Danielle,
I share your concern regarding the incidents at the McIntyre Team Race. I absolutely understand Stanford's decisions regarding hosting, as well as the Executive Committee's decision to pursue an investigation. I hope that the conference will cooperate fully.
However, I am also concerned by one aspect of the reaction to the incident, specifically the decision to cancel regattas in the fall.
First, it does not seem appropriate to punish the conference as a whole for the actions of what appears to be one or two teams.
Second, and more importantly, this course of action is counterproductive to the interests of the conference. What concerns me most about the incident itself is the lack of seriousness shown towards the sport and the conference. Holding fewer regattas will not cause anyone to take the sport more seriously. It will also adversely affect the competitiveness of the conference within the ICSA.
Finally, it appears that the two regattas scheduled to be hosted by Stanford in the fall were the Bryson Women's Regatta and Women's Pacific Coast Championships. These were the only women's regattas schedule to be held by the PCCSC in the fall season. In the past, women's sailing has provided more opportunities for the conference to break into ICSA national events, but many teams still struggle to maintain a competitive women's team. These regattas should be encouraged, not cancelled.
The fact that the announced cancellations affect only women's teams also relates to the issue of fairness, as it appears that women sailors were not involved in the incidents in question.
As stated above, I understand Stanford's decision not host these events. I would only hope that other teams would be able to step up to take Stanford's place. It is possible that this is the solution that you intend to pursue, but the wording of your letter suggests that the PCCSC has decided to entirely cancel the regattas. I sincerely hope that this is not the case.
Best, Sam Wheeler UCLA Sailing Team, Class of 2008 President, Friends of the UCLA Sailing Team Cc: PCCSC email list Attached: 3/10/10 letter to PCCSC Member Schools ________________________________________________ pciyra mailing list [email protected] http://www.collegesailing.org/mailman/?listname=pciyra Unsubscribe: Send a blank email to [email protected]
