SailGP: Coutts calls for greater squad depth, but opportunities have so far been lacking

The SailGP World League and its boss, Russell Coutts, are calling it a “wake-up call”, which had been triggered by the American coxswain’s withdrawal shortly before the eleventh event of the sixth season. Taylor Canfield had been injured in a road accident and was unable to compete. The attempt to nominate Harry Melges as a replacement helmsman had failed for two reasons: firstly, because Melges had also been injured; and secondly, because Melges did not hold the necessary licence.

SailGP challenge: teams need to field deeper squads

In the end, Martine Grael took the helm the American F50 foiler on Lake Geneva, because the Brazilian and her team, Mubadala Brazil, had parted ways shortly before and the two-time 49erFX Olympic champion was available. “Taylor Canfield’s injury was a clear warning sign to the teams that they need to prepare their reserve squads more thoroughly,” warned SailGP director Russell Coutts.

Coutts went on to say: “Fortunately, the Brazilians had also just made some changes to their line-up, and Martine was available as a substitute – although she only had a few days to settle into the team and familiarise herself with their sailing system, which was far from ideal.” In its article on the subject, the league cited further examples of similar gaps within the teams.

​In season four, for example, the Canadian team was unable to compete on the second day of racing in Auckland after flight controller Billy Gooderham was injured on the first day of racing. Just this week, Swiss helmsman Sebastien Schneiter (Explora Swiss Journeys) announced on social media that he had broken his foot, whilst also stating that he would be “100 per cent fit again in a few weeks”.

A blessing in disguise for Switzerland: Schneiter’s injury comes during the break between races

It works in the Swiss team’s favour that the league is currently taking a longer break ahead of the season’s final stretch on 21–22 November in Dubai and the grand final on 28–29 November in Abu Dhabi, which could be enough time for Schneiter’s foot to heal.

In its report on the situation regarding reserve drivers, the league also points out that four teams have no reserve drivers at all with even a provisional licence. In addition to the Swiss team, those mentioned include the US team, Team D.S. Automobiles France and Team Germany by Deutsche Bank.

Whilst all the other teams have at least one reserve helmsman with a provisional licence, Canada’s Team NorthStar is the only team with two crew members holding full licences. Alongside double Olympic champion Giles Scott, wing trimmer Paul Campbell-James can also take the helm for the Horns at any time.

Coutts calls for the team to be prepared “for all eventualities”

​“Some teams have been working in particular on their contingency plans for helmsmen, wing trimmers and flight controllers – this is a key priority for all teams for the rest of this season and the next, to ensure they are ready to compete should one of their key athletes fall ill or get injured,” said Coutts – and went on to add.

According to Coutts, this development marks “the start of a new era” with private owners and a more professional approach to team management. “As most teams now have major sponsors and professional investors, they are expected to be race-ready and to be prepared for all eventualities by building up their squads.”

Even the two best SailGP teams of the season – Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos and Spain’s Los Gallos – are not immune to this risk, according to Coutts. “Both are extremely strong with their top line-up, but I’m not sure how much depth these teams have at this stage,” said Coutts, posing his observation as a provocative question. He went on to provide the answer himself: “If one of their key players were to get injured or fall ill, it would probably have a dramatic impact on their performance.”

Aiming to bring in younger SailGP athletes

However, his observation comes as little surprise when one considers exceptional sailors such as Tom Slingsby (Bonds Flying Roos) or Diego Botin (Los Gallos). They are the stars and the benchmark in the current SailGP scene and are unlikely to be easily replaced on an ad hoc basis. However, according to Coutts, incidents such as Canfield’s injury have brought the development and training of new athletes, as well as the overall management of the teams, even more sharply into focus.

This, in turn, will “accelerate opportunities for young, up-and-coming athletes”. The league and its leader are convinced of this. “This is incredibly exciting for the sport,” said Coutts. The New Zealander also highlighted the ageing profile of top athletes in this discipline as a problem.

Russell Coutts commented on this with almost brutal clarity: “There are a whole host of extremely talented young athletes who are capable of competing at the very highest level. We shouldn’t be seeing top athletes in their late forties or early fifties competing on these boats. You’d never see anything like that in Formula 1 or most other professional sports.”

A lack of training opportunities has contributed to staff shortages at SailGP

Coutts also highlighted the league’s ambitious growth plans, which could involve a calendar featuring more than 20 events in a single season alone. His next point: “It is possible that the same athletes will not be able to perform at their best in all of these competitions. They may need to take a break at certain stages of the season to stay fit for the big races towards the end of the season.”

This shift in the teams’ mindset is part of a wider “change” that “has never before been seen on this scale in this sport”, Coutts noted. And he added: “Professional investors and team owners will demand that their team management adopt a more professional approach to recruiting and training athletes. I expect that, in future, teams will invest significantly more effort in scouting, signing and developing the next generation of star athletes.”

It is only towards the end of the article that Coutts himself addresses the problem that has contributed to the current shortage of young talent: the lack of training opportunities, an issue which Team Germany had also frequently and emphatically raised with the league. How, in particular, are the less experienced teams – without sufficient training opportunities – supposed to compete on equal terms with the more established league teams if they do not make the most of every training opportunity with their first team? There was hardly any scope for talent development on the few occasions available.

The SailGP training base in Florida opens its doors

If the main team urgently needs each of these rare training days for its own development, it is hardly possible to bring new talent and substitutes into the mix as well. Coutts and the league have also come to this conclusion: “Crucial to all this is the opening of the first long-term SailGP training base at the ‘American Magic Performance and Innovation Centre’ in Pensacola.”

"It’s a real highlight for us to have training time for the first time." Erik Kosegarten-Heil

The centre is opening late, but things are finally getting underway. It is set to become “a key factor” in the training of new athletes. It will begin operations this month, offering teams – under a “pay-to-train” model – the opportunity for the first time to test and train independently and in a targeted manner outside of race weekends and the limited pre-race training slots. The Germany SailGP Team will be the first to take advantage of this opportunity in October.

Russell Coutts is convinced: “This will enable new athletes to be trained.” And what’s more, as the Olympic champion, Admiral’s Cup winner, match racing virtuoso and five-time America’s Cup winner – who was extremely performance-driven during his active sailing career – knows from personal experience and hopes for the league: Up-and-coming athletes can “in turn put pressure on existing athletes who have not yet performed to start delivering results”.

The view of the The situation ahead of the season finale with SailGP commentators Lisa Darmanin and Stevie Morrison: