Hi John, I’m slightly confused by this, as I was under the impression that the Silver Cup was already a U23 event.
I think you’re right that the “Junior” tag is not really appropriate (in English), where the substitution of “Youth” makes much more sense. It also is at odds with the rest of the RYA Youth & Junior programme with the Junior classes up to 15 yrs old, and Youth under 19 (or even 21 in some cases like the Laser – another Olympic Class).
Branding as “Under 23” avoids all ambiguity and especially as the vast majority of our “Junior” sailors are currently comfortably under 20, this would make communications with media and sponsors far less awkward, avoiding the need to continually clarify what “Silver Cup” and “Junior” actually means. It would also add gravity to the achievements of our 16, 17 and 18 year olds, performing in a fleet of 20+ year old, full-time professional sailors.
As for the issue of the final race, I’m not sure what difference it makes – sailors will race if there’s a race on. It is a bit of a “dead rubber”, but it currently could give some valuable experience to some “up and coming” sailors. I’m certain that Cameron benefitted from this at the French Nationals, enabling him to experience and develop the front-of-fleet race skills and management at a big event.
For a “way down the fleet” sailor like myself, I’d find myself doing a race less than the top boys, having paid the same entry fee – the only difference would be that I could get my boat packed away on the trailer a bit earlier before driving across Europe (though I’d be expected to stay for the medal race and prize-giving). Personally, I hate the Medal Race concept; it was introduced to try and make it easier for TV audiences to understand the sport, with the Medal Race winner (hopefully) being the overall gold medalist. In practice this usually isn’t the case, with leaders protecting their position by sailing their competition down the fleet. I’d rather see a straight series of results, but if there is to be a Medal Race then the current method of a “loser’s race” (perhaps this could be rebranded the “B Final”) is my preference (though I’d like to hear the arguments of those that want a change).
All the best, Jon T
