ILCA UK Chair Blog #147
Sport is brutal! I watched the Lions 2nd Test match on Saturday morning, which saw them coming from behind to lead for all of two minutes and then win the game and the series. That was brutal on the Australians. Then on Sunday, I watched England beat Spain in the Women's European football final as it came down to penalties - Spain had not lost a game until Chloe Kelly scored the final penalty. That too was tough on Spain.
But that’s the point of sport - it would not be much fun if we knew the result before the game. It’s the unknown and jeopardy that makes it exciting. Sport doesn’t follow mathematical logic where A beats B and B beats C and therefore A must beat C. And of course our sport of sailing has a big uncontrollable element - wind. ILCAs are all made to go at the same speed so we use our skill and technique to make our own boats a bit quicker and try to manage the gusts and shifts as best we can, but there’s always an element of the unknown.
That said, “Big Game Players” come into their own at the critical moments. They raise their game and produce the goods when it matters - the Kellys, Beirnes and Currys of this world. They can be relied on to keep their cool when things are on the line. Our top sailors do the same (Ainslie) in the final races of a long series, producing winning performances when the stakes are at their highest.
To do that, they are in the game and stay in the game. Moments of set-back are swept aside, with the focus maintained, they keep pushing and working their proven routines. That means they are ready and in a position to capitalise when it matters. Of course there is luck involved and everything doesn’t convert into a successful outcome, but if you are in the game to the end and you have the “Big Game” temperament, there is a good chance it will.
It is surprising how often the top teams and sports people do prevail at the final moments and it is not always down to skill or a bit of luck. One of Eric Twiname’s books talks about the “pecking order” and all too often the challengers fail at the last hurdle, despite being ahead. It is the other side of staying in the game and pushing hard to the end as sometimes the challengers succumb to pressure or may just have a little too much self doubt.
So in your next ILCA race, keep pushing to the end, don’t assume you will be caught by the sailor that normally beats you. Maybe you will, but sport is uncertain so you never know what will happen. Yes the top sailors will keep trying to the end and produce “Big Game” moments but you never know.Snippets
ILCA UK Events
Visit our National Championship dedicated website Why not come and join us? Entries to UK Nationals
Volunteer at the Nationals - HERE
Skills Week South
You will see our calendar starting to fill up.
Other news
2025 Suzuki Master European Championship
2025 ILCA UK Masters Nationals video
2025 ILCAUK Masters Nationals at Hayling Island Sailing Club - ILCA 6 report
2025 ILCAUK Masters Nationals at Hayling Island Sailing Club - ILCA 7 report
QM ILCA initiative has gone from zero to international in six months
2025 ILCA7 Masters Spring Qualifier at Parkstone Yacht Club
2025 ILCA6 Masters Spring Qualifier at Parkstone Yacht Club
ILCA Midland Grand Prix at Attenborough Sailing Club
2025 ILCA UK National Open 2 at the WPNSA - ILCA 4 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 2 at the WPNSA - ILCA 6 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 2 at the WPNSA - ILCA 7 fleet report
Video of National Open 2
Also we also had three really good write-ups from that first weekend:
2025 ILCA UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - ILCA 7 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - ILCA 4 fleet report
2025 ILCA UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA- ILCA 6 fleet report
National Open 1 video Here it is.
Finally have you seen the tracking? Here are the links - ILCA UK National Open 1 ILCA UK National Open 2 James Foster did a nice debriefing of the racing using the tracking data, see here. ILCA7 briefing. ILCA4 briefing.
ILCA UK Youth Winter Trophy at Datchet Water Sailing Club - ILCA 4 fleet report
ILCA UK Youth Winter Trophy at Datchet Water Sailing Club - ILCA 6 fleet report
The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle will start in Mallorca