MichaelR(B.B.B.09)today on nbc news they mentioned the thousands of displaced people who are gathering to protest the games.these people where kicked out of thier homes so the stadium and other venues could be built.they where removed without compensation left to fend for themselves.if china had done nothing else this would be reason enough to boycote the games.of course georg bush will be there as it seems he can always be counted on to befriend human rights violaters since he and they share so much in common.it shames us all that our athletes and our president would attend these games

YES!!! You have my vote George Frohwein wA4HNH@GMAIL.COM

Aloha from the "Friendly Island" of Molokai, Please, this is not "Pono"- it is Not "Right" to eliminate the "MultiHull Division" in the Olympic Program. Yes, we agree with "Bill Armburster" (entry 12-27-2007), and others that "project" for a more "exciting" and potentially "generating-more-veiwing-capacity" to not take away the "multihull" like the "Internatonal Tornado Catamaran"- but include other formats and "weight-divisions"... This "additude" will allow for a more bright and clear future for our "sailing-athletes (men,women, and child) to Sail-n-Surf the "wind-n-wave tubes" with "More Fun Per Dollar", Please, "I do" ask again, let us not repeat history like the way New York Yacht Club would "prohibit" Capt. Nat Herreshoff to even go for a "family" day-sail with his "Amaryllis" and "Taranchula" catamarans. History shows that NYYC would even go as far as "fining" him money if he was out for a "cruise" when their "Sandbaggers" were out on the course! Come now let the "multihull stay in the Olympics- This will be "Pono Ka Ko'o" Aloha "iruka".

Nonsense and politics must have been the reason for removing the Tornado from the olympics. Can't find a reasonable explanation. KEEP THE SPORT ALIVE. THE WORLD DESERVES TO SEE REAL ATHLETES.

Tornado racing is clearly the most exciting Olympic Sailing event. While all sailing events draw the attention of the small fraternity of sailors, the Tornado is the boat most likely to draw the attention of the general public because of it's speed, attractive design and ability to fly a hull. If the Olympic Committee continues to make decisions that weaken the dynamics of these events, another sporting forum will rise up and take away from the impact and value of Olympic competition.

An outrageous and unsupportable decision. The olympics should always look to the future, this decision is looking back--way back. grow up and face it, multihulls are faster, more fun to watch and deserve inclusion.
To elimnate them is to turn your back on the future. Politics should be the only sport excluded from the olympics, loose them and you really have a worthy event.

Hi. I think you should change your decision to not have catamarans in the Olympics. Please change your position so there will be catamarans in the Olympics. Further I recommend that the catamaran used be the Tornado. The reason to do this is because they are such great sailboats to watch and to sail. Thank you. Al

Multihulls and skiff's are the future. I like also odl fashion slow and very technical boats, but it is stupid exclude the future. in recent years multihull's have changed the way people looks at sailing (think only at the record around the globe (20 years ago no one could believe an average speede around the globe faster of the maximum speed of any olympic boat! in an inshore race) Paolo C (F18, 505 and dinghy 12' sailor, past sailor of a Newick 54 feet multihull)

Since it's design from the 1960's Hull TOWING ( hang two hulls at balance, tow behind a boat, the forward hull is faster)tests in Long Beach, CA. I was a kid, I was there. The Tornado has always been the design to beat. Computer design backs up the instinct and trial and effort of the early designers. Just more mono-hull morality. If you pay more for the slower boat, snobbery is the only out.

Wow! loved the youtube video..that brought back memories of racing Hobies and Darts. Of course, cats deserve to be in the Olympics. They add a degree of excitement you don't see in the monohulls.

Multihulls deserve to be in the Olympics!

I think multihull boats races are more exciting

Several classes of catamarans in the Olimpics

Multihull sailing is a huge part of sailings long history, and it belongs in the Olymics!!!!

1

ISAF must be convinced that multihulls and skiff are the most modern and efficient boats. OK also for old and slow boats but exclude is future is nonsense !!!

yes multihulls in Olimpic Event

Catamarans make up a significant portion of the sailing community. Yet, big boat sailors often look down on catamarans because of their size and being a beach launch boat and belief that they are simple to sail.  That is until they race on and find out that it is every bit as complex as any boat on the water.  With Catamarans mast rotation, hull atitude, not only heeling but pitch, the depth the dagger boards at different points of sail and under different wind conditions and sail shape adjustments that are every bit if not more complex than monohulls because catamarans sail in a much larger speed range all make a difference in determining who goes fastest.  Additionally, because catamarans are capable of much higer speeds the sailors have to be able to exhibit an ability to interpret multiple situations and react much quicker than with mono hulls.  They should not be removing boats from the Olympics, they should be adding them and they should be adding several classes of catamarans.  

Bill Armbruster

As stated in the quotation from the President of the ISAF, it makes me wonder if this was taken out of context.  What else was said?   If it is only as represented, then the entire sailing fraternity, dinghy & Keelboat communities not just the multihull community, should come to the aid of the Tornado class or the catamaran class that is chosen to continue in the Olympics. 

 An an aside,  I think that there should be a catamaran singlehander in the Olympics and given the realities of how much crew weight defines these and other boats in performance, just like boxing,  I think there should be catagories/classes that reflect different crew weights in the Olympics.   Have you noticed that the "you need not apply" sign is the case in a number of classes if you do not fit the optimum weight for a particular boat - - higher the performance, the more this is the case.    Thus in a lot of the catamaran classes skippers of smaller stature or weight are the ones who advance - - all else being equal, people of larger stature/weight are eliminated from being "in the running" due to weight.   If we are all interested in better participation and more involvement throughout the world, the advent of weight categories would open the Narrow spectrum to more involvement.   As comparison,can you imagine the boxing world with no weight categories???  Bottom line,  if anything there should be more classes not less in the Olympics.

People are afraid of cats because they are fast and represent an Oceanic technology that is superior to the unstable Western style. It is, in essence, a problem of Eurocentrism! Keep the cat alive!

This is very entertaining, like extreme sports. Good for the sport to have it at the Olympics.

Caro Tomas,

Isto afeta a classe Tornado.

Abraço

Marcos Tonndorf

It seems to me that the increasing popularity of multihulls in general and cats in particular would indicate that the IOC should keep the class!  Not everyone races, but it is interesting to see what other boats similar to your own can do on the course. 

We need more people signing this petition. 800 strong now. Let get this to 25,000. Tell your friends, family, marina neighbors.

The olympics should not ban the fastest sail boats in the world. Also they can be sailed by aging sailers that haven't got the strength a younger crew has. I know because I sailed a Hobbie 16 up to 69 years old out in Georgian Bay in 15-20 knot winds & 1-3 foot waves. I loved it. Please don't remove multi hull racing in the future Olympics.

This is an unfortunate and ridiculous decision. Cat sailing is a big part of sailing, and of sailboat racing. Althought cat racing can be simpler from a tactical aspect due to the relative speed lost while tacking, this is made up for in boatspeed techniques and general boat handling, and tactics remain important to win. In a breeze the Tornado becomes a handful to keep under control at the speeds it takes to win. The talent it takes to sail a cat well are transfered to other sailboats, and cat sailing has spawned many accomplished helmsman and sailing enthsuists. From a spectators point of view, the less you know about sailing the more appealing cat racing is to watch, to learn from, and to possibly gain a fan or a future sailor. I can only hope that common sense will prevail and this decision will be overturned.

Why on earth would multihull's be eleminated...no doubt they are fast, with all those on them being extremely competitive....where's the rub?

What happened to having a little variety in the classes? There should be no reason to remove the event. There are only 10 events, 6 for men and 4 for women.

How about the following events for both men and women? Singlehander, Doublehander, sailboard, multihull, keelboat. If you want to extend anyone of these classes go ahead BUT don't remove one!