torrid
Just sailing
A key element is that the sailors were responsible for sending to the ILCA-NA office, before the December 1 deadline, some sort of documentation to indicate which group they belonged to. Unfortunately, a few sailors didn't send the information and ended up in the third category when they might rightly have been in one of the first two groups.
This is an important point. It's not enough just to qualify. Those who qualify need to jump through the hoops and provide the information.
I guess in an ideal situation, top qualifiers would be sought out and encourage to attend. However running a 400-boat regatta is a lot of work, and the organizers need all the help they can get. What gets me is there are several people who had automatic entry or have been extended offers, but they have not responded after several weeks.
Thank you for providing the detailed explanation. The three catergories actually make sense. I realize sorting through the applications was a work in progress, but maybe the details could been made clearer a little sooner.
Personally, I think it's great that 400+ people hae expressed an interest in attending the event. It shows how big master's sailing is on not just big regionally or nationally, but worldwide.