There is only one maybe Two Hobie 16 Regattas with 56 boat starts,the Europeans and the maybe ( not lately) the Australian Nationals.
You don,t need to have 56 boats to practice or get good at starting.When was the last time Colby raced against that many boats.
How many North American teams actually practice?There is a Novel idea,set up a mark and actually ,practice ,starting stopping,backing up sitting in one spot lots of things you can do on your own.
Pretty hard to go down to a Worlds in the middle of Winter ,with zero time on the boat and expect great results.I am actually impressed with the number of NA teams that made the final.How about Pat Porter finishing top 20 in one race.That is pretty darn good at any age.
I can not speak of what went on there in terms of Bullying,but the start line in any big Event is not for the Meek.Try starting in a 100 boat Laser Fleet.You have to be aggressive and know the Rules and expect some bumper car mentality.In a big fleet there is always marshmallows out there.Know who they are and start next to them.If you see the Top guys starting beside you,then you are probably the marshmallow.