Dinghy development: Olympic team racing

Print Page | Close Window

Olympic team racing

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Dinghy classes
Forum Name: Dinghy development
Forum Discription: The latest moves in the dinghy market
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=424
Printed Date: 13 Aug 25 at 12:17pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Olympic team racing

Posted By: maxim
Subject: Olympic team racing
Date Posted: 29 Jan 05 at 7:28pm

Just remembering the olympics on television (not
enough sailing...), and I saw that things like the
gymnastics also have team events, as do running
swimming cycling etc. where the individual
competitors all join together and compete for more
prizes.

Would a team racing event in the olympics work?? I
quite like the idea of Ben Ainslie pushing people
over the line whilst Shirley Robertson takes a clean
start on port; Ian Percy 'closes the door', forcing the
enemy to tack and GBR have the 1, 2, 3.!!

It would also be much better for television coverage,
as there would always be lots of (controlled)
aggresion and close sailing around a short course.
Oh, and we'd also do rather well...

Would the olympic people go for it??

Replies:

Posted By: *GM*
Date Posted: 29 Jan 05 at 9:56pm

Nope, they want fewer sailors (fewer of just about every type of sportsman in fact) not more. And team racing isn't exactly mainstream is it?

Posted By: Chris 249
Date Posted: 29 Jan 05 at 10:38pm

I wondered about the same thing here a while back. If you used the members of the current team, you wouldn't increase competitor numbers and it could make great sport.

Perhaps new forms of narrowcasting will also change the ways sports are viewed. You may not get millions of people watching coverage of teams racing in the Games, but maybe in a couple of games' time it will be worthwhile for "minor" sports to be streamed or something, and teams racing could attract lots of the many sailors worldwide.

Posted By: NatL
Date Posted: 31 Jan 05 at 4:50pm

team racing not mainstream...well not to any1 who sails at university or goes to one of the many teamracing clubs such as West Kirby and Spinnaker...

Matchracing was considered for the Olympics to boost nos of female sailors but was passed over in favour of the Yingling as it was considered 'too expensive for poorer countries' (as opposed to the Europe or the Yingling...hmmm

Posted By: Garry
Date Posted: 31 Jan 05 at 5:12pm

You could have a team prize based on results from the other races - so no extra races, no extra sailors but added interest?

-------------
Garry

Lark 2252, Contender 298

www.cuckoos.eclipse.co.uk

Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 31 Jan 05 at 5:52pm

Originally posted by NatL

[

Nope. Match racing for women was passed over for the Olympics because it doesn't qualify as an Olympic sport. It needs to be done in a certain number of countries to qualify.

Team racing might well have a similar problem, but in any case too many comeptitors, too arcane (very rule dependant) and not really in line with the Olympic ideal of Higher/Faster/Stronger (all about slowing up the opposition not sailing fast yourself), would also be against it.

Originally posted by Minutes of the ISAF Council Meeting of 9, 10, 11 November 2000

Submissions 74-00, 81-00, 89-00, 93-00 - Keelboat Women

At its meeting of 9 November 2000, Council agreed to re-open the discussion on the women's keelboat event. Commencing the debate,discussion revolved around the total number of athletes in the women's keelboat event, in order for sailing to stay within the IOC limits set for the sport, and that the number of crew on the selected boat would effect the number of entries in the fleet.

Moving onto the IOC criteria for events in the Olympics, Council was advised that "only events practised by women in at least thirty-five countries and on three continents may be included in the programme of the Olympic Games" and "events must have a recognised International standing both numerically and geographically and have been included at least twice in world or continental championships". The President stated that ISAF would have to prove to the IOC that the event met this criteria.

Council Decision

On a proposal by Charley Cook, seconded by Ross Robson
Council was invited to approve that the keelboat women's event be match racing, which was rejected (13 in favour, 19 against, 3 abstain).

- Later - checking up on the website only about 18 countries have ever entered the ISAF team racing Championships. That would suggest that the chances of team racing making the Olympics is pretty minimal.

Posted By: Harry44981!
Date Posted: 31 Jan 05 at 6:35pm

[QUOTE= and not really in line with the Olympic ideal of Higher/Faster/Stronger (all about slowing up the opposition not sailing fast yourself), would als be against it.

[QUOTE]

Maybe higher? Luffing the opposition into oblivion?

-------------

Posted By: Jon Emmett
Date Posted: 31 Jan 05 at 7:34pm

I have been team racing for over ten years and I would love to see Team Racing at the Olympics, I think it has a lot of advantages over fleet racing as a spectator sport but I think both Ben and Iain are a little on the large side for Fireflys! I think a far better team would be Stru, Chips and Chrissy. Jon

-------------
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Be-Your-Own-Tactics-Coach/dp/0470973218/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312565831&sr=8-1 -

Posted By: maxim
Date Posted: 31 Jan 05 at 10:56pm

Originally posted by Garry

You could have a team prize based
on results from the other races - so no extra races,
no extra sailors but added interest?

Not much added intrest I think. Anyone who knows
team racing will know that it is a very aggressive
sport, with fast changing consequences. Surely this
is what the average bloke wants to see. Compared
to fleet racing it is much more gripping...

Posted By: Pierre
Date Posted: 01 Feb 05 at 8:27am

I see that the I14's have a couple of days of inter country team racing at their worlds in New Zealand this month. I wonder what that's like in a blow!