Rumours of Olympics event changes

You all knew I was going to say that......and by the way Combs Byte Open on September 10/11.

It's funny you should say that Mr Tick....

.... I heard a while ago that one of the serious suggestions (as opposed to the wholesale slaughter in the linked opinion/article/agenda) is to scrap the male and female 470s and replace with a Mixed 470 and a lightweight female single-hander - likely to be the Byte CII.

This would sort out the gender/medal issue completely.  As for foils, short races etc, it doesn't matter one jot as to which classes are used and how long the races are if we (or WS) continue to put up with god-awful TV coverage.  Nothing looks good on a flat, shifty roll-the-dice course, and that's all we were served up from RIO.  Had coverage come from the outside courses we'd have seen Finns, 470s and Nacras getting airborne in huge wages, we'd have seen sailors battling not just each other but the elements too with a visual spectacle worthy of a medal in itself.

Personally, and I don't expect everyone to agree with me, I think that warp-factor-snot skiffs and foiling machines don't make for a good (visual) race as there's so much focus boatspeed, necessitating separation and the loss of close racing.  I reckon they'd look awful in light winds, and even worse when it's blowing old boots with big waves and they're sat on the shore, un-sailable.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with what we've got (aside from the change I suggest up there), but if the powers that be want good visuals for the TV audience then they've got to provide it.  The sailors (and classes) are keeping their side of the bargain....