NO... I will not let this characterization of the past stand.
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we ruined it by allowing naïveté and bullish behaviour to guide our effort. For Christ's sake, we threatened to sue!
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We have had equal presence at ISAF meetings for the last three years, and THAT is what did the trick.
Fact... Before the Tornado was eliminated, the Tornado Class and the rest of the mulithull community played games with each other at cross purposes with ISAF. The T class was represented by ONE volunteer while manufacturer reps/ other multihull class reps pushed a different agenda at ISAF meetings. Our discipline was always outnumbered by many more ADULTS who focused and represented their discipline and managed their niche pretty well.
So, the Olympic Multihull representation fell on one ONE GUY who battled both the other multihull voices AND the other Olympic class interests. Even worse, He battled T class Olympic sailors who pushed and pushed the rules to the brink, not once but TWICE for two Olympic cycles. The end result was a dramatic demonstration that Olympic Multihull sailing was not about athlete performance when the Silver medalists show up with a BRAND NEW Sail design ... forcing the ISAF to blubber lamely about one design sailing and the athletes who compete at the games.
As they say... MISTAKES WERE MADE!
naïveté ... NOT A CHANCE... even I KNEW how much trouble multihull sailing was in BEFORE the ISAF descion.
Don't confuse typical mulithull sailor apathy or our chippy FU attitiude with naivete! The messages were delivered and they were ignored by the T class Sailors... by the multihull Class reps... and certainly by the multihull rank and file.
Bullish Behavior.... Yeah well when you have ONE GUY on his personal dime trying to literally manage cats/children on his side... it's possible to characterize his efforts as bullish... IF WE HAD BEEN ADULTS AND PLAYED BALL WITH A VARIETY OF VOICES AT THE MEETINGS AND AT THE TABLES... we would not have been characterized as BULLISH.... (I absolutely agree with your point that for three years we have had multiple representatives at the meetings and at the tables... Sadly, this is about 12 years too late!)
After this FUBAR... the world scape goated Mike... Oh he sued.. oh he screwed up, oh he was an AHole..... Much easier then taking responsibility.
I view his efforts as desperately trying to represent our interests BY HIMSELF and the back biting among the MULTIHULL advocates and bad behaviiour was a huge factor leading to the ISAF descion of... WHO NEEDS THESE GUYS. Your milage may vary of course... But this is a closer description and interpretation of the past.
Now the present and future.... Your point... EVERY CLASS has their own agenda to remain or become Olympic.... Understandable... and always true.
Your point... the committees... also have their own agenda... Understandable and always true.
Each MNA has an agenda... the Brits need multihulls in the games to keep their funding stream alive... The USA has strength in some disciplines and not others... blah blah blah.
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We have had equal presence at ISAF meetings for the last three years, and THAT is what did the trick.
This is where we disagree.... I ASSERT that from the IOC to the ISAF to the MNA's to the Rank and File.... There was widespread agreement that Multihull's MUST be represented at the games... THEN the AMERICA's Cup happened.... THEN the NEXT CUP happened...
Yes we need to be there...We need a diverse representation. Yes the schmmoozing is important. but... do you REALLY THINK that this level of politics will be dis-positive.... Not me!
So... Politics and compromises must be made.... I get that and agree. BUT... you can't compromise on the principles.. It's the Olympics... so the game is about the pinnacle of the sport... Until somebody can tell me why the world at large would view a BRAND NEW MIXED event ... with has no history as the pinnacle of anything... AT any level of competition... I dissent.
Compromise involves everyone giving up something for the good of the whole... Logrolling is fine so long as you maintain the integrity of your principals. IMO, the politics swamped the big picture.
Since the Board on Saturday is NOT bound to honor these rec's... This could all be irrelevant... the committee output was irrelevant to the final decision the last time.
So... two more hurdles... the spring ISAF vote... You sound like you don't expect any surprises at this level (unlike the last time).
The IOC... will they keep Sailing???... given the proposed changes ISAF has put forth.
From my point of view... The Problems for the IOC: Still a Keel boat in the games... = big cost. unbalanced events: men's heavy weight single hander... women's heavy weight keel boat.
Novel creation of MIXED events. (requires some splainin..)
on the plus side.. Add two additional visually exciting events. W skiffs and Mixed Multihulls.
