| Paul Henderson
Speaks
As
I am not running for any office and do not have to worry about being politically
correct I can openly say what I personally believe although really that
never bothered me before.
Overview
Olympics should err on the side of "Talent not Technology".
The corollary of that is that it is the athlete that is important not
the Class or Format. In fact the sailors will sail whatever class that
is picked on the courses decided, and the best sailors still win no matter
what ISAF prescribes. It is personalities that the Olympic Media wants,
not the high-tech aspects or speed of the equipment. The Olympics are
for individuals and are nationalistic.
Specific
Observations
Sailing will be limited to 11 Events and 400 sailors for Quingdo. 4 Events
will be for women and in practice the other 7 are for men although women
could compete in the "Open" Events against the men. In 1996
the women's
participation was 19% and in Athens was guaranteed to be over 35% which
has been a major step forward.
It
is essential that the equipment and accessibility to equal equipment should
be a priority in at least 5 of the 11 events.
Windsurfing
The new Windsurfing equipment for both men and women should be supplied.
ISAF must work directly with the manufacturing facility to ensure the
highest quality and distribution and not allow a marketing firm to control
the Olympic Board. The Class must be run out from the ISAF Secretariat
until the structure is able to stand alone.
Single
Events
I believe this is the essence of the Olympics and if ISAF could find a
way I would have four single events with one women's and one men's event
having supplied equipment as ISAF does with the Laser which has continued
to be the most popular Class in the Games even though it was conceived
in
Canada over thirty years ago. It should be noted that the Class has resisted
any changes to the original concept putting the emphasis on the sailor
rather than high-tech development.
Catamarans
I am a strong supporter of Cats as they must be sailed and kinetics hasvery
little effect. I would have two Cats one which is a simple off-the-beach
class and possibly make it Mixed Doubles which would push women's participation
over 40%.
Other
Observations
Olympics are not meant to be representative of the total sport but are
only meant to show a piece of each sport's spectrum. There appears to
beNO move to replace any class except in Windsurfing. With 11 Events,
ISAF can accommodate some classes where technology is a factor but the
focus in
at least 5 of the 11 should be on supplied, equal, simple equipment. The
classes should be chosen where accommodating all sizes of sailor is the
priority.
The
Star and Finn are for heavyweights and Windsurfing for lightweights, Tornado
and 49ers are for medium weights with the Yngling for a mix of weights.
Match Racing was dropped as the result of ISAF Council voting to have
the Star remain instead of the Soling. I look upon this as "Format"
and is not a requirement for the Olympics although it did add to the promotion
of the sport. Match Racing developed from and has as its pinnacle the
America's Cup and most crews are multi-national.
Team
Racing cannot be sold to the IOC until it is shown that it is practiced
in 50 countries. Events which use multi-crewed "Formats" like
Offshore or Team Racing are very difficult to add as they take up too
many of the 400 slots allowed. It is therefore reality, at least for the
foreseeable future that the Olympics will be for Fleet Racing.
TV
Exposure
Sailing will not get more TV exposure in the Olympics because of the equipment
selected as the Olympics focus on heroes and nationalism. This is coupled
with the fact that there are so many sports (40) going on which must be
covered. It is tough to get the National TV networks to pick up the feed
and they only do so if their sailors are doing well and then only as clips.
Sailing had great exposure on the Internet. In the future, NBC
intends to have all sports accessed through Pay TV on dedicated channels.
Conclusion
The meeting in Copenhagen will be intense, as it is every four years,
when the decision on Olympic Equipment is made which has much more impact
on the sailors than who is elected to serve Sailing. Good Luck to both
constituencies!
regards,
Paul
Henderson, President, ISAF
Courtesy
our friends at Euro Scuttle
10/12/04
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