thieuster
Active Member
This is a pic of the issued Youth Licenses on Jan 1 2019. Although in Dutch, the diagram is easy to read. A quick translation:
Jeugdlicenties = Youth Licenses in total
Wedstrijdlicentie = Competition Licenses
Bemanningslicenties = Crew Licenses
Overig = Other classes
Eenmansboten = Single-handed boat
Tweemansboten = Double-handed boat
As you can see, the Laser class has 60 boat-certificates issued to youth sailors (= Under 18). 90 - 95% of that amount participates in the National regattas. 15 - 20 out of those 60 join international regattas as well. A very small amount considering the number of successes Dutch sailing had over the last few years and still has.
The problem is the transition from the optimist to the next boat. More than 50% of the Opti-sailors sell their boats when they become too heavy/ too old for the optimist. Some jump into the Splash (a national class, originally 'invented' as an in-between between the optimist and the Radial, back in the days that there was no 4.7). Some jump in the 29er as a start for the doublehanded route towards the 49er and Nacra17, hopefully leading to the Olympics.
I am under the impression that a lot of youngsters switch to the Splash youth class because this class is well-organised: rescue, transport, training. Parents love that(...). The Laser class, on the other hand, has more adult members than youth sailors (but that's not visible in this diagram). Therefore, it's less well-organised and more individual when it comes to rescuing, combined transport etc. Parents of 14/15 yr/old kids have an opinion about that, I suppose. (Back in 2015, we opted for the Optimist -> Splash -> Laser Radial route)
I am curious to know if you happen to know anything about the transition from the Optimist to another class in your country. How many (%) sell their boats after sailing the optimist, what's the route towards an Olympic campaign etc. Sort of comparing these numbers internationally, so to speak.
- Perhaps you've noticed that the 420 is not on the list. That class was effectively killed by the Dutch Yachting Association (like the Olympic Finn) in favour of the 29er... From a thriving class to zero licenses in 4 yrs...
- And as you can see, there are no Aeros, Melges, D-Zeros and Waszp certificates issued to youngsters as well.