Posted by: Andy Rice | November 5, 2007

Men’s Heavyweight Dinghy – but not the Finn – voted out of 2012

Here are the results you’ve been waiting for. From a survey of 1488 respondents, there are some clear messages to come out of the results.

We asked you this question: “ISAF has to cut the 11 Events for China 2008 down to just 10 for Weymouth 2012. Which Event should ISAF eliminate from the Olympic Games?”

Which Event should go?

In answer to that question, 28.8% voted to eliminate the Men’s Heavyweight Dinghy.

In second place, next favourite for elimination was the Women’s Keelboat with 21.1% of the vote, and in third place with 14% of the vote was the Men’s Doublehanded Dinghy.

The other Events each registered less than 10% of the vote.

However, while the Men’s Heavyweight Dinghy was voted as first Event to be thrown out, the Equipment currently in use for that Event – the Finn – was one of four boats to be voted as ‘Excellent’.

How do you rate the Equipment?

While 38.5% considered the Finn an ‘Excellent’ boat, the top three boats were in ascending order: the Laser Radial (51.5%), the Laser (56%), and the 49er (65.5%).

All other classes were rated as ‘Good’, with the exception of the Yngling, which was considered by a majority of the vote as ‘Terrible’.

I’m not going to pass judgement on anything today. I’ll let you make of these results what you will. You can find the Survey summary by clicking here:

Survey Summary? Click here…

Tomorrow I will be sending out a more detailed analysis of the responses behind these figures, but you do need to be subscribed to my free newsletter, SailingTalk Xpress, which you can do by going to the sign-up page, here:

Click here to receive the full analysis of the Survey

Please note that even if you provided your email address in the Survey, this is not the same as signing up to the newsletter. I am very keen to send you information only if you have specifically requested it (it’s a spamming minefield out there!), so please take just a minute to sign up to SailingTalk Xpress.

Posted in ISAF Conference, Olympic Classes | Tags: , , ,

« Olympic Survey closes with 1488 responses
No more Ygly Duckling? »

Responses

Andy

What struck me was that 91.6% of the 1,489 responses were from men!

It seems that women who sail are not in the least interested in what they sail in or have any opinoin on what they want to sail or watch on their TV screens in the future.

Perhaps this is the answer to the problem of getting more good sailors into the Olympics.

Cut the women´s event to two classes (the board and new skiff) and increase the number of entrants per class allowed to get some decent competition.

If they´re not interested, why do we have to watch them and it would also remove three boring classes; the Radial, 470 and Yngling.

By: Ges on November 5, 2007
at 3:31 pm

Looking at the survey’s rating of the classes combining the excellent and good scores AND the events scores it is clear that no one really likes the Yngling.

Now the problem is that ISAF really wants/needs to eliminate one men’s event. The least líked in this survey seems to be Finn/470m slightly ahead of the Star/Keelboat.

So is the popular opinion that Yngling should be replaced by an women’s skiff, and that there is be a fight between Finn/Star/470m for the remaining spots?

Of course this wasn’t a poll of the ISAF council, but if they look at Andy’s timely work, which I am sure will cause some stir in Estoril then I would guess the following based on my experience with ISAF and MNA politics:

- There will be a women’s skiff instead of the Yngling.

- The 470 will remain for both men and women because lots of small nations like the ability to combine resources. 1 class for the cost of 2.

- There will be a massive lobbying campaign going on in the Star and the Finn classes which will drag the Tornado into the fight.

(Which class has the least nations competing?)

- Good bye mulihulls

Personally I would love for ISAF to dump all of those and add matchracing to get this slate:

match racing
windsurfing
skiff
singlehanded dinghy
double handed dinghy

each with a men and a women division.

Interesting times….

/M

By: mbphj on November 5, 2007
at 7:33 pm

Ges,

Did you ever consider that women may actually have a life and can’t be bothered to read obscure sailing websites…

By: mbphj on November 5, 2007
at 7:40 pm

I’d chuck out the Finn, Yingling & Star since they all represent 1960s technology and you don’t see any other sports still using old kit to showcase their sport.

For the Keelboat clases they should include a 3-4 person 6m asymetric sportsboat which can be sailed by both men and women (dual use).

Instead of the Finn I would include a hi-tech foiling single-hander like the Bladerider Moth.

All classes should have lightweight video cameras onboard.

OK you may not get so many nations taking part but it would be much more spectacular and make better TV viewing for the casual viewer.

By: Pewit on November 6, 2007
at 1:51 pm

mbphj

Never entered my mind. . . . . . . . Really it closely represents the number of women in general dinghy sailing.

Ges

By: Ges on November 6, 2007
at 3:05 pm

Re Finns

Many thanks for the result of the survey.

Please bear in mind that your survey is inevitably influenced by the relative numbers of people who sail boats in the individual Olympic classes. There are perhaps 50 active Finn sailors in the UK, but thousands of Laser sailors. We are all human, and the result of your survey will be skewed in favour of the larger classes. You can’t sail a Finn competitively unless you have mastered another class first, and the UK has consistently won Olympic Golds in the Finn class from a small fleet.

The Olympic class is about excellence. The Finn is a true racing boat, whereas the Laser was designed as, and is, a fine recreational boat. Let’s not dumb down the Olympics!

By: James Wyburd on November 6, 2007
at 11:05 pm

Throwing the Finn out of the games would be an utter travesty.

FWIW Olympic Sailing should be a bit more like Olympic Rowing and effectively have 3 sexes…
Women, Lightweight Men and Heavyweight Men

Each ’sex’ should have by default a one person boat, a two person boat & a sailboard…

Women: Laser Radial & 29er & sailboard
L/W Men: Laser & 49er & sailboard
H/W Men: Finn & Star & sailboard

There should also be a Catamaran.

By: Simon Smith on November 7, 2007
at 12:50 pm

Comments on 10% of club sailors being women are noted. Moth sailors instead of Finns also noted. As young people are getting taller and heavier and the number of people sailing the Finn increases ( the estimate of 50 is completely ludicrous) suggesting a move towards a boat for the 7stone weight class is not the best move. Flat racing jockeys taking up sailing would be delighted but not the rest of us.
The Finn should stay as a class which tests the skill of the sailor in a very technical boat. The technology side is of little interest, one sail with one hull and one sailor is about as simple as it gets after the board sailor. The range of weights which can take on the Finn is broader than most other boats.
Perhaps we should go to Alton Towers and try out the height barriers for the kiddies rides. If you are taller than a jockey then Olympic sailing is not for you?
Nice to see the comments about the Laser, a great boat and so many in use it is sensible to have an Olympic class which represents the best of the many thousands around the world.
Cameras on boats would be great. GPS transponders with Picture in Picture for all television broadcasts would improve sailing viewing figures. Perhaps we shall have to wait for Weymouth to see such stuff. The technology exists but the Olympic Committees are slower.

By: Chris Queree on November 8, 2007
at 9:59 am

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