As World Sailing continues to debate and discuss how to address the format component of the LA Olympic Regatta there have been some clear points of departure from how things have been done in the past. The Olympic broadcast environment is competitive and the TV product is what funds the games.
The Format Working Party have been clearly aiming at having the Gold medal moment, where the leader wins a race to clinch the title. This format was used for the windsurfers in Paris, with just three boats in the final, and the updated thinking is it should be four boats there to increase the jeopardy even more.
The other option for that gold medal moment is what the kites did in Paris, where teams must accumulate wins to clinch the title. This option has that gold medal moment on the finish line, but does not give broadcast certainty to the Olympic producers who won’t know how long of a timeslot to allow for, as there could be one race or three races in the finals, or somewhere between 20 minutes and 90 minutes for both genders to complete a series.
So if we stick to a boat crossing the line first winning gold, there is a system that has been developed by some sailors that is gaining traction.
The Four Point Final
The final day starts with an eight boat fleet race, non discardable, which is added to series score. Then the top 4 advance to the Four Point Race and in a high point system carry
● 1st = 3 points
● 2nd = 2 points
● 3rd = 1 point
● 4th = 0 points
Final Race – winner gets 4 points, the rest get 0
In essence, any of the top four can win gold, but anyone beaten by someone behind them in the standings moves down just one place.
This is an option that satisfies all of the World Sailing criteria but still allows the series scores to matter primarily in determining outcomes.
To be really clear, the athletes would still prefer for regular sailing to determine the championship. A final day of two fleet races, non discardable, with all the teams and low point scoring likely adds more drama to the spectacle and ensures the team sailing the best wins Olympic gold. World Sailing has already agreed there will only be nine races in the opening series, so the points at the top of the leaderboard should be really close making the final race incredibly tense.
A twenty boat fleet race is not as easy a story to tell, but it is possible and has been done in our sport plenty of time. Finishing this way shows what our sport is and along with all the other adaptations World Sailing is championing our broadcastability should be much improved. It would be a shame if none of the events carried on with sailing traditions.
So in short, a two-race series continuation is best. Most fair, most dramatic, time certain, but a harder story to tell. If that is not deemed acceptable, then we propose the Four Point Race with an eight boat race as the set up to the final. This will have a gold medal moment, but also give significant weighting to the opening series to ensure merit is a large part of who does well at the games.
