To the board of Australian Sailing

We are writing to you regarding the inexplicable decision by Australian Sailing not to nominate a 49erFX team for the Rio Olympics despite Australia qualifying for this event.

We realise that this is not a decision made at the board level but rather within the “absolute discretion” of the nomination panel. However, this decision harms the sport of sailing in Australia so greatly that we respectfully ask you to consider it at a board level, show some leadership and do the right thing which is to nominate the highest ranked 49erFX team for the Rio Olympics immediately.

Australia has a long and proud history of Sailing in the Olympics and our nation is highly revered on the world stage for our skill and determination across all sailing disciplines from dinghy racing to the America’s Cup. For us to decline a chance to field a team in the new Women’s skiff class (which was designed by an Australian) is an enormous embarrassment and against our “have a go” attitude.

The “winning edge” strategy puts pressure on NSOs to deliver medals for funding. If you don’t send a team for an event the chances of a medal are zero. You are all sailors and should be able to articulate to the ASC that sailing is a very different sport to running or swimming where an athlete’s performance is measured in 100ths of a second. Sailing is a sport where experience under pressure is paramount to success and can only be gained in competition; nobody is “number one” from the beginning. By not sending a 49erFX team you are denying our best sailors a chance to compete at the highest level that only comes around every four years; DO NOT WASTE IT!

Surely the most important role of our Australian Sailing Team is to inspire the next generation of kids to start sailing? Australians will watch any sport in the Olympics if there is an Australian competing, change the channel if there isn’t. The 49erFX is a fast and exciting class which will capture the attention of the public and encourage people, particularly women and girls to try sailing. There are thousands of Aussie kids competing in sailing races every weekend, there are hundreds of hopefuls well along the “Youth Development and High Performance Pathways”. These kids need champions to inspire them and also for the pathway to go somewhere. What is the point of encouraging kids along a performance pathway if they don’t get nominated for an Olympic event that have managed to qualify for? The opportunity to inspire our current and future youth sailors only comes around every four years; DO NOT WASTE IT!

One of the great aspects of sailing is that girls can compete with boys on a level playing field. It is a fantastic sport for girls to gain a sense of confidence and inner strength. The Women and Girls in sailing initiative aims to boost female participation in our sport but will be severely set back by the gender imbalance (four women to seven men) of our nominated Olympic sailing team. What is the message for Women and Girls; “come and enjoy sailing but if you can’t be guaranteed a medal we won’t support you”?

The nomination process for the AST must change; giving “absolute discretion” to a panel leaves them unaccountable and there have been too many controversial decisions of late. We must change the nomination policy ASAP after Rio so that it is transparent and not subject to personal bias.

 As a board you are ultimately responsible for the actions of “Australian Sailing” so do the right thing for Women and Girls in Australian sailing and Australian sailing as a whole and send an Australian 49erFX team to the Rio Olympics.

Yours sincerely,

 Ewan Campbell, on behalf of people who want an Aussie 49erFX team at the Rio Olympics.