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Ruscoe View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Ruscoe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Classes Table Discussion
    Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 3:36pm
I think it would also be interesting to find out how many paid up members of class associations there are.  For instance Lasers sell in thousands but how many actually join the association.  Phantoms and solo's sell in high numbers (relative to the dinghy market) but i bet their proportion of class membership is pretty high.

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Contender 541 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Contender 541 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 4:21pm
Russ
 
As well you certainly know with the 5oh Nats - no pay (your association membership), no play (the Nats)
 
For me this is a good thing - for without the association, you have no-one organising these things.  Perhaps the question should be how to get more people joining the association (but perhaps this should be another thread)
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G.R.F. View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote G.R.F. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 4:43pm
Originally posted by rogue


 But I'd rather know about how many new boats are being built,

Yep that would be more useful if you were looking at just plain buying a boat and what to recommend to a chum.

Also the criterion folk actually apply to buying boats is probably nothing like the old realities of does it have a class association, are there events to go to.

It's more like

Price.
Portability.
Price
Durability
Price
Ease of Use.

None of which are really catered for by that chart or anything else the mag offers (make mental note to ring Mark) joe uninformed public. I accept there aint many but we get literally loads walking by the promenade on a pleasant day asking, what do you say? We usually tell them about Dover Watersports Centre to feck them off because the 10 minute gun's about to go, but in all reality there ought to be more simplified stuff for them to use. Lets face it left to the polyethylene tub mill of holiday centres it's not going to be long before the supply of half decent production craft for racing totally dries up, or worse we just get left with legacy crap like Solo's




Edited by G.R.F. - 14 Sep 11 at 4:45pm
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JimC View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 4:51pm
The supply of decent cars and bikes for track racing has never dried up but increasingly its from small specialist suppliers not the mass market. Don't see why racing boats should be any different in the long term. We've already seen most mass producers abandon high end racing boats.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote hum3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 5:45pm
Originally posted by Skiffybob

 
What the hell does the ISAF have to do with it.
 
Rather a single organisational body to look after such matters (irrespective of how well they might perform this function) than the free for all that boxing seems to be in where there really are multiple 'champions'
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G.R.F. View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote G.R.F. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 6:06pm
Originally posted by JimC

The supply of decent cars and bikes for track racing has never dried up but increasingly its from small specialist suppliers not the mass market. Don't see why racing boats should be any different in the long term. We've already seen most mass producers abandon high end racing boats.

Yes point taken and fully agree, but the prime market force that newcomers face as their number one objection is that chart, if they aint on it (Alto) they struggle to get traction.

So for the big player void to be filled there needs to be a different measure against which racing boats can be recommended.

Right now sadly it's either that chart, Banditry or the sort of marketing muscle only wielded by one solitary player...


Edited by G.R.F. - 14 Sep 11 at 6:07pm
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Rupert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 6:39pm
For a while a few years ago Y&Y ran a series on boat types at the back of each magazine, with a description and ideas on whom the boat might suit.
 
Have to agree that Natonals turn out is a poor measure of success for a class, especially those where racing is only a part of what they do. Number of new boats built is also poor, as an old class with a strong 2nd hand market won't sell as many as a new class with no 2nd hand boats, maybe, but as a class will be far stronger.
 
Dunno what the best measure is - probebly there isn't one, unless you can measure the enjoyment people get from a boat, quantify it and then measure potential buyers to find out if they have similar brain wave pattens...
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Post Options Post Options   Quote RS400atC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 6:48pm
Originally posted by G.R.F.

......

Yes point taken and fully agree, but the prime market force that newcomers face as their number one objection is that chart, if they aint on it (Alto) they struggle to get traction.

So for the big player void to be filled there needs to be a different measure against which racing boats can be recommended.

Right now sadly it's either that chart, Banditry or the sort of marketing muscle only wielded by one solitary player...


I don't think it's good advice for a newcomer to buy a non-established class.
I cringe when I see beginners turn up with what some salesman at a show has foisted on them.
Most newcomers should be able to buy an established class that meets their needs well enough.
When they can sail a Vision/Vareo/Vago (or any accessible class) competently, they will have learned enough to make a choice on a more specialised boat.
Most people would be well advised to start with a used boat, and I think that's often what happens. Most of the people who buy a new boat in the 'proper racing classes' are not new to that class, let alone new to sailing I think? Obviously things like RS100 have people joining the class with a brand new boat, but these are people who know what's going on more than is told by the table.
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Chris 249 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Chris 249 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 10:03pm

Originally posted by alstorer

there is perhaps something in this- to have an official World or even European Championships, the class has to meet certain ISAF critera, and file yearly reports to justify retaining the status. Now, there are those who may say that the criterea are too lax and that some classes are not deserving of being able to declare a World Champion, but you take that one up with ISAF.
Many classes that don't meet the criterea hold "Eurocup" or "Interncontinental Championship" etc events that are often little more than "brits abroad with a couple of token locals"- there's nothing wrong with this, who doesn't like to go somewhere warmer and sunnier to sail?
 
Anyway, perhaps there should be a place for the RYA here to have criterea for "National Champions"- though i'm not sure what then to call smaller classes events that don't meet the criterea but still mean something to those who take part?
 
I appreciate though that whilst sailing may be extreme in it's proliferation, how many track and field athletics "National Champions" are there, especially given that there are many age categroies (and not just for kids), something that's a bit rarer in sailing?

Tend to agree that there could be some control over the "national title" label, or else it can become a bit silly.  I've done a "nationals" in a fleet of 7 boats and it felt totally different to a "real" nationals and getting a trophy was rather embarrassing. Take it too far and it becomes nothing more than grandstanding.

Good point about track and field. My other sport, cycling, has about 40 national/world title disciplines WITHOUT covering the age, gender and disability categories. Many events have about 10 age categories, as well as gender and disabled classifications. Add the latter in - and counting them separately seems fair because unlike the situation in sailing, they are normally separate events rather than a sub-class - and we'd have something like around 200 "championships" in track alone, as far as I can see!

I've often wondered if ISAF and other bodies could try to use some lateral thinking to allow diversity while reducing the splintering of the sport. We could respond by grouping classes in various ways; for example, perhaps the Solo could have a worlds IF it encouraged entries from the Aussie Sabre, the NZ Mistral, and any other class with similar characteristics. Perhaps even stronger classes could form a mega-series; the Europe/OK/Finn could form three weight class/weight categories of the "standard singlehander" division internationally. 

There are many other classes that are basically reasonably similar that have pockets of strength around the world. Perhaps they could say that (for example) the borderline international classes can only maintain world title status if they come to some deal to encourage those from classes that are similar but not international to compete. And maybe something similar could be done at national level - the 9 "Puddle ODs" could have a nationals but only if they were the lightweight sub-division of the "two handed non spinnaker combined" nationals, along with the 12 roughly similar "Dodo 13s" and the 10 "Nevermadeit 4.1s".

Obviously there are major problems in adopting such a plan, but there are also problems in doing nothing as new classes arrive and few old ones die.

PS

Just for my own convenience, I've listed most of the cycle overall events I've counted below where I can find them easily later.

4 divisions of artistic cycling
1 cyclo ball discipline
Scratch race 10km
Points race 20km
Points race 15km
Points race 5 km
Points race 25km
Points race 40km
Individual pursuit
Teams pursuit
3000m team pursuit
Keirin
Team sprint
Omnium
BMX Sprocket?
BMX Cruiser?
2000 m Individual pursuit
3000m Individual pursuit
4000m Individual pursuit
MTB Four Cross
MTB trials, 20 inch (at worlds, dunno about national level)
MTB trials, 26 inch (ditto)
MTB Teams relay (more dittoing)
MTB Marathon
MTB CX
MTB Downhill
BMX freestyle Dirt
BMX Freestyle flatland
BMX freestyle Park/Street
BMX Freestyle Vert
Road Mountain Climbing Road race
Road Mountain climbing Time Trial
Road race
Road time trial
Road team time trial
Road criterium
Penny farthings
Team sprint
1 k time trial

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alstorer View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote alstorer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Sep 11 at 11:44pm
Most of those cycle events will no doubt have junior, youth, masters, ladies etc Champions- very few sailing classes have separate designated age or gender competitions (though many will award such titles from among the general entry)
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