A Year in Review, Fourth Quarter

Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck reflected on 2019 and shares some of his picks from the fourth quarter of the year.

Sailing must learn to be gender inclusive
The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world, which was once simply done by inviting all sporting nations to gather for competition. But now the International Olympic Committee has sought to heighten their influence, which includes advancing the position of women in sport. Full report.

Editor’s note: It’s one thing to want to increase female participation, but it’s ignorant to do so within a system that’s based on male participation.

Prestigious award needs a better system
My involvement in the US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year Awards selection process has taught me how hard it is to evaluate the ever widening range of sailing competitions in the sport. Full report.

Editor’s note: Turning an achievement accolade into a popularity contest degrades its purpose and that’s what World Sailing and US Sailing have done to their annual awards.

Promoting sailing for pure pleasure
When it comes to sailboat racing, I do like winning over losing. I look at the rules, seek to control the variables, maximize any advantages, and then play the game. If I have an opportunity to win, I play to win. But winning has gotten harder. Equipment improvements – better line, better sails, better instruments – raise the investment for speed. Regatta formats have evolved, requiring more training. There are reasons why the sport has shrunk. Full report.

Editor’s note: When the national sailing federation is allowing their historic championship trophies to be purchased, we have a problem.

We watch for the mistakes
Will Jackson works for Blueclaw Media, a UK company born from the digital age that tracks how we think and feel, and he sent us some new research that calculates the most exciting sports, stating that mistakes are what makes individual sports so thrilling. It reminded me of a meme I posted during the SailGP season of the United States SailGP Team in which they were teetering on the edge, flying too high, and seemed destined for a hard landing. The meme said, “Admit it, you want this to end badly.” Full report.

Editor’s note: Tension creates interest which is best amplified when boats are racing alongside each other. In the absence of that, we look for failure.

Why don’t we just do it?
David Branigan reported in The Irish Times about an initiative in Ireland focused on transitioning young sailors into life sailors. The issues described are familiar to what is seen on this side of the Atlantic, though it does make me wonder about simpler ideas. If the idea is to introduce the next generation to keelboat sailing, which is wise as this area of the sport is widely prevalent and accessible to crew for no/low cost, than why don’t we just do it? Full report.

Editor’s note: We spend a lot of energy and expense creating structure rather than utilizing the advocate within us.