US Sailing MHC: Alter Cup Survey Open Feb 15-20, 2012

So what format does USS want to see? Surely the have an idea of what is acceptable.

That would be cart before horse. They really want to meet the stated goal, and do not have a specific format requirement to get there. They are asking for input from the sailors, as they know that we are the ones who will attend and promote the event.

They want to see more youth, and more participation overall. My sense is that if this event were busting at the seams with hugely-attended qualifiers, and youth coming through the qualification process (without having to be hunted down and invited), we would have a better case that change isn't needed.

Mike

I'm still lost: what stated goal?

There you go, Pete - Mike posted it above. Keep in mind that this is new, and past events should not be judged against this goal. This is also a goal established by US Sailing, not by multihull sailors who have administered or participated in past events. Not trying to say anything other than providing context.

Wow...a completely different frame for a strategic vision of the sport and this event.

Contrast that with Jake's

I believe the event should strive to be the premier multihull championship from which the best multihull sailors within the US are determined. I don't believe a handicap BYOB event is very elite.

Or Mark's
I believe that the US Championship should be a member benefit and promote the whole sport by running a National handicap championship fed by qualifiers from USSA areas.

Relevant Regatta... not premier Regatta or membership benefit Regatta. Yikes!

new and upcoming sailors.... not elite sailors or Area XX sailors... Yikes!

Olympic sailors..... not quite Best Sailor or USSA members.... Yikes!

I am guessing that giving a petition slot at the championships to the youth mutlihull team is not good enough.

This is the second time that US Sailing is holding us up to our professed interest in Olympic Multihull racing. (They noticed our screaming about the Olympic fiasco)

The MHC had an ad hoc meeting with the ISAF co chair of the technical committee for the mixed multihull selection committee... Dina made it clear that US Sailing expected the multihull sailors and the OD classes to get behind and support the new discipline. The discussion that followed with the One Design representatives in attendance was ....

frank

Yikes!

Firstly: Let us award Mike, Shannon Bush, Liz Walker, and Jack Geirhart a ton of THANK YOUs for their tireless hours of effort and 'brain strain' in hopes of demonstrating a 'base - up' stlye of Leadership for the catamaran sailors across the Nation. In that regard, I not only say

Congratulations are in order

for them, but I wish to share with this audience something I learned during my journies to Hawai'i that serves as a fine analogy for this pivotal moment in our history.

Lokahi is mind, body, and soul. To just strengthen your physical self is not enough. To strengthen yourself mentally is not enough. To strengthen yourself spiritually is not enough. To strengthen yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually is Lokahi.

Buffalo Keaulana

This philosophy supports the

Ohana,

the family. The Hawai'ian culture is based on self - reliance, love, and respect for others in their 'family' Ohana.

May we work together to write this new chapter for multihull sailing in our Free Nation, the United States of America.

Bert Rice, Multihull Championship Committee Chair

Thanks John. This is a USS mandate? Bona fide, ratified and all that good stuff? If so, I like it.

The problem is the emotional investment of those, like yourself, who are committed to the old approach. You did a good job, thank you. Were you invited to participate in crafting a new approach?

Pete, my past involvement (or anyone else's) is not relevant, and certainly should not be viewed as a

problem

for those now taking on the task of moving forward.

Thanks for the thanks, but I haven't been chair in a long time - since me, there's been Jake, Kevin, Dave and now Bert.

Customarily you thank a board for its service before empaneling a new one.

You guys invested a lot of emotion into the task, that alone is worth recognition.

Failing to do that starts the new committee of on the wrong foot, imo.

I appreciate anyone in this role trying to make a difference and I support them wholly. I'll continue to make an effort to qualify for the event when it's reasonable with everything else I've got going on - regardless of the format (at first, anyway! ;-).

Is the new direction really in-line with the other US Sailing championships?

I'm a little unclear on the boat directive...manufacture supplied 10 boats (11 with spare) is very difficult to obtain...20 probably is sustainable...or is this in reference to sail what'cha brung?

Oh, I got thanked at the end of my tenure - there are pictures somewhere. Fortunately, I anticipated it and had a change of clothes handy. <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" />

Jake, well before the nuts and bolts of charter boats get sorted out..

Do you even agree with the philosophy.... Do the Cat racers WANT that philosophy for the championship?

That answer depends on what cat racers you ask. You're not going to get universal agreement. The guys that participate in the event will probably side with the type of format that it has been run within (elite event). The

general populous

(for lack of a better term) will probably like the idea of a more open/accessible event...which I think stems from a mis-conception about the event as it has been. It really was accessible. Invites haven't been part of the documented process of the event but became a necessary evil because not all slots were filled through their available openings and the petition bank would run dry. I don't think the accessibility of the event was communicated very well - it certainly wasn't during my tenure and I think that could have had a positive effect on the participant interest. A high level of participation begets higher interest...and that participation doesn't have to be

the elites

.

You want an elite event with higher levels of participation that don't have to be elite? Just trying to follow the logic.

I participated in the event in 2005 and came in last. I wasn't anything approaching elite then. I'm not sure what I am now (definitely not yet

elite

but I have a few moments every now and then!). The interest in participation is relatively low so before it can become elite, the general interest in participating in the event needs to increase. You can't just say it

will be elite

. The event has to earn it. Elite will come on it's own as long as (in no particular order and without much consideration):

1) slots in the event have high demand
2) the event is executed fairly
3) competition is good
3) a good time is had by all

I understand the old issues... I have looked for solutions for years... we could eventually sort through these issues and change the current system...

I am puzzled what to do about this mission statement. This is a radical new challenge. Truly a good use of the word

transform

Transform the U.S. Multihull Championship into the most relevant multihull event in the United States, one that will attract new and upcoming sailors, who will form the nucleus of future US Olympic sailors.

We have juniors who have access to the Hobie 16. We have juniors who have access to F16's. And we don't have all that many of these guys.. So, we need to recruit from dinghy sailors from Yacht Clubs and dinghy sailors who graduate from college.

When you opt for

Olympic pathway

... you are now looking at double handed spin boat championships.

When you say

relevant

the USSA championship could be viewed as part of the US regatta series that leads to signature US event, the ISAF Grade I ... Miami International OCR regatta.

Perhaps you have a US championship in Miami the week before the Miami OCR's that draw in the mixed multihll international teams along with US Sailors... (juniors and all male teams racing in the one design format of the mixed mulithull class)

When you highlight

up and coming

... The petition slots, formerly used to promote

elite

will need to be used to recruit college sailors. Perhaps 1/2 of those petition slots are used to suck in college All Americans who give the cats a try.

Just speculating here.... (this is a mind bender)

maybe elite is the wrong word -

premier

is probably more like it. It's not about making it an elitist affair. It's about keeping it as a high caliber championship.

I am puzzled what to do about this mission statement. This is a radical new challenge. Truly a good use of the word

transform"

Validate it? Could just be exuberance or rhetoric.

Transform the U.S. Multihull Championship into the most relevant multihull event in the United States, one that will attract new and upcoming sailors, who will form the nucleus of future US Olympic sailors.

Mark, I think you're stuck on thinking that

new and upcoming sailors, who will form the nucleus of future US Olympic sailors

= youth sailors. That's not necessarily true.

no doubt... after my initial choke... I realize the true target here are the 20 something racers with records of accomplishment. Perhaps some kind of championship structure could get some of them sucked over to the dark side.... irrespective of them making an Olympic go of it.

(I am not opposing this idea... I am just trying to figure out how you put this into play)

The staff at US Sailing considers anyone over 30 to be older than what they want to target.

The irony, of course, is that we (and they) all fit into that category (over 30), yet are charged with administering the programs.

To that end, they also want more young people sitting on the various committees and councils.

Don't take any of that as a threat, it's just meant to be a clarification for what they want when looking for the younger perspective.

Mike

That's brilliant! <img src="<>/laugh.gif" alt="laugh" title="laugh" height="15" width="15" /> Abandon the demographic you have for one you hope to have.

If

working together

means taking everyone's opinion from the surveys and crafting a format by the percentage of desires for certain things , then good onya. If

working together

means reading the surveys and then doing what some non-multihull sailor involved with US Sailing wants to do, then why waste everyone's time with the lip service. The trend I see with all of these comments is that the problem is not with the sailors, or the volunteers on the multihull committee, but with US Sailing itself. So it seems the best way to achieve the mission statement would be to not use the words US Sailing in the promotion of the Alter Cup. I thank the Multihull committee for what they do, but detest US Sailing as a whole, and don't think I'm alone. I find it strange how so many people think this and the Olympics is so important to

developing

our sport when in reality 99% of us will never go to an Alter Cup or the Olympics.
There are a whole lot more effective and efficient ways to get people sailing cats.

It's as thought USS sees multis being the next big thing in the Olympics and wants to own it.

I don't like things being done in secret. On SA I offered to pledge $100 towards a challenge of USS. The offer still stands, a few people think the challenge has merit.

I think the US Multihull Championship can be a fantastic, highly regarded and well attended event that encourages participation in the sport. This should be the goal. The championship does not have to be the premier US multihull event to be a great success.

I think that a North American or National championship in your chosen class is always going to be a greater focus for most racers at the higher level.

I believe that the key element for a successful US Multihull Championship, as I have defined it above, is differentiation (in the marketing sense of the word).

Product Differentiation: “A source of competitive advantage that depends on producing some item that is regarded to have unique and valuable characteristics.”

The Alter Cup needs to be something that other events are not. Be radical!

My suggestion is to make the Alter Cup an open Portsmouth handicap event. This is a radical idea the likes of which has never been tried in the US. Picture the Texel equivalent of course racing. Why not throw a distance race in there as well. Differentiate the Alter Cup from every other catamaran championship in the US. Do not bill it as the championship that will decide who is the best catamaran sailor in the US. You will be laughed at. Bill it as the event no one is going to miss because there is nothing else like it.

If we are going to do an open handicap event can we at least use a handicap that works. No portsmouth use Texel.

+1

This is my only problem with that idea. The ratings on some boats are ridiculous, in both directions. US Sailing not using the USS portsmouth system is a little far fetched though. So it would end up being the sailor that wants to win the most, gets the boat with the killer number, and competes. Still not exactly inclusive. Fix the numbers and it's a great idea.

Would the number change once a boat won?

OK...TIMEOUT!

This is what US Sailing wants the regatta to be??

Transform the U.S. Multihull Championship into the most relevant multihull event in the United States, one that will attract new and upcoming sailors, who will form the nucleus of future US Olympic sailors.

Well...that is the complete opposite of what we as cat sailors know of the ALTER CUP, which has always been about the (20 or so) BEST cat racers in this country, not any

New and Upcoming

sailors! It cannot be a big regatta, when only the top 20 teams are racing.

What they are describing we already have, it is called the Tradewinds Regatta, just look at this past event to see all the

...new and upcoming sailors who will form the nucleus of future US Olympic sailors.

So...which one are we to pursue? The traditional Alter Cup, which, in my opinion, should only be raced by the class champions and area qualified entrants, or are we going to shift it to a Tradewinds type event?

Because you can't have it both ways, at the same time, and same event.

UNLESS...immediately after Tradewinds, you take the top finishers in each class (pick the top 2 teams per class, to make 10 teams total) and then put them all on what ever the

Hot New Boat from XXX

is at the time, supplied by XXX of course, and then let them slug it out as per the traditional Alter Cup event, ie. rotating boats, for a couple days, maybe 7-10 races total.

Presto-bingo, a big regatta attracting up and coming tallent, and a true Multihull Champion. One stop shopping.

As many have already mentioned, if most weekend sailors don't show for the Alter Cup Qualifier, it's because they have no intention of doing the Alter Cup even if they qualify, so it becomes a waste of time and money for them. I only sail the qualifier when it's convienient (days off wise) and close enough to home. I consider it a good 'local' regatta, but I don't go to qualify for the Alter Cup.

Now, if you want a huge turnout, from all fleets, with new tallent, for the Alter Cup...then hold it at Tradewinds, or Spring Fever, or some other popular, well attended, open to all classes type regatta, then take the top sailors from each class and let them have at it for a couple more days, on supplied boats.

When I read US Sailing's Adult Championship description it seems to contrast a little with Liz's request:

http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult.htm