Posted By: Reiss
Will the new OSC deem multihulls as worthy of investment? - 08/14/12 02:43 AM
Will the new US Olympic Sailing Committee deem the multihull class strategically worthy of investment for the 2016 Games?
In an August 8th interview by Sailing World, outgoing US Olympic Sailing Committee chair, Dean Brenner, was asked whether the introduction of new events would perhaps help the USA "catch up" on plans to turn around the United States' Olympic sailing performance. The question and Mr. Brenner's response is below:
Sailing World: Do you think the introduction of new events will perhaps help you catch up?
Dean Brenner: Sure, the new classes, is that an opportunity? Maybe. Maybe. Olympic sailing is a portfolio of 10 business units, if you will. And you have to make strategic decisions unless you have significant funding to compete on the full portfolio; you have to make your choices on where you’re going to compete. Maybe they’ll make different choices for 2016 for the U.S. Team, I don’t know.
The full article can be found at this link: http://www.sailingworld.com/blogs/racing/olympic/no-medals-and-a-lot-of-questions
So, the frank assessment of the outgoing OSC chair is that certain event classes are basically expendable. Since he made this comment in response to a question about his view of the Olympic sailing events that will be new in 2016, it raises the question of what those in the US sailing catamaran community (at least those who care about multihull sailing as an Olympic sport) should do to prevent the multihull discipline from being relegated to an "expendable class" when it comes to developing, identifying, and supporting US sailors for 2016. Thoughts, anyone?
In an August 8th interview by Sailing World, outgoing US Olympic Sailing Committee chair, Dean Brenner, was asked whether the introduction of new events would perhaps help the USA "catch up" on plans to turn around the United States' Olympic sailing performance. The question and Mr. Brenner's response is below:
Sailing World: Do you think the introduction of new events will perhaps help you catch up?
Dean Brenner: Sure, the new classes, is that an opportunity? Maybe. Maybe. Olympic sailing is a portfolio of 10 business units, if you will. And you have to make strategic decisions unless you have significant funding to compete on the full portfolio; you have to make your choices on where you’re going to compete. Maybe they’ll make different choices for 2016 for the U.S. Team, I don’t know.
The full article can be found at this link: http:/
So, the frank assessment of the outgoing OSC chair is that certain event classes are basically expendable. Since he made this comment in response to a question about his view of the Olympic sailing events that will be new in 2016, it raises the question of what those in the US sailing catamaran community (at least those who care about multihull sailing as an Olympic sport) should do to prevent the multihull discipline from being relegated to an "expendable class" when it comes to developing, identifying, and supporting US sailors for 2016. Thoughts, anyone?