Support needed for USA to achieve Olympic success

Stuart Paine has become an ardent observer of the USA Olympic sailing program, having watched his son Caleb scratch and claw his way to become the top U.S. Finn contender. Caleb is among a team of U.S. sailors that can frequently finish in the top ten, but are struggling to become regulars on the podium. Here Stuart comments on the task ahead…

It was recently suggested by a Scuttlebutt contributor that US Sailing should give up on the Olympic dream, and instead focus on the areas of the sport, such as match and team racing, which are prospering. If we had won a slew of medals at the 2012 London Games, I am sure this suggestion would not have been put forth, but we did not.

And since the USA has not succeeded on the Olympic stage for some time, it was argued that “US Sailing needs to live with that fact and get on with its mission to grow the entire sport and not just one aspect of it.”

Is this really the best this country can do? Are we really willing to accept that our country is second rate?

Like it or not, the American public, and for that matter a good part of the world, sees and judges our sailing capacity through two events: the Olympics and the Americas Cup. But it is the achievements in the Olympics that ring truest.

It is considered the pinnacle of success in sport, any sport, to win an Olympic medal. It is because of the Olympics that we know about Anna Tunnicliffe, Zack Railey, JJ Isler, Mark Reynolds, Sir Ben Ainslie, and others who have succeeded on that stage. These sailors are the dream makers for our up-and-coming youth.

If we are to grow our sport, it has to be considered to be an endeavor of substance; not a backwater activity.

I am not saying Olympic achievement for the U.S. is not without its challenges. While other countries pay their sailors, it is a fact that U.S. sailors are one of the very few teams who are not wholly supported by the government, or a body associated with the government.

If U.S. sailors do not have the good fortune to have strong family resources to support their efforts, they have to spend a great deal of the time fundraising. World-class sailing costs a great deal of money. A very slim campaign needs close to $80,000 per year to compete, while a really competitive campaign can cost easily twice that. U.S. sailors have to meet most of these expenses by virtue of their own efforts. This need to fundraise compromises the athlete’s ability to fully focus on the development of their talents and equipment.

Let’s compare the U.S. sailors’ situation to the British Sailing Team members, who are supported by their government-created agency called UK Sport. Their sailing team received $40 million dollars in the span between the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2012 London Olympics. By contrast, the proposed fundraising target for the US Olympic team in 2014 was one million according to US Sailing Board minutes.

Clearly the British sailors have greater resources to draw on than do USA sailors. The British recognize that the national prestige gained by their sailing team is worth the cost. Yet, even with this disadvantage, U.S. athletes still find ways to compete successfully.

The U.S. team currently has one of the top ranked women’s doublehanded 470 teams in the world with a number of top three finishes in world competition, a Finn sailor formally ranked #1 in the world by ISAF and a winner of two World Cup events, a strong up-and-coming group of Laser sailors, a Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and a world champion who at one time or another has won everything in Laser Radials short of the Olympics, in addition to a group of new talent who are striving to reach the highest levels.

US Sailing is not failing our athletes; their resources are stretched quite thin. US Sailing and our athletes are trying to do with a shovel what other teams are doing with a backhoe. If we want better results from our Olympic Team then we as a sailing community must give them the resources to compete on something close to an equal level. The alternatives are to do nothing and complain about our lack of success, accept the fact that USA is not capable of competing successfully on the world stage, or to try to find something else we might be able to win.

Personally, I find it an affront to my national pride to think that we cannot be among the world’s best in the areas of the sport that count the most. But if we are to rank among the best, we in the sailing community must step up and contribute to US Sailing’s Olympic effort, or contribute directly to the campaign of the athlete(s) of our choice. They really do reflect the best of who we are as a sailing community and as a country. They will win if they have anything close to an equal opportunity.

MORE: The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider will host the Golden Spinnaker Regatta and Gala on September 27, a fundraising event to be held at New York Yacht Club, Harbour Court in Newport, RI. Click here for details.