Future Olympic Classes?

(from Spice thread)

Originally posted by 5420 yer i think it is time to get a boat like a rs700 in the olinpiks

What you've got to remember about getting boats into the Olympics is that its going to be an International Class, and probably one that is sailed in a lot of countries.

Whatever you may think of them its for sure that the UK smods have a poor record of getting adopted in other countries. This is a list of the current International classes with which country I think they originated in and what decade (I could be wrong about some of these)

1990s
29ER AUS/UK
49ER AUS/USA/JPN

1980s
Laser 4.7 USA
LASER RADIAL USA

1970s
LASER II AUS/USA
TOPPER UK
LASER USA

1960s
CONTENDER AUS
420 France
470 France
EUROPE France
FLYING JUNIOR Holland
OK Scandinavia
FIREBALL UK
MIRROR UK
MOTH UK/AUS/NZ/USA

1950s
SUNFISH USA
505 UK/France
FLYING DUTCHMAN Holland
FINN Scandinavia
CADET UK
ENTERPRISE UK
LIGHTNING USA
VAURIEN France
OPTIMIST USA/Scandinavia

1940s
SNIPE USA   

1930s
14 UK


You can see that the only UK SMD to feature is the Topper, and its a mystery to me how that keeps its international status, it must be clinging to the countries/continents requirement by the skin of its teeth. All the recent classes have been USA and AUS, and the Bethwaites, with 3 International and also two recognised classes, are the kings of modern dinghy design. Its also well worth noting that the Bethwaitea have very strong USA connections, especially with Ian Bruce, the Laser designer of course - the Bruce/Bethwaite combination has an almost complete dominance of recent International classes!

So the smart money is that a new design Olympic singlehander would be a Bruce/Bethwaite concept, orginating in USA/Australia, and almost certainly not a product of the UK factories. Unless of course the times change!


Edited by JimC

but if they broke it once they might breake it again, though not likely.

yeah, i'm not sure that's correct because the byte c2 was considered and that's new from last year...

i read about an olimpik class haveing to be an international foir 10 years i can not remeber what it was in i think it was in dinghy sailing magazen but i think they are starting to inore the rules because they had to inore for the 49er because they liked it so much  

Originally posted by 5420 i read about an olimpik class haveing to be an international foir 10 years i can not remeber what it was in i think it was in dinghy sailing magazen but i think they are starting to inore the rules because they had to inore for the 49er because they liked it so much  [/ P]

Not being a Olympic committee member i would only be guessing but I
am sure the reason the 49er got into the Sydney Olympics was more to
do with the Australians love of spectator based sailing (18's e.t.c) And it
being a very tele-visual boat. Oh and the designer was from Oz!