Ticket to Athens

Double Olympic medallist Ian Walker looks at the pros and cons of the various Olympic selection methods

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863 – 1937).

This may or may not be true in the modern Olympics, but to take part you not only have to qualify your country for an Olympic berth, but you also have to win your country’s selection trial. Each nation only has one entry per class no matter how many world class sailors you have and history is full of world champions who have failed to qualify to represent their country at the Olympic Games.

Nation selection is set in stone by ISAF. With the exception of Greece who get an automatic entry as hosts into every class, all other nations have to qualify by achieving the necessary standard at one of the three previous World Championships. It gets easier as more nations qualify, but the pressure builds as there is no room for mistakes at the last event. In the Ynglings for instance, the top five nations qualified at the Worlds in 2002, another six in 2003 and four more will join them from the Worlds in 2004. A similar pattern is true in every class.

Representative selection for each class is never as simple. As the British Laser sailors do battle in a one-off ‘American Style’ selection week in Weymouth, they do so in the knowledge that ultimately the Olympic Selection Committee (OSC) do not have to nominate the winner to the British Olympic Association for selection. If they choose to extend the trial then that is their prerogative and the sailors have signed up to those rules.

After the debacle of the 1988 Weymouth Olympic selection trials when neither of the Pre-Olympic gold medal winning British 470 teams qualified for the Seoul Olympics, and those that did performed poorly at the main event, the British system now unashamedly has a subjective element. The OSC want to pick proven performers on the international stage - preferably as early as possible to give them the most time to prepare for the big event. Their system is not about trying to be fair (although it is fair as everyone has the chance to be the best internationally in the run up to the trials) it is clearly all about trying to win medals. It is certainly not, as de Coubertin would suggest, all about ‘the taking part’.

The most subjective selection I have seen was Spain’s in 1992. They simply chose their representative on a given date years before the main event. The danger of this is the damage it can do long term by making the whole system a closed shop thereby dissuading people from entering at the bottom of the pile. It is worth noting that while Spain won four Gold and one Silver medal in 1992, they won twos Gold in 1996 and no medals at all in 2000.

Also worthy of note is the French system for the current Games, where the selection committee can choose who they want, when they want, up to a given date (June/July). The only guidance they give sailors is the event results that they will be taking special notice of. This is perhaps a reaction to the World no 1 49er team not being selected by their trials at an International event last time around and France not winning any medals in Sydney despite one of the biggest Federation programs.

At the opposite end of the spectrum the US have a 16 race one-off selection series with the winner being nominated come what may. It is easy to see why US Sailing steer clear of any subjectivity in their trials with the threat of US lawyers never far away. Even in non-litigious New Zealand the lawyers are getting their invoicing pens out in the aftermath of the selection trials in Auckland.

So is a one-off US style trial the best way to select your team?

All those in favour would argue that it replicates the pressure of the Olympics. Having qualified for the 1996 Games in this manner I do not buy this. Yes, there is some pressure as a favourite but it is very different to the Games. In the Olympics as much as half the fleet can have a serious chance of winning a medal in most classes but at a home-based trial the depth is such that they could only ever be won by a couple of boats. All too often the weather conditions are different (unless you impose wind limits), as are the fleet sizes (US 470 men had nine boats, Ynglings had six, Tornados eight, 470 women seven and 49er eleven). How relevant can those fleet sizes really be on a start line or approaching the windward mark?

What I do like about the US system is the fact that it doesn’t affect the US competitors’ focus at the big International events (US Yngling sailors won both Worlds last year) and the timing. The trials have provided the winter motivation for all and they have now had a little break with the whole summer season and only Athens to worry about ahead of them.

I don’t like one-off trials because things can go wrong, but if the venue and conditions are relevant to the end goal then little harm is done to any sailors’ program. The reality these days is that the gulf between the best sailors and the rest is now often so wide that the best will probably win no matter what the trial system. Those full time sailors that excel internationally are able to gain more financial and technical backing that provides for an even more professional campaign that serves to widen the gap between them and the rest. This can be dangerously self perpetuating in the long run if the up and coming sailors are not encouraged and supported. It is great to see some new, young faces in the British Team this year - several of whom were involved in Sydney as tune-up sailors.

Remember that in 1988 most Olympic sailors were only sailing at weekends and in their annual leave from work prior to qualifying for the Games. Many teams were fairly even as you could go a long way on a bit of natural talent and ability whereas that counts for nothing these days without the full time commitment to match. It is interesting that the only class which was really closely fought in the US Trials and where 85% of the fleet could have won on paper was the Yngling where the class is new to the Olympics and several of the competitors still held down ‘proper jobs’ (albeit with a bit of extra time off).

The other alternative result-based system is to use International events. The Australians have done this in this cycle and like the US and the British (except the Laser), their team is now all selected - good move. Many other countries will be using the forthcoming events in Palma, Hyeres, Spa and the various Olympic class Worlds and Europeans. As a coach to an Olympic Yngling team I am very happy we do not have to go down that route. Firstly it would mean having to focus serious time and resources into venues that have little or nothing to do with the challenges Athens will throw at us. Secondly you would have to rely on the management of these regattas, some of which often leave a lot to be desired, to effectively run your trials for you. You also open yourselves up to interference by other competitors and as a coach the biggest downside to me is that all this is happening at a time when your athletes should be solely focused on performing in Athens in August. Perhaps the most farcical by-product I have seen so far of this system is sailors from the same country sailing each other so far down at the last Worlds that their country is yet to get a berth at the Games.

We will not know which system has worked best until the end of August when the medals are awarded but I think that how a country picks its team will have a bearing on the medals this year and in years to come. I think the most crucial factor should be that the selection process is sympathetic to the end goal of being the best in Athens and that it is most suited to the numbers and quality you have in each respective fleet. Where possible the trials should complement the sailors’ programs, such as getting top results at major championships or building confidence leading into the Games and perhaps most important of all it should not be delayed (especially by the courts!). I think it is great that the Olympic class that has the most numbers and depth has a trial in the UK and given a range of conditions I am sure the best man will win. Having witnessed the winners and losers at the last two Olympic Games I also know that for whoever is selected the most important thing will be the winning and not the taking part come August.