UKLA Chair Blog # 75

Jan 29

What is it about competitive sport that is so attractive?

Some would say it is the winning, others the taking part. But I am not so sure it is that simple as I think it is more about the uncertainty of the outcome, the risk and reward, the putting yourself on trial to be judged by yourself and others. For this we need rules for conducting ourselves so that we all start equal and complete on equal terms. Winning, losing or taking part, whatever it is, we want everyone to play within the rules that we all know and understand. You have to sail an ILCA not something that looks like one, you can’t start early and must sail around the course and you have to manoeuvre against other boats according to the rules. This is the essence of competitive sport.

As a self-policing sport, there is no referees and no VAR! It is up to us to ensure that the sport is played by the rules. And sometimes that means protesting.

At most of our national events, UKLA appoint a jury that acts independently of the class. On the water, the main role of jury is to police rule 42 (illegal pumping, rocking etc) and they use a yellow flag and whistle when indicating to a sailor that they have broken rule 42. It is not usual for the jury to protest for boat-on-boat incidents as sailors are expected to do this and the same applies to mark-hitting. There is an exception to this where the jury feels a sailor has broken rule 2 – sportsmanship and fair sailing. This could apply when a sailor knowingly hits a mark and then does not take a penalty and it often results in a non-discardable disqualification. This coming season expect our juries to act a lot tougher on this – if you hit a mark, take your penalty turn.

It is worth reflecting on how we conduct ourselves on the racecourse as there’s a distinction between being “ruthless” and being “hostile”. Sometimes to win you must do what is right for you. For example, tacking exactly when it suits you to get the right lane upwind, even it is means tacking on your best mate. Experienced racers understand this. It is not an action against another sailor but making the best decision for you. This also sometimes means taking calculated risks in boat-to-boat situations – coming in on port at crowded mark, carries those risks. The downside is that you must take your penalty if it doesn’t work. And indeed, when another boat in that port tack approach fails and doesn’t take the penalty, they gain an advantage from the risk. But they aren’t playing by the rules and should be protested. (As an aside you allowed to approach on port inside three boat lengths and indeed tack underneath a starboard tacker, but you mustn’t force them above close hauled). This is all about racing hard.

On the other hand, hostility gets you into trouble. ILCA racing is often a game of small margins and boat to boat situation arise all the time. I find the best approach is a bit of “give and take”, creating some goodwill for the future. Port and starboard crossing up the first beat is a great example. If you are on starboard and don’t want a port tacker to cross (for tactical reasons) then hail. If they want to cross and it makes no difference to you, let them go. I don’t want someone to take advantage but I am happy to forgive minor misjudgements that have no real effect on anyone (by avoiding contact for example). In reality, to a greater or lesser extent, this is how ILCA sailing works at every level of the sport (and I include the Olympics). No one wants a hostile approach nor a pedantic or purist implementation of the rules as a method of winning. But we want people to win without breaking the rules to their advantage.

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