The most important thing about sailing at the Olympics is that we get a multihull in it. Any bloody multihull - just get it there, then the NMAs will get the OK to spend funding on our sport at our level.

After all. How great is the actual Olympic race? If we heard that the Hobie 16 world champs was duked out by a dozen boats in some backwater because it was tagged onto some big conference or other, we would say that the class had died!


That said, Weymouth and Portland is one of my favourite places to sail

Yep i do understand, but sometimes you just gotta try, aim for gold and settle for bronze...

Paul

ANY MIXED Multihull discipline is a minimal strategy....

Have you considered the potential long term consequences?

What happens when the AC operation sucks all of the oxygen out of the room. The prestige of the Olympic multihull event is undercut by AC racing and Big multihull Distance racing. ... The sailors will never be able to raise a buck. So..

The top old multihull sailors take ANY AC opportunity over competing for one slot in the Olympics...
What happens when the junior elite sailors choose anything AC cup related over Olympic path because of funding and sex appeal..
Do you think a Mixed multihull team will be able to raise funding?...
will the public care to support what will quickly be a tiny backwater of sailing because nobody can see MIXED DOUBLES as the pinnacle of anything or a pathway to anywhere?
What happens when the MNA only spends money on Junior Mixed teams.... All events have to be Mixed..

I realize how you look at this issue depends on how much money your MNA can push to the sport.... The Brits have it pretty good... In the USA... the numbers are minimal. If Olympic Multihull sailing is viewed as trivial because MIXED is just is wrong headed, We will take a step backwards.

What we need are TWO events.. Men's and Women's These events would be the Pinnacle of the sport for one and two man teams... No question! IF you have to compromise... One Open event is workable.

Of course.. you believe the IOC will be so thrilled with Weymouth... that they will keep funding the ISAF to keep sailing in the games...

What do you know that we don't!

Do you think the female public will be more likely to checkout/watch mixed Multihull vs male team?
Do you think the public can tell the difference between the modern Tornado, F18, or F16 from a distance, or on the tube?

While I too see the 5 and 5 proposal as the best path for the future, it sounds like the MNAs (and therefore ISAF) aren't going to support this.

So, the potential is there for a mixed event to be a real contender. I don't see mixed as being a step backwards, a poor compromise, or anything else like that. It is a REAL part of REAL sailing, not just in cats. For example, the junior 420 programs are full of mixed teams (it's one of the carrots that gets teen boys off of Optis and away from Lasers).

I could be wrong, but I just don't see MNAs looking at the AC as justification to add more multihull events to the Olympics. In their minds, they're probably still thinking (or at least hoping) that this will be a temporary hiccup in the AC history (just a little longer than one DoG cycle), and that eventually, BMWO will lose, or the match racing will not be spectacular enough, and the next cycle will return to monohulls.

Mike

Not particularly..

Watching sailing is the big issue. Selling tickets to the events is a problem.. it's hard to watch a sailboat race sitting on a spectator boat .... Finding a way to video the action is a problem.... Not to mention doing this in a way that does not chop up the water with powerboat slop.

This is the eight ball that all of Olympic sailing is behind.... Minimally, everyone recognizes that cats' and skiffs look more action packed then stars and lasers. Hopefully they solve the video and spectator problem by England's games with the 49ner... otherwise... I bet the IOC says... see ya! It's expensive and few people seem to care.



Nope...

But what they do understand is the nature of the team and the flag on the sails and the action they see.

You tune in to the Olympics to watch whatever sport is on... to see the best there is for two weeks ... You don't want an explanation to go along with the event. ... So... you tune in to watch the best multihull sailors in the world... OPEN or MEN's and Women's Events hit the mark... Mixed Events.... requires an explanation...This is even clearer WHEN OTHER OLYMPIC SAILING EVENTS are Men's and Women's.

If you think back to the IOC accepting Tennis as an Olympic sport... One of the big issues for the Pro tennis circuit was... Would the top pro's compete.. If MIXED Sailing does not get the top Multihull sailors in the world...The sport will be pitched.

You can SELL OPEN.. you can't sell MIXED.

Mike

They play mixed doubles at the USTA Open ... They don't play mixed doubles at the Olympics... WHY?

When you undercut the fundamental ideal of the Olympics ... eg... THEY ARE THE BEST IN THE WORLD>.. for political reasons of your governing body... WHY should the IOC keep your sport?

Mixed Multihulls could turn out to be the largest Pyrrhic victory since the Greeks.

You've been in the Doom Bunker with Colbert too long, Mark.

He he...

Just saving all of this for my... I TOLD YOU.. rant.

But... I will be very happy to be proven wrong....

Nothing like a bit of hyperbole in the arugment... hey.. it's politial season and I am addled with all of the noise on TV.

So I have given 20 reasons why this Mixed idea is a disaster..

Best I have from the pro mixed side ... IS... we are probably back in.... and it's what we could do.... lots of women race on Hobie 16's..... lots of sailing is actually mixed.

Weak tea... and in the Tea Party Era... you should have something a bit more inspiring..... SELL ME ON MIXED!
Convince me to drink the koolaid!

<**** things up for sailing, and I will cheer when sailing is removed from the Olympic stage. Not because I don`t want to see sailing as an Olympic sport (I do), but because it will be the catalyst that gets all sailors behind the very necessary action of removing ISAF as the governing body of our sport.

How's this:

IOC may possibly eliminate all sailing events unless these events make up some popular ground on capturing a youthful spectacle of athleticism for the sailing event. Making ground on these goals should include the IOC/ISAF recommendation of a mixed catamaran event as specified in ISAF 097-10.

Bwwwaaahhh hahahahah. Man, I wish I could make it to DC this weekend.

Are you kidding me?

ISAF better solve the video and attendance problem at Weymouth for this cycle 2012. the 49ner guys better be good looking and talkative on TV. Hopefully the Brits are making money and can afford tickets to Olympic Sailing.

THEN ISAF better have a portfolio of events and boats that leverage the boards and 49nr's success at Weymouth... and the big sell for ISAF .. This is what's planned for 2016.... keep us in the games.

The headwinds are.. 35 year old babes in Elliots . 55 year old guys on Stars.. .. I don't think so.
mixed doubles sailing on a small cat.... I REALLY don't think so.

Otherwise... there is no 2016! Take a look at the budgets... IOC will and for what they spend on sailing... they will try other sports in the games.

I bet we could agree if the teams consisted of two beautiful ladies. The equipment choice becomes moot at that point.

Simple. Problem solved.

Absolutely not!!!!!!!! Bikinis will be mandatory equipment!

Is there any particular reason why we are only debating male or female and one or two-handed?

If we want to show the world exciting sailing with the opportunity for mounting lots of cameras and audio links..
How about VX40???

Or come up with a Quad trapeze 30 footer that is wildly over-canvased and can be simply made under license anywhere in the world.

Proper national teams of sailors sailing powerful boats.

too lazy to read all this diatribe. Did we settle on individual men's/women's A-cat fleet sailing for the IOC?

The olympics want young, cute kids breaking records. I would figure almost all of the people posting about this do not qualify under these criteria.

Since when did sailing become a spectator sport? The ratings for curling were higher (I think I just threw up a little...)

Just like beach volleyball!

Well, Least Not Forget..So far John you have NOT been able to come up with a shred of evidence that what the ISAF propose is the right way to go...Where as we have been barraged by an enormous amount of common sense and good understandable reasoning as to why the current path the ISAF is on, will not be what the IOC need to keep sailing in the olympics, you have not even been able to propose what multihull the ISAF wish to select, because clearly you and the ISAF dont have a clue if there is even a sutiable one there..OMG! you have to be kidding us...I honestly respect your responses and understand where you are coming from, but please take a moment and remove the formal attire put on a spray vest and see it from a cat sailers perspective..Is there any way we can get you to convince the ISAF that they are going in the wrong direction befor it is too late?

Precisely, and those facts must be used wisely.

Multihull equipment can be "sold" as a viable solution for typical Finn sailors to participate in the games, with the goal to change the way ISAF sees multihulls.

Now we are a nuisance, an issue, but we could be seen as a way to comply with IOC requirements, while at the same time circumventing their aversion for weight differentiated events.

A multihull event can be seen as a solution to keep the door opened for the best dinghy sailors in the games - and Finn sailors are the most experienced, older and heavier dinghy sailors (or so they say).

How? Very easy.
Spread the word that, if a multihull event is included, a criteria will be supported for the trials specifying "adequacy to a crew weight between XX and YY", XX and YY being the Finn's ideal crew weight range - make it slightly less than double that range for a double handed cat.

If trials are held with this criteria, the "ideal" boat would probably be more powerful than an A Cat or Tornado, "with the purpose of increasing speed, atractiveness as well as technical skill and athletic requirements".

As most (or all) here, I couldn't care less if it favors or excludes any existing, proposed or dreamed boat - provided it helps bring multihulls back in Rio 2016.

Cheers,