US Olympic Windsurfer speaks out over high entry fee costs

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 4 Feb 2016 Top US Windsurfer, Farrah Hall, has spoken out against the escalating cost of regattas and regatta entry to competitors.

While the 2012 US Olympic representative has focused on her US experience the issue is an international one.

In the name of improving the quality of racing World Sailing and the International Class Associations place require organisers to fund increased numbers of fly-in officials, media and others, supplied gear and at the same time limiting the entry fee for competitors, particularly at Olympic class level.

In her blog, Farrah Hall reflects on a lead-in regatta to the World Sailing Cup Miami, and what happened in the face of a substantial entry fee..

In preparation for the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, the first World Cup event of 2016, many sailors competed in 'Midwinters' regattas held at the sailing clubs in Coconut Grove. These small events have a history of about 4-5 years and are normally used as a low-key warm up before the World Cup. However, this year one little regatta was the victim of an unfortunate trend in both the Olympic class circuit and the American racing scene: escalating costs for sailors, facilitating exclusivity.

The men's and women's RS:X fleets were stunned when confronted with a $200 entry fee for a small three-day event. The cost of the three-day Midwinters event combined with the cost of the World Cup ($350 for singlehanded boats plus $150 coach entry) can run sailors as much as $700 just to participate in the regattas.

In Europe or South America, regatta fees for small events are normally around 40-60 euro, or $50-75. High level European World Cup regattas, week-long events, cost around 200 euro or $220. Factoring in travel expenses, coaching or a boat (a critical need for RS:X sailors to reach the starting line on time in light wind and carry food and water), and the high cost of housing in Miami, this event can push even the most financially solvent competitor over budget.

American sailors are required to compete in Miami almost every year to qualify for the US Sailing Team. For 'average Janes' like me, it's a steep hurdle indeed, and one that will remove any middle-class, self-funded but motivated sailor from the racing community.

Because less women than men were registered and paid online for the Midwinters, the women decided to defect from the regatta and hold their own event or 'coaches' regatta' while the men stayed with the original event. (Even so, a third of the men did not compete due to the cost). The entire women's fleet removing themselves from the event was the fault of both sailors and organizers, but the incident strongly serves as an example of what can happen when sailing federations and clubs try to profit from sailors instead of promoting the sport.

When organizing the event, US Sailing was faced with a number of issues. The first is that ISAF (or World Sailing as they are now called) pushed US Sailing to hold the event without much assistance, creating extra hassle before the Miami World Cup regatta. Secondly, the sailing clubs in Miami are charging more and more money to host events, and some have refused to host visiting sailors at all. This year marked the first time clubs charged visiting windsurfers training just a short time before the event ($15/day until the regatta) and also raised prices for US Sailing to hold the event. The event was also not well publicized.

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Several class associations do make serious efforts to keep costs under control for both competitors and organisers. Regatta organisers are often faced with the double-whammy of demands by Olympic class associations coupled with constrained entry fees requiring organisers to drum up more cash from hard to come by event sponsors, or financially constrained local authorities.