Sportsmanship

Chris Love 3 years ago

Last week, the word "sportsmanship" was flying around the college sailing world after Brown gave up their spot at National Semifinals to Connecticut after Conn received penalty points for improper paperwork. You can see the corresponding video here. This is not meant to be a topic about that incident--there is already a lively one happening at the above link that you are free to join--but rather on the general topic of sportsmanship in sailing. What is sportsmanship? When I was sailing Optis, each regatta gave out a sportsmanship award, which either went to the kid who said "thank you" to the race committee or to the one who lost but didn't cry. As I got older, the idea of sportsmanship seemed to focus more on following the rules. "If you hit a mark and no one sees but you, do you spin?" But I've also heard people's sportsmanship questioned when they are too nitpicky about the rules. Were the Spanish and Italian 49er teams poor sports when they protested the Danes at the Olympics for switching boats? (Details here.) Perhaps an elite laser sailor can discuss sportsmanship in the context of Rule 42, propulsion. When we're young, sportsmanship seems pretty cut and dry: do the right thing. But in the world of elite sailing, is that definition subject to interpretation? When is "everyone else is doing it" a valid excuse? What exactly should we expect of our competitors and are they delivering?

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5 comments

Marks 3 years ago

But I will be the first to admit that there have been races where I might have hit a mark and made no attempt to make sure. :)

What do you guys think about this?

If you have no clue whether you hit a mark, do you ask your competitors? I usually keep sailing unless someone tells me I hit it) but is that being a poor sport?

Tom Charpentier 3 years ago

Can I just say it's ironic you put an AC boat on the frontpage for this article?

Blake Billman 3 years ago

"Everyone else is doing it." Isn't a valid excuse. Suggesting that it is, or using that as a defense in the protest room should automatically dismiss the protest (if you brought it) or penalize you (if you are the one being protested).

For me, how much sportsmanship I expect out of a fleet depends greatly on the experience of the drivers. I don't expect anything from green fleet Opti's; they are very young, have little rules knowledge, and are not spatially aware of the boats and water around them (making it easy to not see that starboard tacker, misjudge a layline, or stall and drift into a mark). The same goes with low level college events where it is mostly new sailors and inexperienced drivers. Also the level of maturity between a green fleet Opti sailor (about 8-9 yrs old) and a college freshman or sophomore is usually about the same.

I think the level of what is expected should drastically increase with skill level, but the emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play should also increase. High level athletes don't have a lack or rules knowledge or driving expertise as an excuse and they are very spatially aware. If they break a rule and ignore it there are only 2 options; they willfully choose to break the rule, or they made a mistake and the value of the regatta is worth the risk of trying to get away with it (why most infractions get ignored, because they know how much each infraction actually gained or cost them). This is why we have umpires (and why the top tier of every sport has umpires. some have officials at every level). At the top you cant have truly fair competition without umpires and the athletes have too much invested to police themselves.

Carson Marston 3 years ago

Sportsmanship is very important in sailing. I remember reading in Stuart Walkers book that he once was crossed by a port boat and the port boat hailed back, "Did you have to alter course?" and Stuart, being a younger sailor, quietly, almost embarrassed called out, "Yes". The other sailor thanked him and simply sailed in.

Even now, rules might be broken between friends and no one protests, or room is given when it is uncertain if it should be given, or even slight contact is simply ignored. It keeps things classy.
But I will be the first to admit that there have been races where I might have hit a mark and made no attempt to make sure. :)

The Boom 3 years ago

Can we omit Rule 42 from this conversation and just agree that it's a toss up? Everyone is going to get all bombed-out over it and then anonymous coward is going to cry and make wild accusations of the sport being ruined by cheaters like "you" when in fact cheaters like "you" have been ruining our sport for centuries.

I like your comment about optis. It's bogus that sportsman ship awards go out with no good reason. I remember one regatta a young sailor that i was coaching said "well since i can't get a trophy, i'm going for the sportsmanship award." He dropped out of the next race to help another sailor bail his opti. He won the sportsmanship award, but I found it difficult to be proud of him. I dont know.