There is a number of elite sports in the Olympics and they are very easy to spot: just look for kings and royals in their federations. Since elite sports are politically incorrect (but in kingdoms) and sports are becoming more and more important as a politic tool, their federations feel the need to make them look popular in order to keep the olympic status while the same elite holds effective control.
Saying stuff like that is a good way to get up any common norwegians nose. In sailing King Harald and King Constantine are non voting honorary members of the executive committee. In government our king dont have much power over the running of his government. He means a lot for sailing here and supports the sport greatly. He and his father both sailed a lot at a very high level. He is also very popular and supported by the people, far more than our politicians.
For you to mix him, sailing and low down politics/nationalism can only be excused by lack of knowlegde.
I see the Laser and Windsurf as smoke curtains. If the move towards popular boats was honest, the Finn would have been excluded long ago, the 49er would have replaced the 470 instead of joined it, the Hobie 16 would have been the Olympic multihull, the keelboat wouldn't remain Olympic and kites would be at least in the pipeline.
Boats and classes are not all alike. That is for sure.
That said, expensive equipment effectively cap the chances of poor countries.
It would be well documented and understood by now that the equipment cost is not what stops poor countries from competing at the highest level. It is the logistics, starting fees and travelling costs that makes it expensive. So what is your reasoning behind that statement?
[qoute]The Tornado platform may also be old and look out of date, but it is in another league to any other cat I have sailed (have not sialed an M20)..... So the hull shape may be old but still VERY effective. [/quote]
The platform have been tweaked as good as possible within the class rules, and the class rules have been changed somewhat over the years to make the boat faster. I.e. like lowering the min. weight. What makes the boat fast today is the power plant/rig and excellent stiffness. The hulls and centerboards are not as fast as the shapes we have available today. With the most skilled sailors in the world sailing a boat, that boat will be fast anyway. But that is "just" a technical matter. The politics of getting a multihull back into the games are by far more important.
