Saving Sailing
 |
| Messing about in boats |
Today's Scuttlebutt sailing newsletter has a Guest Commentary that rings true to me. For decades, I've been writing about this idea that we teach sailing the wrong way. Our sailing programs teach racing not sailing. We need a 'messing about in boats' program for all the kids who just want to have fun. I last wrote about it for Yachting World in 2015 and it was picked up by Scuttlebutt in the US, Scuttlebutt Europe and by the far-away Phuket Race Week. I had started writing about it in the early 2000s on our website and as editorials in local sailing publications. Participation in sailing was declining at multiple levels, but at the level of junior sailing, it was particularly noticeable and so very sad. It's nice to know that I wasn't off the mark and that others are now jumping on the bandwagon. Sorry for the jargon.
Scuttlebutt has recently been encouraging readers to write in on the subject and they have been. Even US Sailing has jumped aboard with a letter from a board member suggesting that clubs need to promote a lifelong relationship with sailing. Somehow, I do not believe they'll get it right soon enough. There is so much competing for people's time and attention these days that it's almost impossible to alter the momentum. But some clubs are doing just that.
David Barrow wrote in Scuttlebutt, "We need to forget sport, racing, competition which will happen through evolution as the competitors amongst the crowd come to the fore in the competitive arena. However, to get them you need a big base of sailors coming into the fun funnel."
Rich Jepsen wrote in with statistics that verify my original rants, "In the US, we estimate that 15% of kids like sailing because they love the competition, 50% of kids can take or leave the competition (enjoy sailing and being with friends and racing is what’s on offer), and 35% of kids are repulsed or intimidated by competition and quickly drop out. We also believe that in that middle 50%, many youth will fall in love with competition once they are confident of their skills and look up to ask ‘what’s next?’ I agree that the “fun funnel” will build a bigger base and we will, perhaps, counter-intuitively, end up with more elite sailors as a result. Let’s get back to ‘messing about in boats’!!!!"
Rich is putting together a plan to teach clubs what to do, "If you agree or disagree, consider pinging me to engage in deeper conversations as a task force I’m in is putting together a plan to advise sailing organizations to add onramps for youth and to eliminate off ramps."
Meanwhile, the Yacht Racing Forum held last week focused on the impact of electronics on sailing and social media as a means of attracting more people to sailing in a declining market. What??? And Craig Leweck again points out that the growing complexity of racing has caused many to leave the sport. They simply can't afford the time or money. So he argues, we should be promoting the benefits of pleasure sailing by returning to the Corinthian ethos. Bravo Craig.
Occasionally, kids get lucky and fall into the right path. One such young man was sent to a sailing camp by chance and ended up working at Mystic Seaport in a wonderful high school program where young people work part-time at different sea-oriented jobs to test them out. Now he's joining Sea-Mester for a 90-day sail across the Indian Ocean after which he'll be qualified to sit for the master's certification. Wow! And of course, the programs that are springing up to teach STEM through sailing are brilliant. So things are being done. But my rant is not over yet.
The bodies around the world that make money on certifications for sailors drive me mad. RYA's Yachtmaster is one. The things they teach are antiquated and many times plain wrong, yet they keep on going and inventing new certifications that cruisers must-have. The ASA is no better. Of course, if it's too hard, takes too long, costs too much, people will drop out. The perception that sailing costs a lot for most people is a reality. And people wonder how to change the perception?
Essentially, the leaders in the sailing arena have brought us here. Let's take stock:
- Too many kids drop out of competitive sailing instruction programs and there are few alternatives offered. Many lose interest in sailing forever.
- There is little emphasis on transitions to enable young people to try different aspects of sailing, including dinghy sailing, keelboats, windsurfers and kite surfing - they are all forms of wind propulsion on the water.
- Racing has become so competitive that it has lost its Corinthian spirit causing many to drop out.
- The successful racers and Olympians control a sport that is very diverse, so they cater mainly to one segment of their potential audience.
- Cruising has become highly regulated requiring many certifications that are never used in the real world, and no one represents cruisers - the vast majority of sailors - on the world stage.
Are there answers? Absolutely:
- Introduce fun sailing programs for kids, encouraging them to try different aspects of the sport and encouraging those who excel to continue on for race training
- Support summer sailing camps for messing around in boats, reconnecting with nature and learning lifelong skills, like knots, propulsion, and protecting the natural environment
- Ban professional yachtsmen from club racing and Corinthian events; reduce the length of events and cost of participation, and support transitioning from the youth programs to keelboats
- Diversify the Board of Directors of organizations that represent 'sailing' on the world stage to include balanced gender, cruising and other forms of the sport, etc.
- Make certifications undergo periodic evaluation by teams of experts in the field.
That would be a good start. Rant over for now.
Comments
Post a Comment