COMMENTARY: Winning Has Become Everything

By Glenn McCarthy
As this sport is designed for the Olympic Games and the belief is that Club Racing programs should run their events the exact same way as the Olympic Games, we have made it “all about winning.” After a first place finish in the 2010 Chicago Race to Mackinac, the spirits of our crew were so high, they were like nothing I had seen before. It was crystal clear to me that winning has become everything in this sport. I made the toast to the crew, “We’re much better winners than we are losers.”

Am I alone in recognizing this? One of my heroes in sailing is Mark Reynolds, who is a really nice guy to boot. He has won two Gold Medals and one Silver Medal in the Olympics, and two World Championships in the Star Class and is a Quantum sailmaker. In a video interview in February 2012, Mark said, “The most fun for me was when DeAnn (his wife) and I went to our first Nationals up in Long Beach, and we were able to win (in a Snipe). It’s always more fun to win than it is to lose.” So here a weekend warrior (me) and a top notch professional racer see eye to eye. Winning is everything. Anything else is just not as much fun.

Run the numbers now using the concept that winning is everything and the most “fun.” Commonly in a fleet, three or so boats do well during the entire season. They rack up the most wins. What does that mean for the rest of the fleet? They’re sitting around licking their wounds, week after week after week. Winning is not a frequent visitor to them. So they don’t get that same high or that adrenalin rush. Just what big “more fun” do they have? How do we make it so they have some sort of adrenalin rush during the day, too? – Read on (Page 7)