The second and final installment of World Sailing Tyranny by Peter Huston
While many people want to see stability and thoughtfully considered reasoned decisions take place regarding boats and events in the Olympics, we are all best served to deal with the reality which is this: given the way World Sailing is operating, plan on more abrupt change. One thing could very well happen for the 2028 Olympics; the IOC may just finally say that sailing is out. That might actually be the best thing for the sport, given current circumstances and lack of clear, enlightened leadership.
If you sail and/or participate in an Olympic class, if you make your living in the class as an administrator or coach, you best understand what business the IOC is in. They are a TV production and distribution company. Then understand what business World Sailing is in: they too are an event production company, and provider of talent for a TV show.
Some sailors and many coaches are fortunate enough to make a living via Olympic classes. In the US, for almost every sailor, they are paying to play. Coaches make a living, virtually no sailors in the US Sailing Team can say they make a decent living off of just competing on the Olympic sailing circuit.
Sailing has been available for Olympic broadcast for decades. It hasn’t really moved the needle in a perceptible way in terms of economic benefit for anyone but a few people who get paid for their involvement with the Olympic broadcast.
In basic human terms here is what has happened to the Finn class. World Sailing has said they would go to the senior prom with the Finn class in 2020, but after that they are breaking up. So what’s the Finn class going to do, be World Sailings bitch and pretend that everything is just fine for the next 18 months? If the Finn class is really smart like tractor and strong like bull, they will say en masse, “fine sweetheart, we’ll meet you at the prom, but we won’t see you before then”. In other words Finn class, man up and boycott all other World Sailing events, especially the World Cup.
It is utterly beyond the realm of reason to think that four members of the World Sailing Council all independently made a mistake in their vote on this issue. These are all people of long standing service to the sport, with impeccable records. They all were vocal all week long during the AGM in support of the Finn. Indeed, one is a lawyer. So therefore, Andy Hunt is calling these people liars because he says the electronic voting system works flawlessly.
If the World Sailing Board is so certain of the validity of their electronic voting system and the righteousness of flicking the Finn in favor of a new boat for a new event that has never before been contested, they why are they refusing to have a re-vote?
If you are the President of an MNA and you don’t ask immediately for a revote and an independent investigation (with the investigator picked by the Council, not the World Sailing Board or staff) into what has happened here, then you are just as much a part of the problem along with the World Sailing Board.
Why is the majority of the World Sailing Board trying so hard to make this issue go away? What is the cover up all about?
If you want to end the World Sailing Tyranny, there is only one solution.
Anarchy.
– Peter Huston
