It's a good question. To answer it, you should know the
background to the 'Back To The Future' windsurf racing
format. Here are 5 points that will help...
#1 It's the Final
The Olympic Commission Report made it clear that the IOC consider the Olympic Q Events as being part of the Games and therefore count the number of nations that take part in them rather that the number that take part in the actual Olympic Regatta. The IOC therefore view the Olympic Regatta as the Final of a series of regattas not as a stand-alone regattas by itself
#2 Cost Reduction
The Olympic Commission Report emphasized the need to reduce the cost involved in qualifying for the Games as well as the cost of staging them thus it is highly likely that...
- There will be Q events in each continent in 2015
- The length of the Olympic Regatta in terms of days will be reduced
- The format for each event in the Olympic Regatta should therefore reflect these requirements
#3 Possible Quota Reduction
In view of point of the above the current quota of 64 athletes in the RS:X windsurfing men and RS:X windsurfing women events may be reduced
#4 Change The Format To Suit
The format chosen for windsurfing in 2016 may therefore be completely different. We are testing 'City Centre Racing'. The first event took place in Singapore on January 17th. Races were 8-10 minutes long. No points were taken through to the finals. No discards were allowed and protests had to be decided between each heat on the water.
#5 Consider the Scoring Too
Scoring should also be considered. Should we stick to the tried and tested low points scoring system? Or should the results of the first part of the regatta be based on aggregate time with the second half being a double elimination knock-out and the finals being the best of three? If we decide that this is a good idea racing at the Olympic Regatta could have a limited number of athletes in a a double elimination knock-out and the finals being the best of three.
Note that I have said nothing about moving away from tactical windward leeward racing.
I've just suggested in a previous post that on the first day of the championships we stage long distance race starting off the beach; the second day would be two or three 40-45 minute races depending on conditions on a windward/leeward course. The second half of the regatta would start on day 3 and we'd be finished inside 5 days having done a quarter final, semi final and final with the top 50% going through each time.
If you have any ideas, comments or other feedback that you think is relevant, just drop me Rory Ramsden an email by pressing the 'Contact Us' button on the menu bar
