Olympic Classes for 2012

i think the problem is that fewer people CAN sail the skiff type boats. this means instantly that their market is smaller than a forgiving class. not only that but sailing centres buy huge numbers of boats. for teaching etc do you think they will get skiffs? i dont. you cannot compare numbers sold. it just doesnt work.

i think that fast boats will get younger kids interested. however after that its like every sport, we just have to hope they get the sailing bug and want to carry on. as for adults, i can see how the tactical side may interest them. however, how can you get all the tactical side across in a few minutes of olympic coverage?

different boats will attract different people. the crux of the matter is what we want the purpose of the olympics to be. should it be a chance to showcase the sport? or should the olympics be a chance for the top guys to compete against each other in a prestigous, selective with the competition being the main focus?

Originally posted by NeilP It needs saying again - the purpose of the Olympics is NOT to act as a maekting tool for the sport. It is intended to be the pinnacle of competitive sport.

The Olympics by definition will always be the pinnacle of small boat sailing. Why can't it be both?

The sailors with Olympic dreams will sail what ever ISAF selects; they are pros and will just use the tools given to them ... so why not provide somthing that puts on a good show?

Originally posted by getafix Originally posted by Guest#260 Originally posted by NeilP It needs saying again - the purpose of the Olympics is NOT to act as a maekting tool for the sport. It is intended to be the pinnacle of competitive sport. The Olympics by definition will always be the pinnacle of small boat sailing. Why can't it be both? The sailors with Olympic dreams will sail what ever ISAF selects; they are pros and will just use the tools given to them ... so why not provide somthing that puts on a good show? are you alleging that watching 30 guys sailing Stars around isn't as exciting as watching them sailing Tornado's? ......oooh it's people like you.....

Yep, that is what I am saying, and like it or not the Olympics is a big money show dirven by sponsorship and media rights ... if no-one wants to pay to broadcast your sport then the IOC will soon lose interest ... is that what you want?

The Olympics is as NeilP has stated, is the pinnacle of a competitive sport. Not an event for marketing. It happens to gain the largest sporting global coverage of any event and so therefore has massive sport marketing value. Hence why brands pay large sums to become level one partners. But what is difficult about sailing is that it the equipment used has such a large barring on the sport it self. There are very few sports where this is the case. And so some people would argue that the elite of the sport should be sailing the most elitest boats to show there mastery of sailing. The discomfort comes from the fact that there is an unfortunate effect caused by the boats being a brand in themselves. Which causes the division of sailing into separate events. It is like 'Athletics' deciding to run the 100m one year and drop it the next. The sport really needs to better define the area's of the sport it wishes to provide competition for at the Olympics. And then by definition the boats chosen each time will fit the purpose. The fact that the 29erXX is up against the 470 in the first place is laughable. They would be two different events in 'Track & Field'.

The boat is the event. We seem to be choosing boats for the event.


Edited by Jack Sparrow

Perhaps you should have read the rest of the post first, Stefan. When push comes to shove, if sailing has to rely on media dollars and ticket sales to retain its place in the Olympics, then Olympic sailing is doomed. Why are we navel-gazing over choice of classes to make it media-friendly when the sport is inherently VERY diificult to televise and almost impossible for spectators?