I have a few more thoughts related to sailboat racing
. I think that in the past, or with the older generations, people seemed to enjoy the structure and tradition of sailboat racing. We can see that in the comments within this forum. People in general were used to relying on structured formats and rigid rules. That isn't the case anymore. When I relate it to skiing, I can see the progression much more clearly. Traditional ski racing (born long after sailing competitions) had / has rigid rules and structure. But along came the freestyle movement, which was essentially created by ex-ski racers. It evolved in so many ways and arenas. Then snow-boarding essentially caused an explosion in creativity. And this wasn't just a free-for-all either. The nature of competition evolved right along with it. Traditional ski racing evolved into the "pro format" of side-by-side racing, competition evolved into all manner of aerials, skier-cross, half-pipes, extreme skiing competitions and surely there is more to come. So the variety and numbers of competitive snow sports has exploded right along with all of the creativity. How did this happen? Basically because creativity over-came "rules". The traditional formats are still "king" i.e. World Cup Ski Racing, but the enthusiasm across all venues has never been higher and is still expanding. Snow sports have had a way of expanding the world of competition for new participants rather than only expanding possibilities only for the elites of the sport. Look at the advent of snowboarding and all of the related events that the Olympics opened up to. We had middle-class teenagers coming from little bump hills near urban areas arriving at the Olympics, winning medals, and gaining national attention! It really was an innovative phenomena.
Contrast that to sailing ... the tradition and rules of sailboat racing, combined with the expense and the rigidity of the formats has simply lost appeal. The only place we see much creativity, is in formats and boats that are so far out of reach to the average sailor that it is simply stifling. It seems that you would have to be Larry Ellison or Jeff Bezos to be able to participate in the extreme avenues of sailing. The rest of us are confined to the same old traditional formats (yawn).
We did see some really great creative gains in sailing. Think about the explosion of Hobie Cats, and the racing-off-the-beach scene that was so exciting for a while. WIndsurfing certainly had it's moment. Kite sailing has the same appeal as windsurfing but I just don't see a competitive nature to these activities. They seem to have turned into a dead end.
Snow sports, by contrast, seem to be readily available to even the lowest income levels. For some reason the creative nature of competition in so many snow sports activities has risen and now seems to be exploding with interest. The numbers of people who start pursing these activities at very young ages and with so much enthusiasm is really astonishing. Sailing really needs to find a similar formula. Somehow, I think, sailing competitions need to break out from the traditional and create excitement for the common people. But it certainly isn't an easy formula to define.
