One less medal

ISAF President, Goran Petersson, has announced a reduction in medals for the 2012 Olympics

Always a hotbed of discussion the ISAF Annual Conference has produced a not totally unexpected but surprising decision today.

Göran Petersson has announced there will only be ten classes competing at the 2012 London Olympic Games as opposed to the current 11. “ISAF has to respond to the requirements of being an Olympic sport,” Petersson stated on the ISAF website. He then added that it was important to reverse the current trend which has seen the number of countries competing in sailing at the Olympic Games gradually fall since 1996. Additionally Petersson indicated ISAF were looking at a significant change when he said, “The image gap between where we are and where we want to be is significant.”

No statement has been made yet about which class will be removed from the Olympic stage but some educated guesses can be made. Firstly the 49er, Laser and Laser Radial are all likely to stay. The 49er is seen as the exciting flag ship of the games and with ISAF continuing to push the media side of the sport it would be very surprising if this class were removed. The Laser and Laser Radial are both affordable boats and are readily available in a wide range of countries, thus providing an easy way for all countries to get into sailing.

The RS:X or another windsurfer is probably safe as the inclusion of windsurfing in the Olympics is still considered by most to be a good thing and it, like the Laser, is cheap. If we assume the windsurfer is staying in we must assume there will be both a male and female class as the pumping rules make inter-sex competition most difficult here. The Finn is a boat for heavyweights and is likely to stay for this reason but it also has a very strong group behind it that will most likely ensure its survival. Likewise the Star is held in great regard by many of the top sailors in our sport and it is almost impossible to imagine the class not being involved in Olympic competition. If the Star stays it seems likely for balance purposes there will be a women’s keelboat in one form or another so the Yngling or a least its position seems safe.

This leaves us with two classes, the 470 and the Tornado. The Tornado as the only cat and a fast exciting boat seems the more likely of the two classes to stay, especially when we consider one other piece of information. Last year it was announced that ISAF would be holding an ‘Olympic observation trial,’ ( article here) which the 29erXX would be attending. Although less significant than an ‘Olympic equipment trial’ it would still seem to be the beginning of a potential path for the 29erXX, or similar, to replace both 470 classes and become a women’s double-hander.

In addition to the debate on which classes will be kept and which class will go, we must also look at one more fundamental issue. There is now one less medal for sailing at the Olympics. This means that the IOC’s approach to sailing is becoming increasingly tight, competing countries aside, this is a trend we really need to worry about. Your views on this matter welcomed at: batmail@thedailysail.com