Proposal for New US World Qualifier

Do you support the proposal for a New US World Qualifier

  • Yes

    Votes: 6 75.0%

  • No

    Votes: 2 25.0%
  • Total voters
    8
C

ClintonEdwards

New Member
To all USSCA members,

Question: After reading the proposal, would you want the USSCA Board of Directors to act on this proposal?

Proposal:

Title: US Frostbite Championship
Level: National: (as is Midwinters, US Masters)
World Qualifier: 2 spots. The two spots would come from the two floating regionals shared by the Big 3 and the Little 3 regionals.
When: Fall, maybe Columbus Day Weekend?

If interested, please contact your Regional Rep, respond on this thread, and/or contact me.

Sincerely
Clinton Edwards.
 
I think the concept is good. The date would probably need to differ from year to year. However, this year it might make sense to put a regatta on Long Island, near Sayville Yacht Club the weekend of September 21-22. Potentially, we could use the charter boats for the Championship of Champions (which is Sept 24-27). Further, you might attract all of the participants from that event.
 
Actually, now that I think about it, this proposal was probably not intended to apply this year. Although the regatta could happen this year, it probably could not be a World Qualifying event in 2008 (for the 2009 Worlds) because the Class Notice stating the US events used to qualify for the World Championship has already been published.
 
I may be wrong on this, but I believe this proposal came out of Barrington and there was talk about hosting this event in October at Barrington to coincide with week 1 of the Frostbiting season there. Again, this is far from gospel.
 
Regardless of the exact date or where this event originated, I think it would be beneficial to discuss the pros and cons of such a proposal. Off the top of my head I can think of a few.

These thoughts do not necessarily reflect my opinion (I like the concept). They are simply a brain storm to reflect how this might be perceived by the population as a whole, and to encourage discussion.

Pros
1) The large majority of the class's population is in the north which could result in a strong turnout.
2) There has always been talk that a disproportionate number of our major US events are in the south because of the annual Masters and Midwinter events. This brings more balance.
3) Larger regattas are more fun.
4) The cost of traveling is VERY HIGH right now

Cons
1) There are already a large number of World Championship qualifying events in the north, particularly the northeast.
2) Many people believe the sailors in the northern part of the US do not travel to events and having another "major" event in the north might further discourage people from traveling.
3) One of the reasons for a "major" event is to qualify people for our World Championship. With the number of "declined" World Championship invitations, the perceived value proposition from the qualifying events is low. Basically, the fact that you can qualify at these regattas is probably not a major draw for the regatta. Contrast this with the 70s and 80s when it was a major reason people attended regattas. Adding events now will probably not help the situation because of basic supply and demand principles. In fact, it could further dilute the fleets in the qualifying events.
 
If this is a US Frostbite Championship, by definition I would think that it needs to be "cold" for the regatta. So, that would mean something in the northern part of the US between November and April. September and October is actually warm up here. Our frostbiting in Barrington, RI does not even start until the very end of October.

Andy
 
In Response...
This proposal could be approved this year and used next year which would qualify those for the 2010 Worlds.

Only Midwinters is used to qualify for US. Yes the winner of the International Masters is invited, but it does not count against the US allotment.

Diluting...the two revolving regionals spots would be used so I don't see any dilution. I can't speak for the other Regions, but I'm 99.9% positive that the Gulf Coast Region would give their 1/3 of the regional spot to make this happen.

Bill Brangiforte and I did come up with this idea as we drove from Newport to Barrington on Sunday to go frostbiting during my visit with LP.

It would counter or equal Midwinters. Three major US regattas where one floats (NAs) and one is always North and one is always South (Florida).

It would need to be in the Fall...
June/July are for NAs.
March/April are for Midwinters/Masters
I suggested October, specifically Columbus Day Weekend, thinking that most of the US has a three day weekend.
 
Maybe the name "Midwinters" isn't right. What this really is is a counterbalance for the existing Midwinters (always held in the South), which is so hard for folks in the North to attend in any kind of consistent way.

I like the idea of having it as late in the season as we can get away with and still have a strong turnout. As a frostbiter, it's easy for me to say it should be held in November, but will we get enough boats on the line to make it a worthy Worlds qualifier? Columbus Day (Mid Oct), seems reasonable to me. The water is still warm and a decent breeze is likely. Rotate it around New England, NY, and the Mid Atlantic, if that makes it more palatable to folks.
 
In the 80s Barrington YC had an event called the Northern Midwinter Championship which was in the fall. It was not a world qualifier.

Is there a reason the midwest would or should not be included when scheduling this regatta? Chicago is famous for its brutal winds during football games. I think that would be a fantastic place for a frostbite championship and could probably earn its name.
 
There have been roughly 550 views of this thread and only 6 votes. Not a great showing on the ballot.

Regardless, to get some another perspective, it would be nice to hear from the 2 people that voted against this regatta or other people that are not in favor. My impression is that the people that are currently responding to this thread are all in favor of it.
 
Good to see some new ideas from the old class.
I would say, give the idea a chance for a year or two/three to see if there is enough interest. However, as adavid wrote, frostbiting is not the appropriate name for the proposed event. True frostbiters have their physicians on standby to reattach fingers after sailing on almost icy waters :eek:

How about "Fall Follies"?
 
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