Hello
I just received this email and feel that it contains some great ideas and
advice for fleet building.
Regards,
Bram
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To: |
bdally6107@xxxxxxx |
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Subject: |
Great article! |
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From: |
Skipdball@xxxxxxx |
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Date: |
Wed, 4 Apr 2007 11:00:35 EDT |
MAKE FLEET RACING MORE FUN
By Tom Ehman, Jr.
Most important for those interested in improving one-design sailing is to
remember that most people race to socialize as well as compete. They want to
have fun â party, party, party. Where sailing is social and fun, fleets are
alive and healthy. (Or is the converse true? I think not.) Here is a string of
ideas to make racing more social and fun:
â Have a potluck dinner after the race. Move it around from one fleet
memberâ
s house to another. BYO drinks and protein. Hosts (or co-hosts) provide
salad and dessert. This concept was singularly responsible for rejuvenating
the
J/24 fleet in Newport, RI a few years back. The party is fun for those who win
(they can savor their victory in public), and a salve for those who donât.
â Every now and then have a fleet âtheme partyâ: Ha­waiian luau,
M*A*S*H party, toga partyâ all the standard stuff. Invite non-sailors
(prospects)
and those from other âfringeâ fleets.
â Do a regular fleet newsletter announcing results of recent races and
regattas â and announcing who won the parties. Keep it simple and light, and
donâ
t be afraid to poke some gentle fun... People love the recognition.
â Have lots of short races. The more races you have, the more likely it is
that the regulars will beat the rock stars. Starting on a reach off the yacht
club dock, and finishing back there 25 minutes later IS FUN. Then do it
again. Someone else is bound to win. No, donât run the districts or
nationals that
way; but for club racing, itâs great.
â Give out crew awards equal to those given to skippers. The prize giving
should not be âIn first place, Ken Read and crew.â Every member of the
crew
should be recognized by name and awarded a trophy the same as the skipper.
Recognize crews as well as skippers and everyone will have more fun; and it
will
make it easier for skippers to get crews.
â Use US SAILINGâs Rules-In-Brief card instead of the rulebook. Itâs
simple, easy to understand, and makes it easier for a novice to have fun. Have
oral
protests. No forms, no formalities. Require that a protest flag is flown,
and the other party is notified of the incident and the rule. Then have the
hearing immediately, and get it over with like we do at most college regattas.
Then people can get back to socializing.
â Donât let people cheat (on kinetics, class rules, etc.). If they do,
protest them. If they persist, invite them to leave the fleet.
â Invite novices (skippers and crews) to sail with the experts in the fleet.
It is still the best way to help newcomers learn to become good sailors
quickly.
â Keep it light on the water. Hail âgood jobâ when some­one gets you
on
the race course; make a big deal about a novice doing well on a leg, or in a
race, by giving them a big cheer on the water. Encourage the race committee
to be helpful.
â DONâT race when the weather is cold, rainy, or extremely rough and
windy.
Have a seminar and party on shore instead.
â DO race when there isnât much wind. This is when the novices are most
likely to do well, and have fun. So what if itâs a crapshoot? As long as
itâs
an even shorter than usual course, and as long as it isnât broiling hot,
itâs
fun.
â Keep a good fleet captain on. Donât change fleet captains every year or
two just because âyou should pass it around.â Most good fleet captains are
good because they like to do it. Most bad ones are bad because they donât
want
to do it. If you have a good one whoâs willing to stay â keep âem! Only
change when someone wants out, or isnât very good.
â Find something to do for spouses and kids who donât like to race. Lots
of
spouses love to do race committee work, but donât like to sail. Then
youâll
be in­cluding the whole family.
â Get some publicity. Make the necessary arrangements with the local paper
for the results to be published, if only as a box score, after each race.
Recognition turns everybody on and brings in new fleet members.
â Do a charity regatta or cruise. Itâs amazing how this brings the fleet
together! Everyone rallies around a cause. Collect the entry fees and give
them
to the local heart fund, cancer drive, or whatever. Gets good ink for the
fleet and club, too. Or have a public sailing day where members of the fleet
take anyone who comes down to the docks out sailing, in return for a small
donation to a local charity. Thatâll get great ink as a dual public service,
and
it is a good way to interest newcomers. But most important, it is social â
and fun. Thatâs what makes one-design sailing fun, and itâs what will make
any
fleet grow.
Article excerpted from Sailing World, February 1987.
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