Sailing isn’t a sport
August 16, 2012 § 11 Comments
Look it up. According to my dictionary, a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” And while many sailors I know will say that they enjoy racing sailboats, sailing is so much more than just a lowly sport.
When was the last time you saw tennis played in a pelting, thundering rain squall?
Sailors do it all the time.
When was the last time a basketball player studied emergency and rescue procedures to keep fellow teammates safe and secure?
When was the last time you saw soccer players standing by quietly for hours and sometimes days, waiting for mother nature to join the game?
When was the last time you saw a hockey player invite grandma onto the ice?
When was the last time you saw a quarterback use a star to navigate, the moon to light the field, or pause to gaze upon the aurora borealis during a game?
When was the last time you saw a sprinter stay on the field for hours and hours after the race just to be on the field?
And when was the last time you heard any of these sports-people say that they would play to the very end?
Sailors do it all the time.
No, sailing isn’t a sport. Sport should be so lucky.
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- Nicholas Hayes, 2012
A simply beautiful ‘heads-up’ to all sailors. Appreciate what you are involved in. Sailing is wonderful!
Yet when was the last time you saw one of those intrepid sailors black or Latino? (Bet you had a white person visualized in your head when you were thinking about this.) In Africa and the Caribbean, yes, but not in the US. Until sailing becomes more PROACTIVE in including non-whites it will always be a minor sport with no growth. Look what Tiger Woods and Serena and Venus did for their sports. They massively increased their popularity. Where are their counterparts in sailing? Look at all the main sports in the US. they are wonderfully diverse. Now look at sailing. Look around the next sailboat show and see how white the crowd. Sailing is a dead sport until it catches up in including the rest of the athletes in the US and it is a long way from it.
You should look up the Brad Johnson, a US Paralympic Team Sailor in the Sonar Class, You may or may not be pleasantly surprised. Based on your logic, the Winter Games should cease to exist.
It’s not what you see that determines the future, it’s what you do.
Wikipedia: …sailing is enjoyed as a recreational activity or as a sport…
Those of us that enjoy racing sailboats need to realize that most sailors enjoy the recreational activity and are not interested in the sport of racing. From children to adults “we” tend to push the sport aspect and ignore the recreation.
Really enjoy this . . . I’ve raced, cruised, and just sailed for fun. So many times when a “new” person comes out for the day, we try to push them into racing. I know our club has ended up pushing a few people away because of this. We now try much harder to let people define “sailing” in their own terms, and enjoy it however THEY want to.
How often do you see minorities near the ocean or even trying to get involved. They have just as much opportunity to get involved and yet they choose to play other sports. Don’t bring racism into the discussion.
James,
This is one of the saddest, deliberately inflammatory comments about sailing that I’ve ever read. I’ve hestitated, as moderator of this blog, to approve it. But you’re entitled to speak your words, and I hope that images like this will help you find new ones.
-ndh
Credit Sailing Lake Calhoun with the image. Friend these fine sailing advocates and volunteers here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sailing-Lake-Calhoun/124452864292982
Incredible! Where have you been? I see “minorities” by the ocean all the time in the US and the Caribbean. My comments above well explain why they have not been more involved in sailing and how they could be sooo much more.
And then there is this, from Cap’n Paul. Look him up.