* From Henry Menin Chairman ISAF Match Racing Committee: I read Gary Hoyt's letter to Scuttlebutt (in Issue 2262) about sailing in the Olympics with great interest. I agree with Gary on several points. I would suggest to him, and to your readers, that there are solutions to the problems with sailing in the Olympics other than those he has recommended.

I agree that the success of sailing is not dependent on Olympic participation...but it will be much more difficult without it. The Olympics are responsible for much of the funds that are used to promote sailing worldwide, for running youth and development programs, for sailing clinics, for the training of race officials (measurers, race officers, umpires, judges), for the running of many regattas, etc.

I disagree that sailing must have winds over 15 knots to sustain viewer interest. What is needed is close coverage of an exciting race. Match racing, in winds much less than 15 knots, provides that kind of close coverage and excitement because the game is played along the shoreline, using the shore as a part of the game, giving viewers an "up close and personal" perspective of the racing where you can hear the skippers and crews talking (yelling?) to each other as they maneuver to control their opponent in a one-on-one battle. The races are short (20 minutes or so) and there can be up to 5 matches on the course at any one time, giving the spectator a variety of matches to watch. And, in winds of even less than 10 knots, the action can be very, very exciting because it is not the speed of the boat that provides the excitement, but the close proximity of the two boats to each other and the control that one tries to impose on the other, or from which one is trying to escape.

The courses are straight windward/leeward courses, so the competitors are not sailing away from the spectator area. Depending on the wind, the shore is either along the length of the course, at the starting area (where 4 minutes of pre-start action always provides a source for lots of excitement between the 2 boats in the match as each tries to gain control of the other) or at the windward mark where last-minute overlaps are being established or broken and where luffing matches between the two boats are held in close proximity to each other as one skipper tests the nerve, skill and competence of his/her opponent.

Gary is right that we must find an alternative to the current fleet racing format, which is all that we now see in the Olympics. It does not reflect sailing worldwide. There is a lot more going on in sailing than 1 1/2 hour fleet races. Match racing is one. Team racing is another. Ocean racing and singlehanded, multihull, and monohull round-the-world racing are others. Obviously the latter could not fit into the Olympic format. Team racing could, but it does not have the same worldwide participation as match racing and it adds more competitors (which the IOC is trying to reduce) and it is more expensive to run than match racing.

The easiest solution is to change the women's keelboat from a fleet race format to a match racing format. Give it a try. Match racing is growing by leaps and bounds - particularly women's match racing. It is exciting and easy for the average spectator to understand. The last man/woman standing is the winner. It is media and spectator friendly, as has been shown year after year. It deserves the chance.