TV coverage of dinghy 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=9916
Printed Date: 18 Jul 25 at 11:09am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: TV coverage of dinghy racing
Posted By: Hustler
Subject: TV coverage of dinghy racing
Date Posted: 09 Oct 12 at 5:13pm
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Do we have to wait until the 2016 Olympics before we can watch dinghy racing on T.V. once more? Is it possible to encourage the powers that be to put pressure where it is needed to ensure sailing gets a fair piece of prime time TV sports coverage?
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Replies:
Posted By: G.R.F.
Date Posted: 09 Oct 12 at 5:54pm
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I think your preaching to a converted audience here hustler old chap, show us the means to change that and I guess we'd all charge at it. (Online petitions? BBC forums? Sky ditto?). I wonder if Rodney has considered selling the TV rights to the weekends forum challenge? ------------- https://www.ease-distribution.com/" rel="nofollow - https://www.ease-distribution.com/ |
Posted By: RS400atC
Date Posted: 09 Oct 12 at 6:09pm
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I did enjoy watching the 470's on TV, but I only did so because I was on holiday and it was raining where I was. Speaking only for myself, if there was dinghy racing on TV regularly I probably wouldn't watch it. I certainly would not want any of the events I've taken part in to be managed for the benefit of TV. |
Posted By: ifoxwell
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 9:03am
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Aussie Skiffs will be starting again soon.... not TV I know but still some of the best dinghy sailing broadcast. Ian ------------- RS300 |
Posted By: Fraggle
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 10:09am
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The few times they do put sailing (of any sort) on tv, its usually a sunday when everyone who might be interested in watching it as out sailing themselves. No wonder they then get poor viewing figures and think its not worth it. ------------- |
Posted By: pondmonkey
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 10:22am
well you can speak up for me too. +1 ------------- |
Posted By: Hustler
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 11:32am
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Aussie skiffs make exciting viewing but not what I had
in mind. What we need on T.V. is good British dinghy racing shown
at its best. I don’t agree with RS400atC regarding events being managed
for the benefit of T.V. Surely Olympic sailing has demonstrated that there can be
huge gains for our sport from the T.V. audience, small compromises by the
competitors within a televised sailing event is a small price to pay for increased
media exposure. Look at the sport of cycling and you can appreciate what can be
done with a sport promoted well. Thirty years ago cycling was a minority sport,
today things are so different. Olympic success in abundance has helped,
something our sport of sailing can also boast, I am convinced T.V. coverage of
major cycling events has engaged the general public with the sport with
outstanding results!! Between the yachting press and our T.V. media contacts surely
it is not beyond us to select suitable sailing events and guide the T.V. media
in their direction. |
Posted By: Noah
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 11:34am
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I would watch EXPERT LEVEL dinghy sailing, but not at the expense of not sailing myself, so Sundays are OUT. Broadcast time shouldn't matter nowadays anyway - with almost everyone able to record for later. Watching the way the Finns were muscled through the waves, and the boat handling skills on 470's was a revelation to me.
------------- Nick D-Zero 316 |
Posted By: pondmonkey
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 11:46am
to what ends? Niche television has its outlets... it's called youtube and vimeo. I'd happily watch a professionally produced 5 minute round-up of say the Fireball Nationals broadcast under a Y&Y / Sailing Today / Sailing Anarchy youtube account. I'd even be happy to see a 30 second ad for Musto/Gill/Selden masts at the beginning of it. Do I want to see hyped-up, nonsense sailing on ESPN sponsored by Gatorade with an american commentator, or worse, Richard Simmonds again? Nope... not for me, sorry. The olympics was great viewing... but only within the context of all the other sport going on at the time and the fact that the country was on shutdown anyway, so what the hell, there's some quality sailing streaming on the internet.... The AC-45 World Series is televised... have I watched it? Once for novelty value, but I soon switched back to something actually entertaining. Besides who wants to go an event that's televised? I have a colleague who's into amateur motor sport. That's now televised and he says it's ruined the game. I would liken his category to the Merlin Rocket Open Meeting Circuit... serious sailing, attracts very good participants, but essentially it should remain amateur, not a media showcase. ------------- |
Posted By: SoggyBadger
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 11:53am
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Watching other people sailing is about as entertaining as watching other people eating.
------------- Best wishes from deep in the woods SB |
Posted By: Kev M
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 12:24pm
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The ACWS Discovered programme on TV is better than nothing but I agree with Pondmonkey in that it's a very erm, American program. Where I do think it's second to none is their live broadcast of the racing, that is second to none in my opinion. ------------- Successfully confusing ambition with ability since 1980. |
Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 12:41pm
------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: Hustler
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 12:48pm
| You have taken the words out of my mouth |
Posted By: pondmonkey
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 1:09pm
and replaced them with cream buns? can we take bets on how many before you barf.... it's better than watching sailing, allegedly. ------------- |
Posted By: hum3
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 1:12pm
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Something is only boring if you don't have emotional engagement or you can't appreciate the 'art' of what is in front of you.
It's difficult to appreciate the 'art' in sailing as there are too many variables to really understand what is going on. Compare to tennis, snooker or golf, for example, it's quite easy to see and appreciate the sport, even if you don't really care who wins. For me, horse racing is on the other side - can't appreciate the sport and couldn't care less who wins, so I find that so very dull.
Which brings me back to the ACWS. I think the ACWS coverage is good, but I think they could still do more with the data they have. For example, when two boat split and then come back together with one ahead, they should be able to determine why - they have the speed and bearing data. All they need is an algorithm to bring it all togther to give the answer that 'this boat overtook that one because of X'. If they could start to do that, and improve the viewers understanding of what is going on further (as well as sort out the commentary, and hit and miss direction) that would make easier for people to appreciate the 'art' a bit more, meaning they are less reliant on people with the emotional attachment (like me, who have an interest in following Ben's progress) to prop up the figures.
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Posted By: Daniel Holman
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 1:28pm
All excellent points - leave (corinthian) sailing for the sailors. If racing is the competitive manifestation of seafaring, then the kind of racing bred by TV pretty much flies in the face of seamanship. And is far too expensive to be accesible to the average guy. Ask most people who chanced up to 12 years hard work on the Nothe for the benefit of some transient punters what they think about it. But I always enjoy how amped sailors or non sailors are by TV images of "proper" format olympic sailing - rigth back to 1996. I.e. the type of sailing closest to what most of us do in format / length if we do a regatta. |
Posted By: getafix
Date Posted: 10 Oct 12 at 1:38pm
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TV coverage of round-the-cans or w/l racing will always be trashed by dumbing-down commentary aimed at the non-sailing public who are allegedly trying to follow what's going on. However, I do think there are formats which would lend themselves to TV coverage. - Match racing (as long as it's in boats that are actually close enough to each other for their to be some action) - Team racing - Drag racing The alternative to making the racing "interesting" is to have more character <exploitation> and the new wave of HD onboard cameras do make that more of an option for program producers, just that some racing will have to be shown after the watershed or be full of 'bleeps'.....
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Posted By: zippyRN
Date Posted: 12 Oct 12 at 1:59pm
e.g. 'Man vs. Food' but realistically 'competitive eating' is like the Ultra 30 seres - great fun to watch but ultimately pretty bloody daft ... bring back the Ultra 30s
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Posted By: SoggyBadger
Date Posted: 12 Oct 12 at 2:17pm
Don't see the attraction in watching either. Maybe there's not much else to do around your way? ------------- Best wishes from deep in the woods SB |
Posted By: RS400atC
Date Posted: 12 Oct 12 at 2:30pm
I don't feel the need to watch ether on TV, but I did once get into a bit of an eating contest in a Chinese restaurant in Bavaria. I won by a banana split, but that's not verified, as the referee fell asleep. The only way I could enthuse about Ultra 30's is if they let me drive one, but the chances of getting that many people to crew for me at once seem pretty tenuous. |
Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 12 Oct 12 at 3:50pm
------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: SoggyBadger
Date Posted: 12 Oct 12 at 4:03pm
But would those same pringle-munching chavs who find that drivel entertaining also find dinghy racing entertaining? I have my reservations... ------------- Best wishes from deep in the woods SB |
Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 12 Oct 12 at 4:21pm
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No, but other people might. Neither you not the braying hordes, but others. ------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: SoggyBadger
Date Posted: 12 Oct 12 at 5:01pm
Wonderful phrase  ------------- Best wishes from deep in the woods SB |
Posted By: Sheetpuller
Date Posted: 13 Oct 12 at 11:40pm
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Sailing is like sex - brilliant to do, pretty boring to watch.
------------- I'm not arguing. I'm explaining why I'm right. Merlin Rocket 3545 - 'Smooth Operator' Sprint 15 1342 - 'Still Crazy' |
Posted By: Andymac
Date Posted: 14 Oct 12 at 2:45pm
Bloody hell, I hope not!.. I only get 1 hours worth, Wednesday evenings during the summer (with some missed ones) and a few 'special' weekends per year.
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