Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster SB1 Inshore Range

Road to Gold - Growing champions..the changing face of sailing..end of the Olympic superpowers?

by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 25 Dec 2022 17:02 PST 26 December 2022
Olympic classes have become increasing physique specific - Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (GBR) - 470 Womens Medal CeremonyTokyo2020 - Day 10 - August 4, 2021, Enoshima, Japan © Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.com

It was interesting to listen to the latest series in Road to Gold, the excellent online sailing program aimed at everyone who likes, follows or participates in sailing at all levels, from the Green fleet to full-time professional racers.

Road to Gold is convened by top Olympic coach and triple world 470 champion Hamish Willcox and a leading international sailing journalist Andy Rice.

Last Wednesday's edition featured Ian Walker, a double Olympic medalist, Volvo Ocean Race-winning skipper and along with a host of other titles and achievements. He recently left the Royal Yachting Association as Director of Racing and oversaw the British Olympic program for Tokyo 2020. He is now the general manager of North Sails UK.

The topic was "construction of a great sailor, Youth training and the pathway to Olympic greatness."

A lot was packed into just 60 minutes as the three shared various experiences - Ian Walker from an Olympic perspective, as a sailor and then as a leading coach/director. Andy has a long experience in UK dinghy classes and what happens at club, national and international levels. Hamish came up through the NZ club system in the 1970s and 1980s and sailed in what was a very competitive 470 class at a club and national level.

Ian made several interesting points, the first of which is that the British Olympic results of the past two decades are probably not sustainable - for several reasons.

Firstly there are not enough people coming through of the standard required. By his calculation, to be sustainable, the UK program needs to pick up one top future Olympic medal winner each year from the RYA Youth programs/pathways. That is a walking, breathing sailor who can deliver results and can be coached, not someone who is just long on potential. Of course, the hope of the Chosen One is that the Olympic classes stay the same by the time the future medalist gets to the top of the game.

Second, the Olympic classes are now such that only two, the ILCA6 and ILCA 7, are sailed at club level in the UK. Walker would not rate the 49er/FX as a club boat, as they are so technically challenging. The same comment applies to the Nacra 17. Windfoilers are yet to be accepted as a club class, primarily because the foiling board sailors, as they have done for the past 40 years, don't see the point of joining a yacht club. All they need is a lake bank, beach or ramp to launch and exit when they return, and they bypass any need for club system and support.

Third, the physiques required of the sailors now are so specific by class that it is only possible to get to the top of the Olympic apex with some dedicated physical training. However, no matter how much they love sailing in a particular class, a short person can't suddenly become tall. Being a physical match with your chosen Olympic class is now a prerequisite. That cuts out a lot of potential sailors, as they exit their youth sailing years.

Fourth, the cost of the sport has got prohibitive even at a junior level, which may compound over the next year or two due to looming economic downturns. All three panellists came through an era where coaching was relatively unknown, and they improved by working as part of a crew or chatting amongst themselves in single-handed classes after a race. Not raised was the statistic that now, contrary to their era, 50% of junior sailors come from non-sailing families, while previously, the sailing bug was passed between generations of the same family.

In the same vein, many top sailors joined the sport in their late teens or early 20s but got through with a very dedicated approach.

Ian Walker mentioned that he used to keep a sailing log and to his surprise, he found that he sailed 180 races per year. That was in the days when you sailed one race per day, not four in an afternoon. He dropped in the thought that 200 days of sailing a year was becoming standard amongst those wanting to make an Olympic squad.

It was also noted that many top sailors are totally compliant within the rigour of a coaching and talent development program, but many of the truly successful sailors had a rebel streak. In fact it was almost an essential personality trait. Walker and his long-time partner, the late John Merricks, had it, as did Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy, to name but a few in the British camp.

Although the point wasn't mentioned, if you stripped the Olympics out of the equation, the picture becomes quite different - particularly when the approach revolves around having fun, loving the sport before you get serious about it, and finding lower-cost ways of participation.

Many clubs in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world have recognised this - with the promotion of various schemes and programs - which is where the RS range of boats is targeted, and later on, the International classes (non-Olympic) and programs like The RNZYS youth scheme.

The last three years of the pandemic restrictions have changed the sporting landscape. It requires a lot of new thinking and promotion of sailing to recover the lost ground.

For more on Road to Gold and how it can improve your sailing performance and enjoyment www.roadtogold.net or catch some of the interviews with guests on Facebook www.facebook.com/SailRoadToGold

Related Articles

Road to Gold with Jacopo Plazzi
Live Q&A and Race Analysis with SailGP coach It's just a few days out from the Season 4 finale of SailGP, with the showdown set to take place in San Francisco on 13/14 July. In a break with the usual format for Road To Gold Q&A live calls, we'll be looking at the unique challenges of SailGP. Posted on 6 Jul
Emerging Nations follow World-Beating Blueprint
World Sailing has incorporated the Road To Gold program for the past two years With just three weeks remaining until the start of Paris 2024, sailors from 65 nations are making final preparations before travelling to Marseille. Among the sailors are athletes from countries who have never competed on the Olympic stage before. Posted on 5 Jul
Road to Gold with Hugh Styles
Maximise your Time on the Water with the Olympic sailor & medal-winning coach It's no coincidence that Hugh Styles' coaching business is called Time On The Water. A former Olympic competitor in the Laser and Tornado classes, Hugh knows all about the importance of making the most of your time on the water. Posted on 1 Jul
Road to Gold with Olympic medallist Aaron McIntosh
Live Q&A: From Olympic to America's Cup coaching Three years ago, Aaron McIntosh joined Road To Gold to talk about "The Power of the Squad", where we covered the importance of building a supportive culture and how to have fun while training. Posted on 25 Jun
Road to Gold: Richard Parslow
Multiple dinghy & keelboat champion Richard Parslow has stayed at the front of the fleet for more than 40 years. From winning the Fireball World Championships with Kim Slater in 1980, through many championship wins in other dinghies and small keelboats. Posted on 17 Jun
This Monday: Live Q&A with Allan Norregaard
How to punch well above your weight After a successful career in Olympic campaigning, including a bronze medal in the 49er at London 2012, Allan Norregaard has transformed into the Ethan Hunt of the coaching world... Posted on 7 Jun
This Monday: Road To Gold Q&A with Chips Howarth
Fireball world champ & Cyclops tech boss "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." Which is why high-performance sailors are increasingly turning to Cyclops for the accurate data they produce from their range of load sensors. Posted on 2 Jun
Road To Gold Q&A with Konstantinos Trigonis
Multihull world champion and Olympic coach Technology and tools can be beneficial for learning and development, but ultimately it depends on how you use them. For Konstantinos Trigonis, it's crucial for sailors to be able to *feel* the boat and the conditions around them. Posted on 24 May
Road To Gold Live Q&A with Dr Tim Herzog
Top sports psychologist discusses Effective Mental Imagery and Self-Talk We've all heard the importance of the Mental Game - the factor that separates the top athletes from the rest. At a certain level, it's not your sailing skills that make the difference, but your mental state going into the competition. Posted on 20 May
Road To Gold Live Q&A with Annie Lush
3x Ocean Race veteran and Olympian After a successful career on the Olympic circuit and representing Great Britain in women's match racing at London 2012, Annie Lush has become one of the most in-demand professionals on the offshore scene. Posted on 12 May
Trinidad and Tobago - Sail Service StayHyde Sails 2024 - One DesignHenri-Lloyd - For the Obsessed