Hi Mary -
I think you're looking at thie upside-down. There should be a multihull in the Olympics because the Games should represent the sports enjoyed by the world. The events are intended to be a reflection of amateur sports competition world-wide. Multihull racing makes up a significant percentage of the overall small boat racing in the world - the events in the Games should reflect that. And our national organization had better get back in touch with that principle.
No, I am not looking at it upside down. You are exactly right. The Olympics is a REFLECTION of the popularity of certain sports in the world. The Olympics do not CAUSE those sports to become popular. So if the sport is not in the Olympics, it will not particularly affect the success of the sport in terms of participation.
If you turn it upside down and put a sport in the Olympics when nobody is interested in that sport, do you think that the mere fact that it is in the Olympics is going to make it become a popular sport?
And, as I have asked, has having a multihull in the Olympics done anything to increase participation in multihull sailing? I don't think so.
And has having sailing in the Olympics increased participation in sailing in general? I don't think so.
