Teams may be solution

Sailing Column: As the debate surrounding the solution to the high-performance junior dinghy class selection rumbles on, one idea to emerge from the at-times heated exchanges looks set to gain ground.

Although nothing new is contained in the suggestion, which appears to be a simple recognition of reality rather than any invention, it is a welcome by-product of the analysis that has gone into choosing the new dinghy class. It runs something like this:

The double-handed dinghy, it is agreed, must be exciting for the youngsters to sail, be widely sailed, have a social dimension to the class and, perhaps above all, be an economic proposition.

As stated before in this column, the venerable Mirror dinghy has achieved all of the above.

But the Mirror's popularity appears to be waning. Though a hardcore fan base is certain for the foreseeable future, the move is on to select a general-purpose replacement.

Going to the market means a blinding choice of dinghies. But to consider some new classes which apparently offer limitless thrill factors means an upfront outlay of up to €5,000. And that's before accepting that newer classes offer no guarantee of longevity, so a "hand-me-down" market may also be doubtful.

So no result has been reached, but that's where the realisation appears to have dawned that all the criteria needed already exist: collegiate team racing.

Although practised regularly since its invention in the 1950s, this area of sailing gathered momentum following the ISAF Team Racing World Championship in Dún Laoghaire in 1999.

Multiple teams of three boats with six crew are now entered by third-level institutions around Ireland, and domination of the national programme is no longer the automatic right of the two traditional sailing universities in Dublin.

While meeting the basic criteria needed, the huge advantage offered by team racing is that the clubs provide the boats, which can be sailed by multiple users taking turns.

The growing popularity of team racing, if nurtured to bigger numbers, also stands to provide a solution to an as-yet-unsolved dilemma common to many sports: the haemorrhage of young participants when they reach college age.

Though team racing may not feed the thirst for developing potential Olympians, realistically, most junior sailors are unlikely material for such lofty heights anyway.

Keeping the sport fun is the priority for parents and children alike. A third way to settling the current debate is open.