid a costly equipment contest

- Possibility to use innovative formats, such as combining fleet and match racing

- Shorter Olympic campaigns to be expected, which will attract the very best in the sport

- Consistency with existing pinnacle events such as the Melges 20, J70 Worlds

Watch this video of the 2018 J70 Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDW4osnc9XM

To conclude:

- The suggested lineup combines 10 formal Olympic events and 1 exhibition event

- A proposal of a sailing exhibition event in the form of an amazing keelboat event, sailed by a crew of 4, should be made to the IOC

- In the event such proposal is accepted, then we can have a 2024 lineup with minimal disruption compared to 2020, with:
 
   a) re-integration of the Finn (to avoid excluding heavy weight sailors)

   b) introduction of a keelboat event that represents well the sport and that may attract the very best professional sailors in the world

   c) kiteboarding remains in lineup (as already is both in London & Sarasota)

   d) we have a balanced set of events - male, female, mixed, 
with gender balance

   e) key parameters are respected: 350 athletes, 10 medals, article 23.1


Popular posts from this blog

Green, White, Blue & Red Fleets: What is it all about?

Image
If you were present at a prize giving ceremony for the Optimist class, you may have been puzzled by the number of categories and prizes that are involved. The reason is simple: the Optimist class is big, and there are kids sailing from age 5 or 6 to age 15, and there are some kids new to the class, and other kids with years of experience  So it's normal to recognize the efforts of everyone according to age and experience. So here is how it is organized. Green Fleet : when your kid starts mastering the boat and do short races at your club, (s)he may be ready for doing a regatta in the Green Fleet. This is a regatta where advice can be provided by the coaches during the race. And it is typically a shorter course than the white/blue/red fleets. The importance in the green fleet is to participate. So there is typically no ranking announced at the prize giving. But when your kid starts performing well in the Green Fleet, it's then ... time to move on and join the White, Blue o
Read more

20 Reasons to Choose the Laser 4.7 (part 1)

Image
A frequently asked question is: « Why the Laser 4.7? » While the 4.7 rig is very well known in Europe, it is less so in some places elsewhere, particularly in the United States and Canada. The reality is that there are many reasons to choose this rig, which entails a sail of 4.7 square meters (1 square meter less than the Radial sail) and a slightly shorter mast. This rig is especially suitable for youth sailing. Let's take a look at the reasons - and there are many of them - why the Laser 4.7 is an excellent choice. Below are 10 first reasons. The second part of the article, presents 10 additional reasons to choose the Laser 4.7, and can be found at this link . Note: this article is available in French . Also, don't miss our upcoming webinar on Nov. 13 " The Laser 4.7 for Youth Sailing: All You Need to Know! " 1. A Considerable International Success The Laser 4.7, launched only twenty years ago, has achieved a considerable international success. For exampl
Read more

Laser or ILCA Dinghy: Which One is Fastest?

Image
A Mix of Lasers and ILCA Dinghies at the Laser 4.7 Worlds in Kingston "There's no such thing as bad publicity." -- Phineas T. Barnum The Laser is usually referred to as a single manufacturer one design boat (SMOD). But in reality, there are 3 builders (assuming LaserPerformance will be reinstated) and possibly more to come. The ILCA Dinghies are actual PSA Lasers, rebranded to circumvent the Laser trademarks. Boats from the third, Japanese, builder are much less common, except in Japan and South Korea. So, are the PSA and LaserPerformance boats the same? As indicated earlier, only one supplier of charter boats - PSA - was promoted by the Laser class at the Youth Worlds, so that many sailors did not sail by choice on the Aussie ILCA Dinghies. The fact that many of the top competitors used ILCA Dinghies for those championships is not necessarily an indicator that these are better boats. Most of the top international competitors were sailing the ILCA Dinghies
Read more