Sail-World.com : Andy Rice looks at the strange case of the 29erXX
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Andy Rice looks at the strange case of the 29erXX |
The progress of the 29erXX through the committees of the ISAF meeting taking place in Madrid has caught most pundits by surprise. After the skiff trials faded away without any recommendation, it seemed that the ISAF was happy to stay with what they had, so where has the pressure come from?
Andy Rice, over on his SailJuice.com blog, has been following the twists and turn in the unlikely bid for Olympic glory by the 29erXX.
Andy Rice, SailJuice.com - 29erXX set to topple the 470?
Will the 29erXX knock the Women’s 470 out of the Olympic line-up for Weymouth 2012? At the ISAF Annual Conference in Madrid, three committees have already voted in favour of the 49er’s baby sister, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the 40 members of ISAF Council will follow suit this Friday.
Remember last year’s controversy when the Events Committee made a set of recommendations that were largely ignored, resulting in the multihull being thrown out of the Olympics. So there are no guarantees.
But it is extraordinary enough that the 29erXX has made it even this far. The Women’s sub-committee voted 7:6 in favour of the 29erXX over the 470, and the Equipment sub-committee voted 11:2. And then the Events Committee recommended the 29erXX in a 9:8 vote.
This is extraordinary stuff, especially bearing in mind that no lobby is present at the ISAF Conference. Even the 29erXX’s designer, Julian Bethwaite, said he was surprised to find his baby twin-trapeze skiff in the running. 'When I came here the first objective was to get the 49er back into the Olympics, the 29er into the Youth Worlds, and a third and very distant objective was the 29erXX in the women’s doublehander spot.
Andy Rice, SailJuice.com - Will Council vote for old or new?
What about the other skiffs?' has been a common question that I've heard in phone conversations, Skype messages and emails since posting yesterday's story. It's a fair question, and one I'll deal with in due course.
The 29erXX was just one of a number of boats that put itself up for consideration at ISAF's Evaluation Trials in Hyeres last year, and yet here we have just the 29erXX against the women's 470.
 | 29erXX - the new Womens Two-hander for the 2012 Olympics? - 29er |
Questions need asking about how this came to be, but not now, not in the next 24 hours.
Right now, the only question that matters is whether it will be 470 or 29erXX.
As an ex-470 sailor I have an affection for the venerable old boat, and wish it could still remain in the Olympic line-up, rather than yield to the half-arsed, ill-thought-out new discipline currently being crow-barred into the 2012 Games, women's match racing.
But given that it's a fight between new skiff and old dinghy, I'd vote for the skiff. The 470 has had its chance to attract hoards of women into Olympic sailing. It's been moderately successful, certainly more so than the Yngling, but it hasn't exactly been a runaway success. The 29erXX has a greater likelihood of attracting young women into top-level competition. For that reason alone, it deserves to succeed.
Will ISAF Council see things the same way? I hope so, but I'm not betting my house on it. In an ISAF press release sent out today, ISAF President Göran Peterson says the Council provides the final, worldwide perspective on issues.
'We must remember it is the Council who are the true democratic voice of ISAF. They represent the Member Nations who combined form the International Sailing Federation, and who individually represent the sailors, clubs, classes and sailing organizations within nations.' If only I could share his faith in the 'democratic' process.
Except that last year the Events Committee laid out a strategy which was largely ignored by Council, where too often the thinking by individuals on the Council is self-serving, tactical and short-termist.
Please, Council, prove me wrong this time. The sub-committees have made their views known, so please consider their arguments rather than do what you were going to do anyway. Otherwise, what is the point of 400-odd people flying in and staying in expensive hotels for more than a week, when little of the week's discussions comes to anything?
Council, you've been given your lead to do something out of the ordinary, to make a decision that might excite a new generation of female sailors to get on the Olympic campaign trail. To borrow a phrase from another recent vote between old and new: 'Yes, you can.'
Question: 'Yes, they can.' But will they? Where are you putting your money on tomorrow’s vote?
Read these and other articles and comments at Andy's blog - http://sailjuice.squarespace.com
by Andy Rice
10:57 PM Thu 13 Nov 2008 GMT
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