Um, no. If you read the entire post, you would know that my plan is to improve the value of membership. The Alter Cup is one small piece, and very few people participate, regardless of the format.
Very few people are involved with Olympic campaigns as well. But, we are being asked to be involved and help lead the Olympic / Development planning at US Sailing. When was the last time that happened?
And, as you've seen by just a few of the reactions here, no one wants their money to subsidize someone else's benefits.
Mike
Some progress is being made in the development program:
1. The multihull qualifier for the ISAF Youth Worlds will be selected at the same event as all the other classes. The event will be January 18-21 in Clearwater in F16s. Having the multihull treated the same as every other youth class is a very good thing.
2. I don't know if it is confirmed, but during the multihull council meeting it was discussed that the youth multihull championship will be included as part of the US Sailing Youth Champs. This is also a very, very good thing. Youth champs is probably the most competitive youth regatta of the season, with an application process to be accepted and a deep wait list. Having multihulls there will raise exposure and awareness amongst the top youth sailors in the country- which is excellent. Youth champs also has a clinic component with outstanding coaches, which will benefit those attending.
These changes, combined with the excellent work by established programs like Red Gear and SYSP bodes well for multihull development.
I think you will also see a lot of US Sailing Team coaching and support going towards Nacra 17 teams that qualify for a spot on the Team Sperry Top Sider or Development Team.
BTW, why is it impossible to have a meaningful discussion here without it breaking down to
US Sailing has done X, Y, Z things I don't like, and no matter what, they won't change and you won't be successful?
Moving forward requires letting go of the past. Note, I didn't say forget about the past and its lessons; but clinging so tightly to old ideas and paradigms will not allow us to ever break out of this rut.
EDIT: We posted at the same time, but great points, Jeff. All of those things are confirmed.
Some of you still in denial should talk to Sarah about the opportunities she's enjoyed over the past year thanks to US Sailing.
Mike
There is a whole new leadership team at US Sailing. Again, make a workable proposal to solve any issues that you see and we will try to work with them. Just listing a bunch of old complaints and demands will not return the desired outcome.
I had a director tell me about another place he had previously worked. He stated that in employees that went to management with problems and no proposed solutions were fired. US Sailing doesn't operate that way, and it is a bit extreme; but certainly has some merit. Proposing an idea that isn't adopted, then sulking and complaining for years afterwards has never been accepted anywhere I've worked, either.
Mike
You've hit on a major stumbling block. Leadership at USS is so disdainful of the membership they think of them as employees and not very valuable employees at that.
I encourage all to join USS so we can mount a coup.
Thanks Pete. This is exactly the kind of ambiguous scare tactic that win elections for people.
Specifically, who do you have a problem with, and are they still in office?
EDIT: More importantly, how can we work WITH US Sailing, regardless of who is in office?
Mike
It is unfortunate that the Youth Championships will be held on the same weekend as Tradewinds, it was a lot of fun having all those youngsters around at TW last year.
I am glad that they will be able to
Showcase
Youth Multihulls at Clearwater, going 20 knots downwind, right next to...Lasers and 420's (? or do they use 470s?), that should open some eyes!
I hope there's good wind and the Multihull kids put on a great show!
I was flying with a couple former Navy pilots a couple days ago out of Dubai. There was a big flat screen TV in the gate area as we were boardign our jet to come home. Playing on the TV was some of the AC45 highlight videos, fleet racing, hauling butt, then it cut to the AC72 up on the foils. These two had sailed sailed Hobie 16's 'back in the day, at Pensacola', but they had no idea about all the (new) speed developments with cats.
So I had to whip out one of my Catsailor Magazines and show them all the spinnaker cats. They were both impressed. I hope our Youth can get some more interest generated when they are out on the water next to the traditional Youth Boats.
I like the idea of a coup but I'm afraid we would not have the numbers against the massive monohull mentality.
Instead, why don't we revive NAMSA? It definetely is formed by multi sailors for multi sailors.
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At this point, the only thing that's been announced is the ISAF Worlds qualifier in Clearwater. The NOR is here: http:/
Last year, this doubled as the Youth Multihull Championship (Stephens trophy), but there are no notices online about this.
What was announced in San Fran was that the Stephens trophy committee was disbanded and absorbed into the overall Youth Championship Committee; and that the multihull event will be held at the same time and location as the rest of the Youth (420s, Lasers, etc.). Sarah is our rep on the combined committee.
Mike
Bob,
The governing body for sailing is US Sailing. If we want to be taken seriously internationally, it's (well past) time to accept that and figure out how to make it work for us.
ISAF is highly unlikely to recognize splinter groups, so moving away from US Sailing would probably result in removal of a place for us from Olympics, ISAF Youth Worlds, Pan Am Games, and other major events.
Need to watch out for those unintended consequences...
Mike
Not sure about other European countries but over here membership to the national sailing organisation is mandatory if you want to compete in
official
races (races of all the ISAF registered classes).
Some events have an exemption from this rule (actually only Texel really), this is solved by having the option to enter as Gold or Silver fleet.
Membership to the national organisation runs through the yacht/sailing clubs, I think something like $10 is transferred from every membership fee (total membership fees are usually between $50-$150/y depending which club you want to a member of obviously).
What does our national organisation do for catsailors?
Probably about as little as yours does by the sound of it, although they have ordered a pair of N17s so I guess that is money well spend for the Olympic hopefuls.
Thanks Tony for the EU perspective... I belive AUS and NZ are the same way.
The key word you use is MEMBERSHIP.... not CUSTOMER.
In America, we have that independent streak... so membeship is not mandatory.
As soon as you view the arrangement as a customer buying a service... the entire infrastructue will fall apart.
Volunteers are not working for you...
The thread keeps enumerating services that
customers
demand.. ... Ollie wants a funded olympic development team, Dave wants legal support for beach access, Pete wants community sailing centers for his membership fee, John wants an Alter cup championship with provided boats, Dave wants no US Sailing interference.
There is nothing wrong with these wants... it is just not the basis for joining the club.
If you share the overall goal of the organization of supporting sailing or believe that a young sailor will be inspired by competing in the Olympics then you should join US Sailing (paraphrasing Gary Jobson)
Mike, I would encourage you to take a closer look at those past transgressions of US Sailing you are so quick to dismiss. They run pretty deep and maybe if you understood where some of our opinions came from you would be in a better position to address them instead of just saying to move on. Nobody is going to move on without seeing some real change.
Even when the multihulls had adequate representation at the Olympics (which it no longer has) the funds dedicated for Olympic development were never allocated fairly. For a long time they weren't even spent on that at all. Then the OC got more serious and stipulated more specifically how the funds were to be spent. But due to the good old boys club or whatever corruption and politics drove the decisions the multihulls never got their fair share of the allocated budget.
Real change to me would be:
1) Formal apology from US Sailing to the multihull sailors
2) Coaching. Coaching is what determines success at the Worlds and the Olympics. Has US Sailing hired dedicated multihull coaches? Is there anyone in US Sailing (outside of the multihull council) that has any expertise in multihulls?
3) Budget equality between classes. No more favorites. We want equipment for the youth to practice with. Have they purchased any N17s?
I agree that ISAF would not recognize splinter groups. ISAF is not necessarily the only way to the IOC though. In fact, I think ISAF might be the reason we lose sailing out of the Olympics completely. But that is a whole other mess to untangle.
Just responding to your post.
Instead, why don't we revive NAMSA? It definetely is formed by multi sailors for multi sailors.
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I don't think the monohull crowd is real happy with USS, hell I've even heard complaints from the Opti people.
IF the entire membership is unhappy that's a sign of needed change.
I guess the Multihull committee did the catamaran survey last year? Why not an inclusive confidence vote, so we see where we stand?
Mike,
Can you post the link again to the results from the survey? I seem to remember you did before but I can't find it.
Thanks.
Ollie, you make some good points, and I have already stated that we will make every effort not to repeat old mistakes. However, claiming that the new multihull discipline is less worthy than the old is a repulsive attitude towards the sailors who will follow this path.
As a reminder, Jack and Gary both came to our meeting last year, and both stated unequivocally that US Sailing values us and wants to work with us. Everyone, on all sides, recognize that mistakes have been made, on all sides.
We are currently being asked to help shape the future of Olympic and Development. I am not going to take a giant step backwards and rehash the past demanding apologies or anything else.
As you know, all funding for Olympics comes through separate fundraising (not from dues). How much money do you think has been donated through our side of the sport? I'd guess not a whole lot. If we want more funding to be made available to our athletes, it would be a much better use of our time to help raise it.
Mike
Todd, I'll try to find that when I get home. It was emailed to all Area Reps and everyone on the Multihull Championship Committee in the spring.
Mike
Ollie
2) Coaching. Coaching is what determines success at the Worlds and the Olympics. Has US Sailing hired dedicated multihull coaches? Is there anyone in US Sailing (outside of the multihull council) that has any expertise in multihulls?
Leandro Spinna is the multihull coach. As you probablly know he is a cat sailor as well.
3) Budget equality between classes. No more favorites. We want equipment for the youth to practice with. Have they purchased any N17s?
umm... US Olympic has never provided boats in any class.
Budget equality.... The funding formula is published... the amount depends on how you do in international events.
The youth pathway is through F16's and the events are open. The olympics are on N17's and the events are mixed
A second stumbling block. USS' mandate is for Olympic developement, I for one have little interest in the Olympics and don't plan contribute a single penny towards that developement.
I guess I have a really unpopular stance regarding US Sailing within the community that I sail in. I see the good that US Sailing does in training judges, race officials, certifying youth sailing coaches, etc. All of the me, me, me, comments going on are troubling. Sailing is more than just what is going on in your back yard and how it affects YOU. You don't want to support olympic sailing or the alter cup, fine, don't. But, Pete, take a look at this years olympic sailing team....A large number are from right in your back yard...Zach Riley (Finn), Paige Riley (Laser), Mark Mendleblat (Star), Farrah Hall (windsurfer). These are all sailors coming out of your backyard. Why not support them and their efforts??????
No doubt US Sailing does do some good but I liken it to a charitable organization that keeps 80% of what it takes in for admin fees and uses the remaining 20% for doing what it was set up to do. Do you donate to charities that are set up that way? This has to change, clearly changing it from the inside doesn't work so what's the plan B? Accept USS sailng for what it is and ignore its disfunction?
There is also nothing to prevent anyone from supporting our olympic hopefulls directly. Do you really think USS stretches our support $$ farther than giving it directly to the sailors? Do you believe there is no politics involved when distributing those funds?
Karl, I was just like you beating that US Sailing drum then I got more involved than I should have and I kind of miss those days now.
I'm not opposed to Olympic sailing (though I'm sure it sounds that way). I'm more concerned about access, which has been my number one concern for years.
Let USS develop a strong policy for opening access and see if there is a positive result.
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And what would you like to see NAMSA set as it's goal(s)?
Leandro Spina is the multihull coach. As you probablly know he is a cat sailor as well.
This is a good thing. He is topnotch and good people.
US Sailing just published the
Why we didn't win any medals in the 2012 Olympics and what we recommend be done about it for 2016
report:
The recommendations are of particular interest. It will be interesting to see what gets implemented.
Final point...
(for those who don't want to buy an Olympic service or those that think US Sailing should only run olympics.//)
Your dues do not support Olympic development or Olympic Sailing... that branch will raise that money independently.
US Sailing picks and hires the leasdership... now Josh Adams... who goes out and finds the money and runs the program getting athletes to the Olympics.
This is just BS tho.. US sailing is a volunteer run organization.. it's a club... you join as a member... you do not buy a service. If you value Olympics... you should join..
Why we didn't win any medals in the 2012 Olympics and what we recommend be done about it for 2016
report:
The recommendations are of particular interest. It will be interesting to see what gets implemented.
Ding, I hate to say it, but yes. The key is to accept what you can't change and make the most of the opportunities that exist. There are more than most people would think, we just need to get some achievable goals that are shared with US Sailing's vision.
I don't know (or frankly care) about the accuracy or impact of your 80/20% comment. No one is getting rich at US Sailing, but to hire professionals, you have to pay them something close to what they'd earn in a normal business environment.
At the end of the day, I don't care how much they're paid. If they support us and work with us (which, by and large they do), that's money well spent.
Mike
Now I'm really confused (but echo Karl's comments).
Can I get to an ISAF or Olympic event without being a USS member? Can I compete once I'm there?
Does USS do or offer anything for non-racing sailors?
Are USS coaches only for Olympic development teams/prospects/classes?
I like the USS sanctioned event concept (with judges, official results for DPN/Portsmouth calculations, etc) if for no other reason than it would help me settle an insurance claim if one popped up at one of those events
But all this hubris is good: we do need a healthy debate on where our money is going.
But we all have different ideas on the best purpose for the money.
So we voted on it, and maybe we weren't a large enough coalition to bully the big dogs, classes, manufacturers, whatever
so we bail and wish
doom and unmitigated failure
upon the organization. To our own peril, I suspect.
Of course, this is an oversimplification, and doesn't give credit to those who I know personally that have put a lot of effort into USS (Ding, Dub, Mike, you know who you are)
Can I get to an ISAF or Olympic event without being a USS member? Can I compete once I'm there?
No .... its a club
Does USS do or offer anything for non-racing sailors?
Safety at Sea
Standards for sailing instruction and other stuff that I don't care about.
Are USS coaches only for Olympic development teams/prospects/classes?
Yes... but you could hire them privately I suppose.
I like the USS sanctioned event concept (with judges, official results for DPN/Portsmouth calculations, etc) if for no other reason than it would help me settle an insurance claim if one popped up at one of those events
That is the the point of having certification process in place AND protest committes deciding on the rule of sailing... Your insurance company will do what it does with that info.... Bad for you not to have the findings.
But all this hubris is good: we do need a healthy debate on where our money is going.
True .... but remember it's a CLUB... not a purchase from a vendor.
I don't care about disabled sailing... but i get it with my dues.
I care about Special Olympic sailing but it's a seperate thing from US Sailing... so be it.
But we all have different ideas on the best purpose for the money.
True... it's a club... you support the club if you agree with the overall goal or find one thing you value...
So we voted on it, and maybe we weren't a large enough coalition to bully the big dogs, classes, manufacturers, whateve
so we bail and wish
doom and unmitigated failure
upon the organization. To our own peril, I suspect.
Of course, this is an oversimplification, and doesn't give credit to those who I know personally that have put a lot of effort into USS (Ding, Dub, Mike, you know who you are)