Paul Cayard
Paul Cayard Turning the ship around
In August 2016 I wrote about how the USA was disappointed in our sailing results, particularly in the Olympic Games during the past 20 years, and what we were doing about it. We did win one medal in Rio, a bronze in the Finn by Caleb Paine. That is one more than the USA won in London but it is not nearly good enough
for proud Americans who can remember a different Team USA in the 1980s and 90s. In that article I wrote about a project that I am involved in aimed
at improving USA sailing results on the world stage. That means not just the Olympics but other top sailing events. That project is known as ‘Project Pipeline’ and the aim is to create a pathway for kids ageing out of Optis all the way through to the Olympic Games. The impetus for this came from analysing what the most
successful countries have been doing differently from us. This Olympic Development Program (ODP) involves coaching, equipment and support. Leandro Spina, a passionate sailor from Argentina, leads the programme and has achieved a lot in just two years. The programme’s also raised almost $10million of funding since its inception in late 2014 but we still have a gap to fill when comparing ourselves with the youth programmes of the other top sailing nations… let alone the elite performance programmes that have delivered those nations the bulk of recent Olympic sailing medals. However, we are starting to see positive results from this effort after 30 months…
2015 1st Youth World Championship – 420 3 podiums in Laser Radial Youth Worlds – 2 men, 1 women 3rd 29er World Championship 2016 1st Youth World Championship – 420, Silver – Nacra 17, Bronze – Radial Men 1st Laser Radial Youth Worlds Men 2017 1st 470 Junior Worlds (under-20) 1st, 3rd and 4th Laser Worlds Under-19 2nd 49er Junior Worlds 3rd Laser Radial Youth Worlds Women
These results show steady progress is being made which is very
encouraging for Team USA and its prospects in 2020 and beyond. Yet we have a long way to go to reproduce those types of result on the Olympic podium. But what we do now have in the ODP is a programme that is well planned, well staffed and getting over- subscribed. It isn’t over-funded… Because of my involvement in the Olympic Development Program
I now sit on the board of directors of US Olympic Sailing which advises the US Olympic team staff. The 12-member committee is made up of past Olympians, world champions and successful business people with a strong sailing background, and was recon- stituted 12 months ago. We have just spent two days at the US Olympic Committee head -
quarters in Colorado Springs meeting USOC staff, as well as our own sailing team, who had four days there with our recently appointed head of US Olympic Sailing, Australian gold medallist Malcolm Page. The USOC facility is impressive. It is huge, occupying a former
Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. Sailing is one of the few sports that cannot take place on the site. However, for swimming, track and field, boxing, judo, gymnastics, cycling, fencing, basketball, hockey, figure skating and so on they have Olympic-grade facilities all in one place. Cross-fertilisation across athlete disciplines sometimes offers dividends. Our own sailing team were there primarily for sports-science work
and physical testing – which at the performance level this facility operates at is extremely helpful. The site is also at 6,500ft of
28 SEAHORSE
altitude, which is considered to be a plus for training. (Interestingly, the Olympic divers do not train there because air density affects divers’ rotations so most competitions are held at sea level.) We, the board of US Olympic Sailing, met some very competent
people with responsibility for fundraising, performance programming and best leadership practices. There is a lot of expertise here and I was very impressed with the quality of people working at USOC. Having the opportunity to learn from other national governing bodies as well as getting help from the USOC staff is a resource we need to tap into in our effort to raise our game at US Olympic Sailing. One interesting fact is that the USA is one of four countries that
get no financial help from their government. Britain, the current king of Olympic sailing, receives the majority of its Olympic funding from the country’s National Lottery. It is no secret that funding is a critical part of success in any sport. To win on the Olympic stage we need to win in every category;
talent, coaching, psychology, strategy, planning, operation, execution and funding. Since Rio US Sailing has made some sig- nificant changes to improve our medal count in the coming Games. A major change was hiring Malcom Page, twice an Olympic gold
medallist in the 470 class (and seven times world champion), to lead the overall US programme. He is placing a strong initial focus on coaching. Malcolm has brought both his experience and
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