I wouldn't have believed it until I was a judge at the Opti Nationals last year. Opti parents (and paid coaches) are the worst thing that's ever happened to youth sailing.
Why?
You can't have it both ways.... Sailing is just like basketball or any other sport now. Every game we watch on TV has the coach going apes...t when they think they can push an angle to the ref. The announcer applauds his actions. The fans talk about what a great coach he is.. He is viewed as being just as much on the court as the players. The player believes that you have a coach to engage in the battles. The days of the competitor going into the room by themselves are over.... Farah Hall regrets to this day... her decision to not have council going into her protest hearing for the windsurf trials.... changes were made in the due process system.
The Corinthian ethos is gone.... replaced by the "push the rules and make the other guy or the pc committee call me on it". So, for the opti moms... All they know is that if you don't call it...the other kids gets by on the system and your kid loses.
Yes Dave, the ethics of the game have changed enormously...
