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Sailboarder
Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 167
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 Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| zirtaeb wrote: | I'm glad windsurfing got dropped by the OlympicCommittee, since their form has little to do with reality.
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I don't see why you are glad. There are hundreds if not thousands of kids racing T293. Many of them get into because they see a path to the Olympics. They like to see established stepping stones, like colored belts in Karate.
Eventually, they'll grow up and many won't care anymore that it is part of the Olympics, like you and I, but they will be windsurfers able to carry their own path. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 11471
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:57 am Post subject: |
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| I really find that hard to believe. Kids watching the Olympics ... period ... let alone using it for career or recreation planning? I'd guess the two kids who actually do that would say, "Are you kidding me? This is HARD!" after two attempts at uphauling. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I've lost faith in the motivation of today's kids beyond electronic and media substitutes for real life. Add the mind-numbing picture of people "racing" displacement hulls around some obscure course in 7 mph zephyrs and that whole idea jumps ship altogether. I can't imagine watching it, whether on TV or in real life. I've talked with long-time middle-aged Gorge residents who had no idea that windsurfers can plane; they assumed it was just standing there holding up a sail ... and they had never even seen it on the Olympics. SURELY Olympic WSing must be detrimental to public interest in the sport? |
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zirtaeb
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1754
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:38 am Post subject: |
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Possibly on some parts of the country, Olympic windsurfing has some effect on the kid's direction of sport.
Around here, it's all about flash, jumps, spins, and "look at me".
However, there are programs like the CalSailingClub and CalAdventures that regularly get THIRTY beginner windsurfers out in the water every weekend in the summer, and sometimes close to double that on warmer weekends.
Only hands on instruction and rental can improve the sport, TV does little except encourage an internet search, followed by interest in more flash. |
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bkiggins
Joined: 01 Aug 1999
Posts: 96
Location: Castle Rock, CO
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:39 pm Post subject: |
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| How much of the 80's growth spurt came from inland sailors? |
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zirtaeb
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1754
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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| If you include European inland lake sailors, it would be TONS and LOTS. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 11471
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Were there any towns over 30,000-40,000 people without at least one WSing shop in the '80s? |
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Sailboarder
Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 167
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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| isobars wrote: | | I really find that hard to believe. Kids watching the Olympics ... period ... |
You are right about that. I am sure even racers find it boring to watch. That's not the point. Kids like to see a path to what they are doing, to grow up! I am convinced, and told by coaches, that this is one important reason why T293 is so popular.
I realize this even applies to me. I used to fence competitively. I can tell you it boosted my enthusiasm when an older girl I was training with got her selection for the Olympics. Now this is a sport that is at least as boring to watch on tv than windsurfing. I watched some, not for the show, but to learn from it.
So personally, I couldn't care less wether fencing or windsurfing is part of the Olympics. I don't really watch sports anyway. But I am convinced removing one or the other will have a general impact on the sport. |
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Sailboarder
Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 167
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:48 pm Post subject: |
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| isobars wrote: | | Add the mind-numbing picture of people "racing" displacement hulls around some obscure course in 7 mph zephyrs |
By the way, I did my first regatta last weekend. It was great fun, and quite difficult. We were 22 on the water together. A nice bunch of morons according to you? No. The activity was quite social, accessible to beginners and very competitive for the more advanced. We also enjoy planing and shortboards you know... |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 11471
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Sailboarder wrote: | | isobars wrote: | | Add the mind-numbing picture of people "racing" displacement hulls around some obscure course in 7 mph zephyrs |
A nice bunch of morons according to you? . |
Who do so many of you insist on manufacturing things others never said or implied? Do you not realize how it makes you look? |
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Sailboarder
Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 167
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 5:26 am Post subject: |
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Iso,
using mind-numbing, quotes around the word racing, and obscure in a sentence definitely implies something and is not a clear and literal statement. I am glad I misinterpret what you meant. |
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