Olympic Revolution

The title is likely too strong, but you sense change and revitalization for the US Olympic effort in sailing if you spend anytime with Dean Brenner, who is the Chairman of the US Olympic Sailing Committee. I had breakfast with Dean last week while he was in California, where his trip coincided with the Pre-Trials that were occurring. He was checking in with the sailors, and continuing to spread the word not just about the committee's goals, but also how they are being achieved.

The reoccurring theme in the conversation was how the US effort has been able to get more funds than in the past (as of now, the US has three times more money), and in how the US is better directing the money to the elite athletes. The 2004-08 committee slashed out all the fluff, including their own legitimate reimbursements. They are lean, and have even reduced the US Sailing Team from five members in each class to three for 2007, which will allow for the disbursement of funds to get to those teams that have clawed their way up to that level.

Dean also acknowledged that there is a keen eye focussed beyond 2008, and how they are looking at the US sailors presently in each class, and in which classes the US needs to do some recruiting to insure that the bottom keeps pushing the top. He readily admits that some classes are currently getting shorted, such as the boardsailors, and regrets not having the resources to improve every area of the US effort.

I passed on a message to Dean what I regularly pass on to all the campaigners that I come across: Keep telling your story. For the campaigners, their trail is full of hurdles and drama, from which many great tales that can be shared. During events, often the only information available to the media is from competitor reports. Given the emergence and ease of email and websites, plus with blogs (like this one) being free and super easy to use, there is no reason that every serious Olympic campaigner does not have a regular internet presence. The better job the sailors do at telling their story, the better chance there is to heighten the awareness of both their effort, and the US effort as a whole.

Listening to Dean, it is easy to feel good about the direction the US Olympic effort is going, but just in case, he has the stats to back it up. The funding is better, the team is getting younger, and the results are improving. While he admits that the US is still playing catch-up with the new standard of how to run an Olympic program, he feels like the recent strides are huge, and is very excited about the medal prospects in China for 2008 and beyond. We are too. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

The People's Media

When we started Scuttleblog, we could barely spell 'blog' let alone know what to do with it. However, over time, we have begun to use it for personal commentary that we felt was not appropriate within the Scuttlebutt newsletter format.

We have also become aware of other sailing blogs, and have begun a list that we scan daily for updates. Call it the "people's media," these blogs are providing the Scuttlebutt editorial staff with a new source for ideas, commentary, and event information.

If you have a blog that is 'butt-worthy, please let us know about it.

Being misunderstood

There was a Curmudgeon's Comment in Scuttlebutt the other day, in Issue 2199, about how Scuttlebutt has been trying to gain information on how people may be able to donate funds directly to the Horrevoets’ family. You may recall that Hans Horrevoets was a crewmember of ABN Amro Two who lost his life in the North Atlantic earlier this year on the Volvo Ocean Race ‘05/06. Anyway, some folks were offended by this remark, as they felt it was a slight to those funds already established.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The only funds we are aware of have been established by third parties - not by the family. As Scuttlebutt had been contacted by various readers during the summer, and how they expressed an interest in wanting to donate directly to the family - and not through these other funds - Scuttlebutt wanted to learn how. We didn't think it would be too hard to do so. However, it has taken a long time to get the details, and we expressed a comment in Issue 2199 about this.

Despite some opinions and commentary on the internet, there is no conspiracy here to undermine other funds. We were just trying to answer questions for our readers, something we do every day of the week. - Scuttlebutt

Have we lost a generation of sailors?

(Tuesday, October 10, 2006) Junior sailing programs are doing a tremendous job of introducing children to sailing. The support that clubs and teams provide, from coaching to getting the boats and kids to distant events, is very comprehensive. When children grow up and out of the pram, they transition into the next boat or boats that are popular in their area. Some go to Lasers, but most are in a double-handed boat that is suited for young sailors. These are often club-owned boats, where the great support continues.

The arrival of High School sailing has proven to be a successful step from the junior program, and has provided a training ground prior to a youth’s college years, and the intercollegiate sailing programs offered at many campuses. From junior programs to high school sailing to college sailing, there is a continuous track of development. From those first teary days in beginner sailing, to the moment of college graduation, our young sailors have had the support and boats that provided the foundation to experience competitive sailing.

But through this process, have we lost a generation of sailors? Have these sailors ever crewed for someone from a nearby one-design dinghy fleet (Lightning, Thistle, Snipe, etc.)? Have they tinkered with the tuning of their own boat, or with a type of boat that rewards a speed advantage to such attentiveness? Have they ever competed regularly on a keelboat from their yacht club, and learned what it is like to work within a team of sailors? Have they gotten really vested in the sport, and gained the kinds of experiences that will carry them beyond their college years?

At the 2006 US Sailboat Show last week, I had many interesting conversations with some very bright industry people, and the answer that often came up with was… no. These twenty-somethings have been so busy on their junior track, and have hence grown up sailing within a bubble. Once out of college, the bubble bursts, they are stranded, and can easily drift away from the sport. One idea bantered about was how the US Olympic sailing program may have even suffered by this current youth program, where American sailors have been strapped sailing low-performance boats that emphasize short course tactics, and lack the technical skills and experiences to exceed within Olympic classes.

Have we possibly lost a generation of sailors? Has the junior track done damage to the US Olympic effort? - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

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