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Aug 27, 2008, 12:00 PM
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Obstacles for US Olympic sailing
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Since the 1996 Olympics Games, the United States has led all countries in the total medal count for each of the four Games. Interestingly, it was also the 1996 Games when parity entered the sailing events, with the sailing medals being shared by a greater number of countries. The amount of time, energy, and money being invested in Olympic sailing has risen, and likely is now at a par with, many of the elite Olympic events. The US did not keep pace with this rise, and are now playing catch up. However, there are some unique aspects about the US and the sport within they may make this task more challenging.
Here are a few realities that we think are standing in the way of increasing the medal haul in the future:
1. The U.S. is connected to only Canada and Mexico, with the bulk of the strong sailing countries many time zones away. If sailors have to go overseas to train, the logistics and cost will always be an obstacle. Australia has overcome this obstacle, likely due in part with the sport’s high national standing.
Solution: North American countries need to work together to raise the overall level of talent, providing more value for cost effective domestic training. However, since there are very few competitive ranking regattas in the continent, overseas travel will still be needed.
2. Developing talent requires critical mass. The US has talent – some on the east coast and some on the west coast – with too much dirt in between. When the west coast sailors travel to the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in January, they will have driven over two straight days to get there.
Solution: If we had a magic wand, all sailing in the US would be in southern Florida during the winter, and either California or the northeast US in the summer (or Honolulu, HI 24/7). For sailors to consistently gather and train, they need travel time, housing, and boats on both coasts. In short, they need money.
3. It is easier to develop top talent in classes that have good local mass. Of the 11 Olympic events in 2008, only the Star, Laser, and Laser Radial have decent fleet size and competition in the US (though the Finn did have 42 boats at the 2007 Trials).
Solution: Pray that ISAF picks events that are prevalent in the continent, and then work with builders and classes. This, however, is a huge task, particularly when Olympic events can possibly change for each cycle. The ultimate solution might be to focus on only those events where it is easier to develop top talent. This form of tough love was already in play for the 2008 team, where successful candidates were better funded than less successful ones.
4. Creating public interest in the Olympics is needed to excite aspiring athletes. An Olympic campaign consumes time and money, but if there is a genuine excitement about Olympic sailing, more prospects might be willing to take the plunge.
Solution: This is a sales job, and it cannot occur only during Olympic years. Athletes must constantly be telling their story. The media must be used in innovative ways, and we saw some of this amid the 2008 team. Olympic athletes must be part of special events both inside and out of the sport, and partner with high profile individuals outside of the sport. Take a celebrity sailing for a photo shoot, particularly one that looks sexy when wet. Seek celebrity status for the Olympic athlete.
5. The budget for sailing has increased, and needs to increase further.
Solution: Top results at prominent events helps. Creating public interest helps. Working on Items 2, 3, and 4 should all help with this mission.
6. The US has never had a plan to develop youth sailors for Olympic futures. The team has typically worked only with the cards it was dealt.
Solution: The US launched the US Elite Youth Development Sailing Team in 2007 to better support sailors that have demonstrated the ability and desire to be successful Olympic athletes. They are now making an annual commitment to this program.
7. US youth sailors are focusing on designated youth boats (such as the Club 420, FJ, Pixie, etc.), with the bulk of their racing done on short courses and sailed in boats with minimal tuning requirements. Great for learning boat-on-boat tactics, but not great for developing technical skills.
Solution: Other than the Laser/Radial, youth sailors need to get connected to prominent national one design dinghy classes that will teach tuning and big course racing (ie, Lightning, Thistle, Snipe, etc). In many dominant countries, youth sailors are able to compete in junior events in the Finn and International 470 and 420. Good news is the interest in the 29er (junior feeder for the 49er), and the success already on the international level. For boardsailing growth, since nearly every youth sailor begins in a form of pram, developing boardsailors is about getting them to convert early, and growing the fleets to insure there is enough quality racing.
8. Most top youth sailors progress to college racing. If a sailor competed in High School and then College, they will have completed 8 years of short course racing in boats that they did not own, that required very little tuning, and were not equipment sensitive. Those 8 years will have helped to develop some of the skills needed for a successful Olympic campaign, but have left a lot out too.
Solution: Start Olympic campaigns sooner. If an aspiring Olympic sailor goes to college, they need to use that time for the first quad, and make that the priority rather than college competition. While earning All-American or Sailor of the Year status in college is an impressive achievement, the time it took may not well serve the long term goal of Olympic success.
Some of the distractions in attracting top Olympic candidate are equal for all counties, such as professional sailing or non-sailing careers. Some of the obstacles in the US are beyond the leadership of US Olympic Team, and will require cultural shifts amongst youth sailing. Among the keys for the US is for the best sailors to be competing in the Olympics, not just the ones who are able to. Make Olympic sailing exciting and sexy, develop the necessary skills earlier, improve the level of play in North America, and of course, improve funding so that sailors without superior financial backing can take on the task.
Are there comments on this list, or any additional ideas? Reply to this thread.
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