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By Airwaves Writer Zach Brown

Within the community of sailing there exists a wealth of knowledge on the subject of running an Olympic campaign, but it is difficult to access that information and formulate a plan that fits an individual’s unique situation.  The goal of this article is to supply sailors with the tools they need to plan a campaign and get it started.

An Olympic campaign is truly a war of attrition.  Bermuda’s 2012 Olympic 49er crew Zander Kirkland smartly stated that a doublehanded campaign can be boiled down to four components: sailing performance, money, team dynamic, and injuries.  A strong construction of all four pillars delivers a successful campaign, but a weakness in one pillar affects the integrity of the entire structure.  For example, it is difficult to train and compete if there isn’t any money.  Or, it is difficult to get the results if there isn’t a positive team dynamic.  When planning a campaign, it is important to start with these four pillars and sketch out how to build and connect each of them.

Choose Your Boat

An individual needs to have the proper body size for the boat, the boat must have security in the Olympics, and the boat needs to be fun to sail.  Body weight and height are critical to performance in sailing.  A 160 pound male sailor should consider Kiteboarding, crewing a 470, skippering a 49er, or sailing the Nacra 17.  A 130 pound female should not campaign a Radial, but rather consider skippering a 470, skippering a 49er FX, or sailing the Nacra 17.

It is paramount to select a boat that maintains a high level of security as a continuing Olympic class boat.  The safety of a boat’s existence in the Olympics over the next few quadrenniums is not a factor to dismiss when considerable time and money are on the line.  There are obvious choices like the Laser and Laser Radial that easily meet the strict qualifications imposed by ISAF.  The 470 was rumored to get the boot for the 2016 Olympics, but strong support from the Asian and European delegates maintained the boat’s Olympic status.   A considerable amount of research should be put into the security of an Olympic class boat when selecting the perfect boat for an individual’s campaign.

An obvious feature that is constantly overlooked by sailors considering an Olympic campaign is fun.  If a boat is not fun to sail and race, then don’t campaign the boat.  The average Olympic sailor spends more than 175 days of the year on the water.  Select a challenging boat that is exciting to practice and race for 50% of the year.

Choose Your Partner

Selecting the best teammate for an Olympic campaign is almost as important as picking a husband or wife because a team lives, sails, travels, organizes, and fundraises together.  Teammates should not have to compromise on every detail of the campaign in order to work together.  A good teammate does not have to be a best friend, but that person should at the least be a friend in the making.  When the race is on the line, the optimal teammate is one that empowers the skipper or crew to be their best.

Essential skills of an ideal teammate include sailing ability, organizational aptitude, marketing talent, fitness inclination, dedication, and perseverance.  Sailing talent alone will not get a campaign to the Olympics.  The work load between teammates needs to be balanced so that it truly feels like a team.  Looking back to the four pillars of a campaign, if the team dynamic is compromised, then performance will be negatively impacted.

Get in Contact

One of the first orders of business for a budding Olympic campaign is to reach out to the US Sailing Olympic director and staff.  Making contact with these individuals is critical to success because they control many factors including coaching, funding, resources, and much more.  The US Sailing Team staff has information on team clinics, schedules, boat setup tricks, and boat tuning numbers.

The National and North American class representatives are resources of knowledge that will help new class members find equipment to buy, local teams to contact, and domestic and international regatta schedules.  Do not be afraid to reach out to current Olympic campaigners for advice and questions because they have all gone through the same start-up process.

Create a Business Plan

Every Olympic campaign needs a business plan.  Olympic sailors are the CEOs of their own non-profit companies so it is important to treat the campaign like a business.  Create short and long-term goals that are obtainable and outline a roadmap to get from step one to the final step on the podium at the Games.  Do not be fooled into dismissing the skills learned in school.  Take speech courses, pay attention in accounting classes, master excel, and own PowerPoint presentations.

Budget

One of the more difficult duties of an Olympic campaign is to recognize each line item expense that will occur and assign an accurate estimate.  Taking an accounting class and creating a personal budget are good places to start.  Boat and equipment expenses, sailing gear, vehicle and fuel, flights, ferries and tolls, housing, food, regatta fees, fitness, health insurance, and fundraising costs are relevant macro line items.  The next step in budgeting is to breakdown the macro components into manageable cost items.  Take boat equipment and expenses for example.  When purchasing a new boat the following must be considered: cost of boat, foreign exchange price, boat accessories like covers and dolly, customs agent fees, shipping, customized lines, shackles, and sails.

Fundraise

Money is a critical piece to every Olympic campaign, hence its recognition as being one of the four pillars of a campaign.  Simply put, a sailing campaign cannot get started without some considerable initial investments like a boat.  Money is needed to have the best equipment so that a team is spending most its time on the water training instead of on land fixing an old boat.  Money is needed to travel to regattas in Europe and to race against large talented fleets.  And, money is needed to hire good coaches to jump a team to the next level.

Second to sailing talent, fundraising might be the most important skill required in an Olympic campaign.  The best way to approach the overwhelming number on the bottom line of a budget is to sketch out channels of potential income and rank them in order of value.  Income channels include family, close friends, fellow alumni of schools and universities, rotary or non-profit organizations, private coaching, big boat programs, etc.  Another important step for fundraising is to set up an account with a local sailing organization that has a 501.C.3 to receive tax deductible donations.  It is necessary to develop marketing and communication skills in order to sell the campaign and attract sponsors and donors.

International Comparisons

Many of the ideas presented above are relevant for all Olympic campaigns across every country.  Stu McNay, a two time Olympian weighs on the differences between the US playbook and the British system: “The US playbook asks a lot on the budget and management side from its athletes while other countries not so much.&nb
sp; [Other countries like England and Australia] often have logistical coordinators for all travel arrangements and accommodation.  Also, they manage budgets and raise funds.”  The US system requires its sailors to perform two roles as a campaign manager and athlete while most other countries ask their sailors to just be an athlete.  McNay added that maturity and the ability to make decisions are important no matter which system an Olympic campaign fits under.

One consideration that should not be overlooked: the American Olympic sailing program develops relevant management and logistical skills that are valuable for most jobs.  Being just an athlete is a lot easier than being both an athlete and a CEO of a non-profit organization.  Reentering the workforce after an Olympic campaign is difficult, but after marketing an Olympic campaign for years, the task of selling one’s skills and story to an employer should be easy.

The US Olympic campaign is quite the job description.  The question of whether or not the management, budgeting, and logistical functions of a US campaign inhibit sailors from reaching their full potential as an athlete is another story for another time.

 

Good Luck

Campaigning for the Olympics in sailing is an incredibly difficult task.  Teams commit three, six, ten, or even twenty years to possibly go to the Games and win a medal.  There is no guarantee.  The lifestyle is difficult because life is all packed up in one big suitcase, it is difficult to be in one location for an extended period of time, it is difficult to maintain a relationship, and it difficult to continue a career during a campaign or reenter the workforce after one.  Those who are or will be committed to an Olympic campaign, I salute you!

 

By: Martha Pitt

A few weekends ago, two championships were held on back-to-back weekends and on opposite coasts – the US Women’s Match Racing Championship was sailed out in San Francisco Bay, CA and the following weekend the US Match Racing Championship took place in Marblehead, MA – and for the first time in history, two women can call themselves dual champions of the two events!  Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea, two women that have been match racing full time for the past few years, sailed on the winning boats in both events, proving their expertise and skills in match racing.

Stephanie Roble, from East Troy, WI has been sailing since she was 5 years old at Lake Beulah YC.  A graduate from Old Dominion University, Roble was a two-time All-American Women’s Skipper before graduating in 2011.  She got into match racing while at ODU, and began to think about an Olympic campaign to compete in the 2012 Olympics.  Skippering many events, but also getting on the race course as a crew, Roble has devoted much of the past few years to becoming the skilled match racer that she is today. Her love for team racing got her hooked on match racing as a more accessible discipline, and since she has fallen in love with the intense one-on-one format. She enjoys it most because “you are required to think on your toes on all parts of the course.  Success depends on precise communication, boat handling and rules strategy.”

Often sailing alongside Roble over the past few years has been Maggie Shea of Wilmette, IL.  Shea grew up sailing with her family on their boat Windancer, and learned to race dinghies at the Chicago Yacht Club starting at the age of 12.  Shea sailed against Roble for four years in college, sailing for Connecticut College where she was a Women’s All-American Honorable Mention honoree. She began match racing in 2010 when she became an intern at the Chicago Match Race Center, where she and Roble have been working regularly for the past year, amidst their sailing endeavors.  Shea enjoys the intensity level of match racing, where you either win or you lose.  The complex tactics rely on solid execution, good boat handling, and fast boat speed in whatever kind of boat you end up sailing, which is part of the appeal for Shea – “I appreciate how many different boats I’ve had the chance to sail while match racing.”

For the past three years, Roble and Shea have been sailing together, and joined up with Darby Smith of Marblehead, MA in 2011 to do an Olympic campaign for the women’s match racing spot in the 2012 Games. After lots of training and many great results, the team ultimately fell to world-class racer Anna Tunnicliffe in the semi-finals of the trials, but only saw the positives of their whole campaign experience and didn’t stop there!  Roble and Shea have continued to represent the Chicago Match Race Center in numerous events, sailing with a range of different sailors and in different boats, and have embraced every moment.

In the first of the two national championships, Shea and Roble joined up with former competitors Genny Tulloch and Jen Chamberlain to sail the J22s out in San Francisco Bay.  Though the four had never sailed together before, their combined experience matched with great chemistry put them well ahead of any of their competition.  “The Bay lived up to its breezy reputation,” said Shea, “and our pre-start boat handling gave us an edge on the competition; we started all but two races in a controlling position.”  The team went 21-0 during the four day event, and came away as the 2012 US Women’s Match Racing Champions!

Competition seemed much more fierce and the stakes higher at the US Match Racing Championship the following weekend in Marblehead, MA. This time Roble and Shea teamed up with skipper Taylor Canfield of St. Thomas, USVI and Janel Zarkowsky of Annapolis, MD to take on what some consider one of the toughest pools in event history. Canfield, coming off two 2^nd place finishes at this event the previous two years, was fired up to finally take the win.  “There was an excellent range of sailors that are highly respected in the match racing world,” commented Roble, including powerhouses Dave Dellenbaugh and Dave Perry, two of the most experienced match racers in the US.  The girls have learned a tremendous amount from both Taylor and “the Daves” over the years, to be sailing with and against them in this event was an honor. “We are all very competitive,” said Roble, when asked about the dynamic on the boat, “so there were some heated moments but we managed to overcome them and sail some really great races.”  And that they did!   In an intense final round, the team went up 2-0 against Dellenbaugh in the first two races, only to fall in the following two to take the series into the fifth and final race. Not willing to let this one slip away, Canfield, Roble, Shea, and Zarkowsky worked hard to take control during the pre-start and were able to lead all the way around the course to the finish for the victory.

While the significance of these two back-to-back victories is indeed great, they are just two events on the girls’ busy schedules, which remain packed with match racing, team racing, and fleet racing alike for the reminder of the fall and into the winter season.  For both Shea and Roble, it’s all about enhancing their experiences; “I am enjoying exploring different crewing positions and boats,” says Shea, “and hope to do as much racing as possible.”  For Roble, “I am trying to do as much crewing as possible because I learned to match race and sail keelboats as a skipper.  Being a crew (especially tactician) provides a new view on racing.  For the future, I am trying to jump on as many sailing opportunities as possible, whether its driving, crewing, match racing, team racing, fleet racing, or coaching.  I just love sailing and want my future to be filled with it!”

Congratulations to Maggie Shea and Stephanie Roble, along with their fellow champions Taylor Canfield, Janel Zarkowsky, Genny Tulloch, and Jen Chamberlain for winning the 2012 US Match Racing titles!