The IOC reiteration of its 2002 stance on keelboats in section CS10 is pointed rebuke of the ISAF and the MNA's support of these expensive boats as an Olympic class. (The draft went so far as to actually highlight this section. Rather obvious for such a political document.) Will the ISAF/MNA's finally 'get it' that these boats are essentially non-viable as an Olympic class?

The letter seems to be an ultimatum by the IOC; either the MNA's and the ISAF embrace the IOC requests in a positive way, or sailing may forced into esoteric Olympic sports oblivion. The writing seems to be on the wall for the MNA's to make the sport more visible and exciting, or lose out on Olympic participation. I Hope the ISAF and the MNA's will institute plans to both increase the visibility of the sport, and to raise it's level of excitement to the general public.

The internet, tracking technologies and portable camera technologies, and exciting platforms may greatly facilitate the goals advocated by the IOC. However, this requires a unified vision and commitment by both the ISAF and MNA's, and a desire to experiment, attract and implement technological solutioins and sponsors. Additionally, a willingness of the staid sailing community to expand the sport in more publically accessible ways seems to be inferred by the document.

In short, the IOC seems to be saying 'find a way to fix it, or lose sailing as an Olympic sport.' What can the catamaran community do to help?