Please help me understand
July 21, 2022
not exciting enough for the news??
I picked up the TO Star on Monday. There on the Front Page – New Zealand’s Scott Dixon wins the Honda Indy. In the same issue, in the Sports Section –a huge photo of hammer thrower Camryn Rogers, from Richmond BC, winning silver in a Eugene, OR track and field event. Congratulations to both these fine athletes, but– what about Sail GP??
We have seen over and over that when Canadian athletes are at the Olympics, media outlets choose any pole vault event or even ballroom dancing or air pistol shooting before sailing. Even our super-talented ILCA 6 Laser and previous Pan-Am Games gold medalist Sarah Douglas barely got a mention when Tokyo was on.
But Sail GP – now here is an opportunity! Or so you might think; in my view, Sail GP F50s certainly match the Indy for exhilarating photography. The action is non-stop. On top of that, the crew of our entry is almost entirely made up of talented young Canadians from across the country. AND – they have come out of literally nowhere to stand second in a high-powered international field. In their rookie events!!!
It’s the dream come true for Canadian media, but you’d never know it. The brains and seed money come from a Canadian high-tech entrepreneur, Fred Pye. That is worth a front-page story, but if you google Fred’s contribution, the biggest non-boating publication that comes up is Alaska Highway News (try it yourself – I am not exaggerating.) Boating stories just don’t make the news, I guess
Last month CAN Sail GP scored amazingly in just it’s second regatta ever in Chicago, placing second in a fan-packed event not far from home, yet if you search for the results, you wouldn’t discover them reported in my Toronto Star. On any Canadian TV, in the news? Crickets.
Also on Monday, Blue Jay, Alejandro Kirk’s mother drove from Tijuana to LA to watch her son in the MLB All Star Game; that makes the news. On the other hand, when CAN Sail team member Georgia Lewin-Lafrance from Chester, NS flies across a 50-foot catamaran in a crash suit to win a race in Chicago, Canadians likely never hear of it. Doesn’t really seem equitable to me.
John Morris
Online Editor
Canadian Yachting Magazine
CYonboard@kerrwil.com
