That was a very informative and well constructed response to a parent who has done a great job figuring it all out and is smart to ask for more help in the process.
A few areas left untouched which are out of your control but need addressing. In the U
In the US the lure of a pro sailing career is very real for our top sailors where a good sailor can make $50,000 right out of college of choose 8 tough years of fund raising and P,B and J
Sandwiches. A sailor with Olympic Medal potential can run that 50 up to $200,000
If he is a proven winner. That is a lot to give up if your interest in sailing is strong and you are not fortunate to have wealthy parents.
The bigger issue, either the exception of the ILKA is the throw away boats that fill Olympic classes. Spending over $45,000 on a 49er of FX that has a life span of 6 to 8 months or getting involved with a board that lasts 3 events and sail that lasts one. This is a game created to make builders wealthy and really can only be played if your government is supplying the funding. The US and countries outside of Europe really can’t enter this game and expect success. If a medal is won in the US you get about 25,000 after taxes while in other countries medal winners may be looking at $500,000 pay out. To me an Olympic campaign for the average American brings little reward.
Hi Bill, all valid points. I agree with the financial factors that you point out.
But, in response to your last sentence, isn't the point of an Olympic campaign to be very much not-average? So for those that choose to undertake it, don't we have a duty to strive for success? Seems pretty American to me :)
Hi Andrew- Thanks for the comment and I just wanted to clarify my view of what US Sailing is focused on, which is a dual mandate:
1). representing sailing in the Olympic Movement
2). being the member association for American sailors, clubs, organizations, etc.
That dual mandate is baked into the responsibilities of a National Governing Body as outlined by Congress in the Ted Stevens Act. Every NGB has to pursue these two goals, and balance them in order to best serve their sport.
My opinion is that mandate #1 requires us to "streamline the pathways for the few who are committed to the Olympic dream", as you point out. Mandate #2 requires us to be as supportive as possible to the broad group of sailing stakeholders who make sailing happen at the grassroots, local, regional, and national levels like clubs, regional associations, class associations, sailing schools, stem educators, instructors, community sailing centers etc. This support is through education programs, accreditations, membership benefits, administering ratings for big boat and offshore racing, partnering with event organizers, etc. So the execution of the two mandates merits different approaches based on the goals.
As an aside, it's worth pointing out that while Rosie Chapman, Phil Muller, and Rosie Chapman are the US Sailing staff members focused on racing, we have equally good news when it comes to the staff focused on instruction and grassroots development. Janel Zarkowsky Martin has been at US Sailing for about 5 years focused on youth education, instruction, stem education, and Community Sailing. Whitney Kent has joined US Sailing this spring to add further support and expertise to this area. Anyone who knows Janel and Whitney knows that this is a fantastic team. And US Sailing has a robust Education and Adult Sailing staff who play a huge role in grassroots sailing support and education as well. So please know that we have a lot of resources dedicated to racing and non-racing goals alike.
Lastly, I sense that you have a mistrust of the word "Pathway", and I wanted to share that I do too. In fact I have struggled with how to use that word over the years, because I want to know what I mean when I say it. I think Websters defines it as "a well trodden path". I've landed on my own definitions of a few specific types of pathways that I think are valid and valuable:
-Age-based Pathway - This is based on the developmental age of the participants, and defines the age appropriate and most productive sport experiences based on their stage of development. Long Term Athlete Development is the academic field that covers this topic, and is very interesting and important for sport organizations to understand. All you really need to know is, make it really really fun for the youngest kids (like my nine year old), add challenge and complexity in an appropriate way as they mature, and do whatever you can to retain them!
-Equipment-based Pathway - We sail boats, so the type of boat we sail defines a lot about our experience. This is important in our sport! A perfect kids boat like an Opti or OPen Skiff, is a bad boat for a teenager who's too big and is capable of more complex tasks. So the transition from class to class on the Equipment Pathway is very crucial one in our sport.
-Competiton-based Pathway - This is the "pyramid" of local, regional, national, and international competitions, along with incentives to participate at each level like grand-prix points, national teams, worlds qualifiers, etc. This is a big driver for competitive sports, but must be adjusted for young participants to make sure it is still in line with the Age-Appropriate guidelines of the Age-Based Pathway.
Sorry for the essay. Didn't intend to write that much, but I'm passionate and interested in these topics so just wanted to add clarity, or at least more of my own opinions :)
This is a great piece, John. You are absolutely on the right track and Phil and Rosie are amazing additions to the leadership.
John
That was a very informative and well constructed response to a parent who has done a great job figuring it all out and is smart to ask for more help in the process.
A few areas left untouched which are out of your control but need addressing. In the U
Sorry only half finished
In the US the lure of a pro sailing career is very real for our top sailors where a good sailor can make $50,000 right out of college of choose 8 tough years of fund raising and P,B and J
Sandwiches. A sailor with Olympic Medal potential can run that 50 up to $200,000
If he is a proven winner. That is a lot to give up if your interest in sailing is strong and you are not fortunate to have wealthy parents.
The bigger issue, either the exception of the ILKA is the throw away boats that fill Olympic classes. Spending over $45,000 on a 49er of FX that has a life span of 6 to 8 months or getting involved with a board that lasts 3 events and sail that lasts one. This is a game created to make builders wealthy and really can only be played if your government is supplying the funding. The US and countries outside of Europe really can’t enter this game and expect success. If a medal is won in the US you get about 25,000 after taxes while in other countries medal winners may be looking at $500,000 pay out. To me an Olympic campaign for the average American brings little reward.
Bill Canfield
Hi Bill, all valid points. I agree with the financial factors that you point out.
But, in response to your last sentence, isn't the point of an Olympic campaign to be very much not-average? So for those that choose to undertake it, don't we have a duty to strive for success? Seems pretty American to me :)
Hi Andrew- Thanks for the comment and I just wanted to clarify my view of what US Sailing is focused on, which is a dual mandate:
1). representing sailing in the Olympic Movement
2). being the member association for American sailors, clubs, organizations, etc.
That dual mandate is baked into the responsibilities of a National Governing Body as outlined by Congress in the Ted Stevens Act. Every NGB has to pursue these two goals, and balance them in order to best serve their sport.
My opinion is that mandate #1 requires us to "streamline the pathways for the few who are committed to the Olympic dream", as you point out. Mandate #2 requires us to be as supportive as possible to the broad group of sailing stakeholders who make sailing happen at the grassroots, local, regional, and national levels like clubs, regional associations, class associations, sailing schools, stem educators, instructors, community sailing centers etc. This support is through education programs, accreditations, membership benefits, administering ratings for big boat and offshore racing, partnering with event organizers, etc. So the execution of the two mandates merits different approaches based on the goals.
As an aside, it's worth pointing out that while Rosie Chapman, Phil Muller, and Rosie Chapman are the US Sailing staff members focused on racing, we have equally good news when it comes to the staff focused on instruction and grassroots development. Janel Zarkowsky Martin has been at US Sailing for about 5 years focused on youth education, instruction, stem education, and Community Sailing. Whitney Kent has joined US Sailing this spring to add further support and expertise to this area. Anyone who knows Janel and Whitney knows that this is a fantastic team. And US Sailing has a robust Education and Adult Sailing staff who play a huge role in grassroots sailing support and education as well. So please know that we have a lot of resources dedicated to racing and non-racing goals alike.
Lastly, I sense that you have a mistrust of the word "Pathway", and I wanted to share that I do too. In fact I have struggled with how to use that word over the years, because I want to know what I mean when I say it. I think Websters defines it as "a well trodden path". I've landed on my own definitions of a few specific types of pathways that I think are valid and valuable:
-Age-based Pathway - This is based on the developmental age of the participants, and defines the age appropriate and most productive sport experiences based on their stage of development. Long Term Athlete Development is the academic field that covers this topic, and is very interesting and important for sport organizations to understand. All you really need to know is, make it really really fun for the youngest kids (like my nine year old), add challenge and complexity in an appropriate way as they mature, and do whatever you can to retain them!
-Equipment-based Pathway - We sail boats, so the type of boat we sail defines a lot about our experience. This is important in our sport! A perfect kids boat like an Opti or OPen Skiff, is a bad boat for a teenager who's too big and is capable of more complex tasks. So the transition from class to class on the Equipment Pathway is very crucial one in our sport.
-Competiton-based Pathway - This is the "pyramid" of local, regional, national, and international competitions, along with incentives to participate at each level like grand-prix points, national teams, worlds qualifiers, etc. This is a big driver for competitive sports, but must be adjusted for young participants to make sure it is still in line with the Age-Appropriate guidelines of the Age-Based Pathway.
Sorry for the essay. Didn't intend to write that much, but I'm passionate and interested in these topics so just wanted to add clarity, or at least more of my own opinions :)
Thanks again for reading the piece.
Cheers, John.