Strict one design equipment is an attempt to equalize the sailing environment so the competition is more about the athletes and less about other variables. The problem is: one design humans are rare. Any fixed equipment will favor those who better match the equipment's requirements. Think ideal weight, height, age, technical skill, flexibility, etc. This contributes to the development of a tight range of sailors who happen to adapt well to said requirements, but contributes nothing to the development of the sport itself - and still lives many variables opened.

I would compare this to an equestrian event where only horses cloned from a "one design horse" would be allowed. Horses (like boats!) have a character and behave different with different people. In the end, the ideal athlete would be genetically modified to match the cloned horse's features - and then, why not? - that rider would be cloned as well!

It makes more sense to allow enough space within the equipment rules to adapt the boat to the diversity of physical, technical and tactical characteristics displayed by humans. This is the type of amplitude that allowed Paul Elvstrom to finish 4th in a Tornado Olympics when he was about 60.

For me the concept of strict one design equipment is associated to a futile search for an "ideal" sailor with pre-conceived ideas about how he should be, think and, very important, what type of sailing he should like. I believe all types of athletes have a place in the Olympics, old, young, heavy, light, tall, short, handicapped, etc. Sailing is one of the few sports suitable for a really wide range of people/athletes. Taking advantage of this would be the natural thing to do.

All the best,