ILCA UK Chair Blog #189
A short, blunt message from me – not one I particularly enjoy blogging about.
Cheating is cheating.
There’s nothing in the rules, nor anything that should have a place in any of our moral compasses that excuses it just because you haven’t been caught or haven’t been penalised. It’s still cheating and not only does it cheat your fellow competitors, it also cheats yourself. If you’re a parent of a sailor who wants to come away from a competition feeling good that all the time, effort (and cost) has been worthwhile, the cheat has also cheated you…..same goes for coaches too. So please reinforce this message!
I’ve been around long enough to remember the class when it had a nationwide reputation for poor rules observance. And in the time I’ve been back, this time not as a sailor, we have again had periods when this has started to rear its ugly head again. We have knocked it on the head in the past, and we will do so again now.
Be in no doubt then – if you hit a mark and it’s clear you know you’ve hit it you will only have yourself to blame if you find a DNE (Disqualification Not Excludable) under Rule 2 on your scoresheet. That’s like having a big flashing light to your fellow competitors which proclaims “I’m a cheat”. Similarly if you are the sailor who does their penalty turns its 100% acceptable to protest a sailor who does not…..in fact failure to do so will only encourage them.
And whilst I’m on my high horse, this isn’t just about hitting marks. If you infringe another sailor who shouts protest, you do not exonerate yourself by doing a 360 in the hope that the protesting boat will see you start your turns but not watch to see if you do a full 720 – that too is cheating. Or if you come charging in at the committee boat at the start screaming at sailors to make room in the belief that they will because you are a top of the fleet sailor and they may not know that you are not entitled to room at a start mark surrounded by navigable water – that too is cheating.
The Class doesn’t want to see sailors with DNE on their scorecard but if that is the way we have to make sure our events are sailed fairly we will ensure it happens.
For anyone in any doubt (that includes non sailing support persons) Rule 2 is what is known as a Fundamental Rule (there are only 6 of them); it says
FAIR SAILING: A boat and her owner shall compete in compliance with recognized principles of sportsmanship and fair play. A boat may be penalized under this rule only if it is clearly established that these principles have been violated. The penalty shall be a disqualification that is not excludable.
The great Paul Elvström (if you’re too young to know who he was search him up) famously said: “You haven’t won the race, if in winning the race you have lost the respect of your competitors”.
A few rather more positive snippets from me. First, we have recruited part time administrative help for Claire. Kathryn Deaton is a previous Topper Class administrator and had a long spell running the Royal Harwich Yacht Club too. Some may also have come across her sons Ash and James who are often involved in our regional training in the East. Please make her welcome. I’m sure having Kathryn on board will help relieve some of the pinch points which have at times put too much burden on too few of our volunteers.
A big thankyou also to those who have responded to the call to arms by joining the Womens’ Subcommittee. We are ramping up the numbers of womens only training events with recent days at Prestwick, Draycote and Grafham putting the RYA Evolution / Sports England funding to good use. Planning is underway for a day’s training ahead of the Masters’ Inlands at Draycote and other days are in the pipeline for Delph, Pennine, Parkstone and Royal Harwich – fantastic to see. And please get 3-4 July 2027 in your diary for The Womens and Girls National Regatta at Rutland Sailing Club. Lots going on here and much more enjoyable to blog about!
Bookings for National Training open today - please see the events page and social media posts and finally see below for a link to the Griffin Project which we’ve been asked by the RYA to promote.
Looking forwards to another great weekend at WPNSA next weekend. 200 entries with 111 in the ILCA6 fleet alone. That must be something of a record for recent times. Paul Jackson, our long suffering race officer up top the Pwllheli Nationals is planning to pop in to see us so it will be good to see him too. Please keep your fingers crossed for the weather.
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FernhurstBooks https://fernhurstbooks.com
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For your support Rooster are providing a discount code for ILCA Members : CAILCA1026 for 10% off a range of Rooster products!
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Griffin Project
https://www.rorc.org/rorc-griffin-offshore-pathway-2027-applications-now-open
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