The last thing the struggling Tornado class needs is a rule to reduce the number of qualified participants and complicate regatta administration by requiring weigh-ins.
Anywhere by Qingdao, the class naturally favors reasonably healthy crews around 300lbs, but minimum weight would be yet another reason to not invite ones wife and kids to race underweight with you.
The only reason I can see for this added rule for the tornados is to stop already very fit sailors from going trough with an extreme and unhealthy weight loss program.
The folks who will qualify for the Olympics are historically ~300lb 2-man crews. Many of these teams (especially the taller ones) are pretty darn lean to start with. A rule that would keep them healthy would have to be pretty darn close to their current weight, IMHO, which would maximize the exclusion problem. Sigh. If we pass this, lets repeal it in the Fall of 2008!
--Glenn (overweight Tornado crew *opposed* to min weight)
