US Sailing re-do for 2024 Olympics
- Thread starter PaulK
- Start date
I got nuttin.
I'm tending to think that US Sailing isn't up to the job of requiting, training and supporting of Olympic sailors. Really that was wasn't their mission.
Call me misinformed but the better club level kids would move on to college sailing. Just like most sports. And the best of those , with financial support, could attend enough events to qualify for the step ladder up to Olympic try outs. A lot of the time the finanical support was family or community fundraising. Don't get me wrong ... these kids work really hard, and their families sacrificed, but once out of the college system, what happens? A very select few can afford the next level and I'd guess that some talented sailors lose out to the better heeled programs. US Sailing is trying to even the playing field but they are not an organization with enough money to support campaigns of talented but not financially able sailors. So we send to the Olympics sailors who can afford to go, in terms of finances and in terms of being able to not pursue more lucrative career opportunities.
I'm NOT advocating government support for Olympic athletes! I just recognize that amateur sports is just amateurs. It doesn't mean that much.
I'm tending to think that US Sailing isn't up to the job of requiting, training and supporting of Olympic sailors. Really that was wasn't their mission.
Call me misinformed but the better club level kids would move on to college sailing. Just like most sports. And the best of those , with financial support, could attend enough events to qualify for the step ladder up to Olympic try outs. A lot of the time the finanical support was family or community fundraising. Don't get me wrong ... these kids work really hard, and their families sacrificed, but once out of the college system, what happens? A very select few can afford the next level and I'd guess that some talented sailors lose out to the better heeled programs. US Sailing is trying to even the playing field but they are not an organization with enough money to support campaigns of talented but not financially able sailors. So we send to the Olympics sailors who can afford to go, in terms of finances and in terms of being able to not pursue more lucrative career opportunities.
I'm NOT advocating government support for Olympic athletes! I just recognize that amateur sports is just amateurs. It doesn't mean that much.
According to their
From the US Sailing website: "We host 14 National Championships at sailing organizations around the country. These championships offer various disciplines of racing so sailors can test their skill level at a national level. For sailors aiming to represent the USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, US Sailing trains, selects, and manages these great athletes." This is essentially repeated in the US Sailing bylaws section 102.2 paragraphs f, g, h, and i.
Whether they're up to the task is apparently the question. This report https://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Financial-Statement-US-Sailing.pdf shows they spent about $5.5 million on Olympic efforts in 2021. Can't seem to find what they did in 2022. Maybe that's part of the problem.
Recruiting, training and supporting Olympic sailors is a major part of their mission.
From the US Sailing website: "We host 14 National Championships at sailing organizations around the country. These championships offer various disciplines of racing so sailors can test their skill level at a national level. For sailors aiming to represent the USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, US Sailing trains, selects, and manages these great athletes." This is essentially repeated in the US Sailing bylaws section 102.2 paragraphs f, g, h, and i.
Whether they're up to the task is apparently the question. This report https://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Financial-Statement-US-Sailing.pdf shows they spent about $5.5 million on Olympic efforts in 2021. Can't seem to find what they did in 2022. Maybe that's part of the problem.
