We have winter olympics and summer olympics. Has anyone considered a sailing olympics?

WHY?

The point of the Olympics is to get the rest of the world to watch you and your sport by wrapping it in nationalistic fervor.

Why dilute that marketing? ... It's the reason everyone is upset that the Olympics have no multihull class.

Besides... We already have this event... It's called the ISAF World Games.... (hmmm... maybe it's not working if you don't know of it)

Besides each class has a world championship and those that care... pay attention to the results.

Try this quiz

Who won the last Tornado World Championship?
Who won the last Olympics in the Tornado?

Probably had a better chance at getting the Olympic winner then the World Champ.

"WHY?" The current arrangement doesn't seem to be working.

Well... you make a good point.

Why do you see in a Sailing Olympics that is a killer hook to grab peoples attention.

I'm speaking to Americans only here but who cares if Sailing, any sailing, Mono's or Cats, is even in the Olympics anyway?

Nobody (except us) understands it and TV networks don't want to spend the time and MONEY to cover it. It's much easier for them to put up a couple cameras on tripods and cover endless hours of Beach Vollyball.

Most Olympic sports were brought into the Olympics because they were already popular outside of the Olympics, not the other way 'round. Being in the Olympics didn't make the sport popular, it was already popular then brought in.

We need to focus on why this sport is not popular, or at least not as popular as we think it should be, and remove the obsticles so new people can enter the sport.

Here's my short list of obsticles, feel free to add:

1. Location (access to a suitable sailing site)
2. Education (access to lessons)
3. Equipment (access to boats)


Address those things and you can start to lure in new sailors.

I watched most of Mike Phelps swimming events, yet I don't swim competitively and never will.

I watched the Beach Vollyball, and never have played and never want to.

Being in the Olympics and being seen on TV won't bring more people into sailing but bringing more people into sailing might someday get it on TV.

Killer hook? Nothing, but we've never been a mainstream sport and probably never will be. I suspect our main source of spectators (and advertising revenue) is probably the internet. In the last Olympics, the video reporting of sailing, what there was of it, was quite good.

One of our main strengths is that we don't need to build special venues or combine our entire fields. Whereas track and field wants their competitors in one stadium in the same time span, we could hold the dingy events in Australia and the multihulls in Europe.

I suspect further, that we are a pita to the IOC. They might be willing to pimp us out to a large corporation i.e. GE. This "sponsor" could then sprinkle the events out over the entire globe and include every class desiring to participate. Instead of eleven medals there could be a thousand, if IOC thought it appropriate.

If we start thinking of ourselves, organizationally, not as a sport, but as a commodity to be marketed we'll be a lot better off.

Just a thought.

Does anyone know if sailing in the US saw a spike after the movie "Wind" was released? Are there likewise spikes after any of the major AC coverage?

If so, you could potentially make the general statement that media coverage helps (with the general public).

What to do with it from there is another issue entirely, but Louis Vuitton seems to think their money is well spent.

Mike

". . .Louis Vuitton seems to think their money is well spent."

So how do we capitalize on this phenomenon? I'm thinking that competing with track and field won't do it.

I think we need to get more people sailing in the first place. Once you have sailed you get a better understanding, and more appreciation for what is going on on the course. Personally I think watching track and field and swimming are quite boring! But then, I think watching any sport is boring compared to actually getting out there!

No doubt true! But the question is How to do this, Who Pays for it and in this thread... What is the role of the President of your national sailing organization.

If he visited each club and asked each the members to offer free boats and sailing lessons to non sailors... Is that a good plan? Hell... is that supposed to be his job as president?

Look out not within. Sailing is in the Olympics because out side of the US it does fit the public interest criteria. While not the most popular sport (by far) it is a lot more accepted, watched and covered outside of the US. High profile Sailors in France are treated like rock stars! Believe it or not, until the current world recession, sailing saw growth as a sport on many different levels in nearly every continent except the US. A few Olympic cycles ago I believe sailing was in jeopardy of loosing its Olympic berth but with some good lobbying from ISAF and growth participation in Asia and other no traditional competitive sailing continents it is now a lot more stable. While there is a lot of other sailing away from the Olympics, the Olympics does give good a good measure on how we rate as a sport in genera terms. In fact the Summer Olympics in general is far more popular outside of the US, so may be difficult for Americans to really draw a comparison.

What the US should be doing is have the governing body of the sport take a look at the successful programs outside of the US. The RYA etc and build business models marketing, financial and performance base similar to what has worked with these governing bodies. Going back a decade or two Yachting Australia was a small organization similar to what US sailing is now. Now they are a large professional organization, the professional level and approach from YA have allowed them to attract / demand large corporate backing and together add a lot to the sailing community at all levels.

"... is that supposed to be his job as president?"

Hopefully, listening to the membership will be part of his job.

I would ask him to do two things:

1. Take an active interest in the portsmouth ratings, particularly in reference to the Multihull council's ad hoc committee.

2. Promote a discussion on the Olympics. Under the current system we get only the fringe of a very bright spot light which is focused on the more popular sports i.e. track and field. Perhaps we would be better off in our own spotlight. Even if it is smaller and less bright.

I guess my vision of Olympic sailing would be away from the main venue and in off years from the Summer Olympics.

Hell, if people watch lumberjacks throw axes, we should be able to get them to watch Cats and 49ers.

But Pete, why do we care if people watch, unless it will definately lead to more people buying boats and getting into sailing.

I sometimes watch the lumberjacks, but I'm never going to buy an axe and start throwing it. So as I was trying to point out above, TV viewership doesn't always lead to increased participation.

In the US we are coming into a "new World" with Obama as president pushing for "Green" everything. I can think of no other watersport so green as Sailing, except maybe kayaking, and we have seen Hobie has put the two together with their Adventure sailing tri-kayak. I think NOW would be a really good time to jump on the Green advertising bandwagon in every outdoor and sporting magazine, show sailboats (dinghys and beach cats) as the Green alternative to the Jet Ski.

I think sailing is more popular in many other countries because gasoline is so much more expensive, especially England, an Island nation with a strong sailing history, they pay a 100% tax on every liter of gasoline! No wonder they all sail!

But I think the role of the US Sailing President should be to promote the sport of Sailing, not just Olympic Sailing. Open any magazine and you are going to see an add for Golf. In a Money Magazine, a Fishing magazine, a Women's Health magazine, etc. Golf does a realy good job of pushing their sport into your mind no matter what you are reading. But Sailboat companies and US Sailing only seem to advertise in Sailing Magazines! WHY? They are preaching to the choir. They need to hire the Golf Advertising guys to show them how to get it done!

"But Pete, why do we care if people watch, unless it will definately lead to more people buying boats and getting into sailing. "

To attract advertising and sponsorship and because awareness precedes action.

Since USSailing is the ony game in town and they have declared an interest in Olympic sailing, we might as well make the best of it. One of the bigges points of contention is the 11th medal. If sailing was organized more like boxing, how many medals would there be?

Tim, I think the biggest difference in our appoaches is money. Advertising = money going out.
Sailing Olympics = sponsorship opportunity = money coming in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYA8EGzIKw

30 years ago Jimmy Deans had a set of Hawaiian Tropic sails on his Hobie 16. (He looked like Jimmy Buffet at the time). He was protested & thrown out of every Daytona Beach regatta because of these sails.
Not a lot of money in it then, eh? Meantime the Hawaian Tropic guy became a multimillionaire- and still is.

Those nifty Heiniken sails tooken me waaaay back-
Ahhh the bikinis!

Sailing Olympics = sponsorship opportunity = money coming in.

Pete, I agree with the sponsorship but both sponsorship and advertising are -not allowed- on any boat or sails in the Olympics, which only happen 2 weeks, every 4 years anyway.

I'd much rather see a full on sponsorship allowed series like they used to do on the Pro Circut years ago, with the H21, then the 25 footers and now the VX40's. They are huge in Europe, nothing like that here in the US of A.

Sponsorship of the Olympics itself is allowed. Think about cats in Sydney harbor at a time when there are no major competitiors like the Superbowl or the Summer Olympics themselves.

Sailing is not a major draw to the t.v. watching public. We should be competing with ax throwing and the like.

In any case, the dog we have doesn't hunt. I hope Jobson will find one that does.

You know what amazes me is this; in every other country I've ever laid over, I can watch a program called Mainsail on CNN! It's a 30 minute show, a recap of what ever big sailboat racing event is going on that week. A new program is produced every week!

The ONLY place I've never seen that show? Right here. And most of the adds are from Rolex watches. Do they not want to sell them here in the US? Why does CNN -not- show this program here, not even on a slow Saturday morning? I think I'll write to CNN and Gary Jobson, see if we can get it on TV here.

I think you'll have better luck pulling it off their website.

http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/main.sail/

In your letter, you might mention that some of your friends (me) watch tv less and less because my cable dollar is just buying more commercials!

CNN is my home page and I'd never heard of Mainsail before! Thanks much!

About the show
CNN's monthly sailing show "MainSail" explores one of the world's most exhilarating, glamorous and toughest sports. "MainSail" brings viewers the latest from the biggest sailing events, plus technology and business aspects of the sport.

The show also showcases human endeavours accomplished by some of the world's greatest sailors and keeps viewers up to date with the latest news concerning the major races and regattas around the world.

MARCH SHOW TIMES

"MainSail" on CNN International:
• Thursday 19 March: 1400, 1830
• Saturday 21 March: 0800, 1730
• Sunday 22 March: 0400, 0830, 1600
(all times GMT)
I guess it's not weekly, only monthly, still better than anything we see on TV here in the US! I've got to wonder why.