Optimist, Open Skiff, Youth & Olympic Sailing Blog

Optimists in Squamish in Smoke with Level 5 Health Risk on Aug 19 - Level 10 Health Risk projected for Aug. 20. The scene is unreal. Youth sailors in the Optimist dinghy - typically aged 10 to 15 - are competing in an area of British Columbia, Canada, subject to an official smoke warning by Health Canada. The smoke is a consequence of intense forest fires present in British Columbia. « Smoky skies will continue across most of the province for the next few days. Local smoke levels may vary based on wind direction and fire characteristics but, until a significant change in the provincial weather pattern occurs, widespread air quality improvements are not expected. » says the Statement by Weather Canada. https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?bc41 While the health risk was considered moderate on the first day of racing (Level 5 on a scale of 10, on August 19), it is projected to be high today. (Level 10 - see graph) http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/bcairquality/r...

With the Canadian Optimist Dinghy Association having decided to run the trials for 2019 IODA events, including the 2019 Worlds, just days before the 2018 Worlds - and doing that 10 time zones away, the issue of jet lag came to the forefront. Jet lag is a very serious issue for athletic performance and is essentially incompatible with it. "Common symptoms involve fatigue, confusion and lack of awareness. Imagine those symptoms lasting for days as you grapple with the mental and emotional adjustment to your new surroundings" -- according to "The Truth About Jet Lag and How to Overcome It,"  https://lifehacker.com/the-truth-about-jet-lag-and-how-to-overcome-it-1575151287 As a parent, why should I subject my kid to such an ordeal - of having to compete in two major regattas, just separated by a few days, which is already inappropropriate, but in addition being separated by 10 time zones? In this particular case, the events are the Worlds - on August 27 - Sept ...