Letter to US Sailing: "We Olympians endorse retaining the 2020 event slate through the 2024 Oly

COLORADO SPRINGS (#1125) – Members of the US Sailing Team are wrapping up a week-long training session at the the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs led by the Chief of Olympic Sailing, Malcolm Page (AUS/USA). Like many other sailors across the globe, especially former and prospective Olympians, they have been following the machinations at the World Sailing annual conference in Sarasota, FL this week. Tonight (Saturday), they emailed this extraordinary and unprecedented, one-sentence letter to the delegates representing US Sailing at those meeting....

Earlier this week your Ed. received an email from US Sailing President Cory Sertl saying that the USA delegation supported the "mixed-gender keelboat offshore" event put forward by the World Sailing board in a last-minute submission that was approved yesterday by the WS Council.

For that submission to come into effect for 2024, it needs to be ratified at Sunday's one-vote-per-nation World Sailing AGM – Annual General Meeting. If that new event is adopted, it would eliminate the Finn Class from the Olympics, the only class in which US Sailing has medaled in the past two Olympics.

For further details, please see our Sailing Illustrated article posted earlier today headlined, "The debate over keelboat offshore continues".

Saturday afternoon Peter Hall (CAN), the Canadian member of the WS Council, said that Sail Canada had put forward a "Canadian Compromise" for consideration at Sunday's pivotal meeting. Mr Hall, a keelboat sailor, outlines their proposed compromise in a video interview with freelance journalist/author Chris Museler (USA). Watch it on Chris' Facebook page here or click on the photo of Mr Hall below....

Peter Hall (CAN), member of the World Sailing Council, explaining the Canadian Compromise submitted to the WS AGM for consideration at Sunday's pivotal meeting.

But wait, there's more. This evening your Ed. has heard from a number of delegates in Sarasota, from countries other than the USA, that the delegates from ISR (Israel) and HUN (Hungary) have also put forward submissions to Sunday's AGM in line with what the USA Olympians have implored the USA delegates to support – no change in the 2024 event/class line-up from that being used for Tokyo 2020, including retention of the Finn Class.

So, as we reported this morning, the beat goes on. Stay tuned to Sailing Illustrated for the latest, including the possibility of another special "Come Within Hail" live webcast on Sunday over on our SI Facebook page.

Caleb Paine (USA, San Diego) won the USA's only sailing medal in the previous two Olympics – a bronze in the Finn Class at Rio in 2016. Mr Paine was one of eight signatories of the letter sent Saturday evening by members of the US Sailing Team imploring US Sailing to support the status quo for 2024.