Yes, there is no place for cats in the games right now, but there may be a place in the future, provided that sailing maintains the number of athletes and events it has now.

It is the perception that this might not be the case that propelled ISAF's olympic comission. Now this commission is stating that sailing (ISAF) is poorly aligned with IOC strategy and goals. Their draft conclusion is that changes are necessary.

IF (this is a big if) ISAF follows the commission's recommendations, Olympic sailing should use more accessible equipment and adopt media friendly format(s).

Note that the commission is not concerned about campaign costs because their focus is in having more countries sailing olympic classes, not on the cost to be competitive in the games.

The cheapest popular sailing equipment nowadays are the kites, windsurfers, optimists and lasers. The existing cat class that best fits in is the Hobie 16, with a price tag more than twice the most expensive of those four and requiring a crew of two, while the closest single handed cat would be the A Class.

Kites and windsurfers are faster, cheaper and more attractive to the media than the monohulls. Even more important, the kite clearly stands up compared to the mentioned cats.

It is for this reason that an inexpensive, single handed cat - probably with spi - would be our best bet IN THE SCENARIO WHERE ISAF FOLLOWS THEIR ADVICE.

No one really believes that ISAF will change substantially, though, so cats, however expensive, remain more palatable than kites, especially because multihullers have closer ties with the sailing establishment.

While the US beach cat community certainly does not agree, believe possible or feel comfortable with this approach, being seen as a more conservative option is our best shot in the short term to see a cat in the Olympics.

My conclusion is that the multihull lobby will have to maneuver very skillfully to enhance it's "relatively conservative vis-a-vis kites and windsurfers" image in the short term, while still retaining the "speed masters" image for the medium or long term. As a consequence, I would suggest that the T, F18 or A Class be promoted for the next games, and also to start work on a new, inexpensive, singlehanded and visually attractive cat that could line up with the kite, windsurfer and laser in the medium and long term.

This is just a view based on the facts I know, critics are welcome.