It's fair to say New Zealand excels at a lot of sports, but in many there is no consistency. However since KZ7 and Chris Dickson, New Zealand has fashioned a very good reputation as a top yachting nation, more especially when it comes to Americas Cup. The purpose of this blog however is not to dwell on the past, though that past does have a bearing. Instead I'd like to look into the politics of the Americas Cup and more especially who does what and how they are selected.
Several commentators in the media have been at the necks of the current crop of participants as our representatives in this event and for good reasons it appears. Under Sir Peter Blake and Russell Coutts
New Zealand tasted success and although we have languished as beaten finalists twice now under the current leadership, it seems certain nothing is going to change. We Kiwis are hard on our losers, and with fair reason, the Team New Zealand hierarchy are under fire. Now it's fair to say changes need to happen. In steps Sir Russell Coutts. The man is a proven winner. The Man has the desire to win. The man wants to represent Team New Zealand again. So who is to decide whether going forward that Coutts or Dalton leads the next campaign? Should it be the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as Challenger of Record? Or if the Government is a major contributor should they have input? And then maybe we have Emirates as full naming sponsor. Who does choose. Well if Democracy rules, a panel of all stakeholders as far as I am concerned. No person has sole right to be the leader of any campaign. And the position should not be down to just two men. Like any job position up for grabs, anyone can and should apply if they feel they have the skills.
Grant Dalton should not be sitting in a position knowing he has no challengers. He should be fearful of his job, and fear brings out the best in most people. Is it fair to say Daltons leadership has been mediocre? He is a competent sailor in his time but his expertise in that field was long off shore racing and not match racing and I feel this limits his ability to understand the rigours of high end match racing. Is he really the right man for the job then?
And what about the skipper and the key role of tactician? Barker is a nice guy for sure, and possibly a PR coup in the making. But is he too the right man for the job? And how to pick that right person for that position. And that goes for tacticians as well. Now this is where I'll differ to the current selection criteria. In Auckland we have several former Americas Cup yachts.
How about immediately after an Americas Cup campaign a selection match racing series be held on the Hauraki Gulf to get the best sailors, best skippers and best tacticians. It would be open to the top 6 possible skippers in the country and they race off until a clear winner is found. Skippers will not always race with the same tacticians so we see how each performs in each race. (Does a tactician succeed with lesser skippers, do skippers perform with lesser tacticians??) And it's about Match Racing, same boats, same rigs, different sailors.
If we "select" the right campaign director via a panel, we select the challenging crew under the same aegis. It happens in all major sports in this country. To play at the top level you have to prove you are the right person for the job. And if you are seen as a losing identity, you are dropped. Yes you can go away and improve and maybe even return, but form is the winner.
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