Who will fuel the flames of fandom?

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
I’ve already gone on record stating how I disapprove of fan voting for the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, so I’m not going to shy away from reiterating that stance for the US Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Award.

When determining the recipient of the highest award, the risk of manipulation is not worth the benefit of public involvement. However, I also always say we play the game to the rules, and these are the rules for determining the 2019 US recipients, so game on.

One third of the vote comes from the media that allegedly follows the sport (full disclosure – I’m a voter), one third of the vote comes from past winners who play gate keeper as to who joins their rarefied air (I worry about this component too), and one third of the vote is based on whoever professes the best online promotion campaign.

Another variable is the public polling tool. While it does not require US Sailing membership, it does have a feature that blocks repetitive voting. However, these tools tend to be susceptible to covert methods, so someone is bound to crack the code to stuff the ballot box.

So who is going to fuel the flames of fandom? To cast your vote… click here.

MORE: The above photo is of “celebrity” Sean Spicer and his partner in Dancing With the Stars. Despite Spicer’s inability to dance, the pair survived multiple elimination rounds in the competition due to the inclusion of fan voting.