Olympic Classes for 2012

They've been exciting and challenging to sail for decades...

Jim, I've just resubscribed, so haven't got a copy yet - how did the Fireflies do on new boats this year, please?

Does the Pico figure include those sent to the Med for holiday companies? Could explain the figure. Interesting that the 500 is the biggest selling trapeze boat, but then there isn't much of a 2nd hand market yet. Fireball is impressive for what is still a pretty high performance boat.

Originally posted by Status Am I the only one that is surprised the Laser isn't anywhereon the list?

If you don't publish the number it doesn't get on my list!

Originally posted by Status Surely the Pico number includes...

What the numbers include is always a matter of some speculation. I reckon over the years quite a few worldwide new boat numbers have "accidentally" been posted instead, and there are other oddities, like the class who's "latest" sail number posted has been reducing for the last few years, so they're presumably been unbuilding the most recent boats[grin]. Of course cockup is probably the most common cause of such errors, and I'm not immune from typos and misreading when putting the data in my spreadsheet.

and the 29er should be on that list, I think Ovi have been making about 160 a year.

Originally posted by Stefan Lloyd Originally posted by Chris 249  We still seem to be having many people who decry 'lost opportunities"  without explaining WHY faster boats would attract more sailors, in a world where 'slower' boats are what, in reality, attract the vast majority of sailors. That argument is a fallacy at two levels. In terms of attracting people into the sport, what they see on TV that might encourage them to try sailing and they kind of boats they'd actually learn to sail are two different things entirely. Wannabe snowboarders are inspired by programmes showing Fearless Freddy launching himself down some near-vertical couloir but they actually then go and spend weeks learning on the nursery slopes. Secondly, who says that Olympic classes should be suitable for "vast majority of sailors" anyway? These are elite sailors. Why shouldn't they be sailing highly athletic classes? The only reason the 470 is widely distributed internationally is because it has long been an Olympic class. Any new class selected will, over time, gain similar distribution. Selecting the 49er was a bold and successful move. It's a shame another opportunity for ISAF to lead the sport has been fluffed.

I think there are fallacies in your arguments, with respect.

For one, why take lessons in marketing from a sport as small as
snowboarding? Sport England surveys indicate that 0.37% snowboard,
and 0.38% of all adults want to ski or snowboard more often.

Snowboarding IS on the increase, yes, but nine times as many adults want
to play more golf (for example) than want to snowboard or ski more.

If we want to look at what marketing makes a sport grow, why not look at
the images that the major participant sports (walking, swimming, keep
fit/yoga, cycling, snooker/pool/billiards, weights, running, golf, soccer in
that order) portray?

Fact is, Fearless Freddy is less successful as an inspiration than "Average
Albert"; the athlete who shows that Mr and Mrs High Street can take up
their sport.

We have an example close to home in windsurfing, which was the fastest-
growing watersport in the world and then became one of the fastest-
shrinking sports when it took on an extreme image - an image that (as
the head of the biggest windusrfer manufacturer has been telling his
dealers) scared off most people inside and outside the sport.

An Olympic class may not have to be suitable for the
vast majority of sailors (although that may be a good thing). The point is
that we should not show sailing as being a sport that so unattainably
difficult that the normal non-sailor will believe that they can not take it
up.

Jim C's figures, like the drop in nationals attendance in skiff types, shows
that not even experienced sailors are turning to skiff types. Here in Oz,
the Skiff clubs generally do not attract many juniors despite their power
and wealth. Surely if skiffs inspired new sailors, kids would be lining up
to sail around the 18 Footer clubs. They are not.

The 470 was already massively popular in France before it became
Olympic. The 49er, as Jim has shown, was already growing quickly before
it became an Olympic class. The only time an "instant class" has been
selected was the RSX, which has attracted massive criticism.

All that said, the 29erXX could have been a good choice (IMHO) for some
reasons. But we have been shown no evidence that an extreme image is
the way to best promote the sport of dinghy sailing, or any other mass
sport.

Edited by Chris 249