INTERVIEW WITH FILIPE SILVA - POR 21 Objectives and strategy in the coming years? It is important for the Finn to reapply becoming an Olympic class again. The next window of opportunity is in two years, immediately after the Paris Olympics 2024. Its exclusion was not a very strategic decision. Unlike other sports, today the Olympic sailing classes are far from representing the reality of sailing worldwide. There are fewer singlehanded boats today, and they are the ones that allow many more countries to be present at the Games. The worst of all, the Finn class has not been replaced by another with similar characteristics, therefore sailors over 86 kg simply don’t have any possibility to participate in any Olympic class. With that decision, World Sailing simply excluded many super qualified sailors. The International Finn Association should review the previous arguments and prepare a strong candidacy. If nothing else, the Finn’s Olympic class bid campaign could work as a very powerful promoting initiative for the class. Wellorchestrated, such a campaign could bring together many prestigious current and former Finn sailors and demonstrate to young sailors how vibrant and exciting the Finn class is. Those prestigious sailors are a role model to follow. What initiatives would you like to see? In a nutshell, work on making the European and World Masters sailing events massive promotion events; bring onboard high-profile advocates, like the Finn, Olympic and America’s Cup champions to help in our campaigns; reapply
becoming an Olympic class again. All done with the objective of attracting new young sailors to the Finn. focus of class as it transitions to non-Olympic? The Finn class doesn’t depend on the Olympic Games to continue being vibrant; it is the other way round. Without the Finn class, the Olympic sailing is less representative of global sailing, it becomes less athletic, tactical and intellectually challenging. We have all it takes to make the Finn class grow even further and become a class of choice for the youth of the sailing world.
