Falling short

The length of the Scuttlebutt newsletter can easily get too long some days, and we consciously look to limit the content to keep the ‘buttheads from having to refill their coffee cup before getting to the Curmudgeon’s Observation. It is not possible to cover every event that occurs in the sport, but some definitely deserve exposure based on their importance. The US Youth Championship is arguably the most significant event for juniors in America, and is one of those events that has significant interest in all corners of the country. We saw the Youth Champs as an event that deserved daily updates in Scuttlebutt.

Providing event coverage depends largely on our ability to access event information. When it came to the Youths, they had created a dandy site that included a section for on-the-water commentary, daily reports, and results. Unfortunately, what seems to happen occasionally is that the event volunteers are unable to keep up with all the features they have created. While the commentary was pretty neat, the daily reports were posted late, and on one of the race days, the results weren’t posted at all.

The bar has been set pretty high these days when it comes to online event coverage. Results can be posted to the event website before the sailors hit the showers, and daily reports are often not far behind. While we know this all can be done, we know it is still a lot to ask from a volunteer organization. However, the one thing that we know can be done – and we feel must be done for important events – is that results get posted in a timely fashion. No excuses. The results are initially called preliminary, and when the smoke has cleared and any protests heard, the results become final.

On the one day that the Youths failed to post the results, the Scuttlebutt editors got frustrated. It was too late to call – plus we had no one’s number to call (some events provide the media with this information). We did our best to provide the facts of the day, but could not help ourselves from providing an editorial comment about our disappointment. This angered some folks from the event, and we can understand that. Running the event for the kids is paramount, and we assume that was where there focus was. However, our focus was in serving our audience, and trying to do our best to support youth sailing, and on that day we felt we couldn’t do it.