The meaning of Sport with professionals.

[Mudisox]

Should professional "sport" really be termed entertainment?
When does the "recreational activity" become a business with paid competitors?
I do not suggest that the money "improving " equipment/ the event doesn't feed down from the high cost/ exposure events but do 'go pro' and tracking devices really improve the experience that most of us get when out on the water, most weeks?

 

[flaming]

Should professional "sport" really be termed entertainment?
When does the "recreational activity" become a business with paid competitors?
I do not suggest that the money "improving " equipment/ the event doesn't feed down from the high cost/ exposure events but do 'go pro' and tracking devices really improve the experience that most of us get when out on the water, most weeks?

Not really sure what you're asking?

But regarding Go-Pro etc, I have 2 uses for the footage I get when I use it (which isn't really that often). Firstly if I think that we're getting something wrong in a manoeuvre then being able to watch the footage back and discuss with the crew is very useful.
But the biggest use I get from the footage is that I edit it into short 3-4 min "films" which I watch when I'm missing sailing during the winter. Or during lockdown..... Given that I don't make them public and only give the link to the crew I can tell from the view count that at least a couple of the crew watch them too...

Tracking is another issue. The RTI has tracking which I find interesting mosty after the event as it does tend to be one where you lose track of your competitors, so being able afterwards to work out what happened to the boat that was next to you at Hurst but you never saw again is mildly interesting. It was also very useful in the light air RTI to work out if we were still in for a good result and should keep going or head to the pub....
Cowes track the competitors, but I've never seen the results, I think they mostly do it for fleet management and considerations in shortening the course. If it makes the race management better then I have no objection. Wouldn't be necessary for a simpler event running ww/lw races though I'd have thought. In this day and age everyone has a smartphone so it's not really a big deal to ask competitors to download a tracking app.

 

[monkfish24]

I suppose it's not much different from the Olympics, at some point, your skill is at a point where someone finds it worth paying you to help them win. I've raced and won regattas on super maxis with unpaid and paid crew. The unpaid crew were just as good as the paid crew and were all at a very high level in their skill. The owners who helmed were just as good, in skill level, to be honest, even though they were paying for the whole thing.

With regards to technology and tracking, it is good, you can see where others made their mistakes and where you made yours, just as useful at grass roots as top level. Some races are lost just on the mistakes. I suppose that makes a key difference between paid crew and round the cans crew, do you want to learn from your mistakes and improve? if yes, all this stuff does help you improve and win.

 

[Laser310]

I've raced and won regattas on super maxis with unpaid and paid crew. The unpaid crew were just as good as the paid crew

my experience is different.

i'm a navigator, and, although i am not a professional, I occasionally get on boats with professional crew from the superyacht world - including guys from large high very high performance racing yachts.

A boat like Comanche (not that i've ever been aboard), or a large ocean racing trimaran, has more ways to kill the crew than you could imagine. The crew that sail on these boats have developed highly specialized techniques that are just not known to even a very good amateur accustomed to sailing on, say, 50ft performance yachts. Not only do the pro's all know these techniques.., but they all know each other, and know that evereyone they work with has these skills as well . The high level of trust enables them to work efficiently with each other, and they generally prefer to not have unknown "civilians" in the mix on boats where nearly every mistake can be costly in terms of time, equipment or limbs.

These guys are sailing huge boats 100-200 days a year - regattas, practicing for regattas, sail testing, deliveries..., it's different world, and nobody with a job outside of yachting can expect to just step on board one of these yachts as a deck crew, and get handed a spinnaker sheet...

 

[Birdseye]

Should professional "sport" really be termed entertainment?
When does the "recreational activity" become a business with paid competitors?
I do not suggest that the money "improving " equipment/ the event doesn't feed down from the high cost/ exposure events but do 'go pro' and tracking devices really improve the experience that most of us get when out on the water, most weeks?

Bit of a non question IMO. There have been professional crew in top level yacht racing since the days when the first yacht races happened - the wealthy owners then werent about to sully their hand doing the jobs that the oiks could do whilst still doffing their caps. For the interested spectator, any yacht racing is entertainment whether paid crew or not. For the crew , well some will be there for the money but most will be there for the fun.

I suspect what you are aiming at is the big budget pot buying that goes on at the top end of IRC. But even that is entertainmkent if one rich man manages to stick it up another rich man.

 

[Mudisox]

Maybe all sport at the "top end" is really entertainment for others. TV rights etc.
At the other end - we entertain ourselves, and also there is a high degree of friendship/socialabily.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Our son is a professional sportsman. Initially he always claimed he was being paid to play sport well. In recent years he's realised that playing sport well is part of the entertainment industry.

 

[Kukri]

I think that the last serious attempt to replace professional crew with amateurs was Thomas Sopwith’s first challenge for the America’s Cup, in the J class, with “Endeavour” (1) against “Rainbow” in 1934. The crew of “Endeavour” struck for more pay; Sopwith sacked them and replaced them with amateurs. This cost him the Cup; he lost 4:2, despite having what everyone agreed was the better boat. Moral: if you want to win, pay up.

By the way, does anyone know if the story about Sir Peter Scott being selected as helmsman of “Sovereign” in 1964 because the owning syndicate were chatting in the RTYC about the selection of a helmsman who was “good in a Twelve” and Scott chipped in with “Well, I have some experience in Twelves” (they meant 12 metres, he meant 12 foot Nationals) is true?