"It's a real shame that these beautiful boats can't sail in 25 knots of wind," said IOC President Jacques Rogge, expressing his disappointment. He wanted to be the 17th man to sail on the Alinghi with Jochen Schümann, but all races were cancelled at the weekend.
Rogge, who himself competed three times in the Finn dinghy for Belgium at the Olympics and also sailed against Schümann, is an enthusiastic sailor, especially as his son is the international president of the Finn dinghy class association.
But in the spirit of the sport, he expressed great concern about the format of the Americas Cup after the races were cancelled: "Anything other than total calm should not be a reason for cancelling such sailing races. The wind limit should be extended to 35 knots." Of course, there is the problem that the boats have to be configured for the Americas Cup final in February when less wind is generally expected. But this problem has to be solved.
"Perhaps through an independent organisation that organises the Cup." Because in the current situation, the defender is trying to secure as many rights as possible and the challengers are endeavouring to counter this. Only an independent body could provide a fair framework.
"It's not necessarily important for the sport, but for the sponsors and television. And to make sailing better known and more interesting in the world. It's not acceptable for races to be cancelled in medium winds. This dilemma can only be solved by finding a suitable sailing area. I believe that the Americas Cup otherwise has enough potential to become a top sport in the media. But these changes are necessary for that."
When asked about the dominance of the four rich top teams, Rogge says he is not in favour of a budget limit. "The Americas Cup has always been dominated by rich people. These people are important for the Cup. If you impose a money limit on them, they will stop coming and then the Cup will have a problem."
