Global Team Racing Challenge for ICSA, Olympic Team Racing 2020?

I hereby challenge the ICSA to take the lead in getting team racing
into the Olympics by 2020.  Here is a possible road map to Team Racing
2020.

Our college sailing tour of the British Isles takes place every four
years with BUSA sailors coming here in between.  How about we take our
tour on the road every summer beyond the British Isles.  We need to hit
non-English emerging nations that have great influence within ISAF.

How about:
2011: South and East Asia.  Stops could include the World University
Games near Hong Kong for sure but also possible stops in Mumbai,
Singapore, and Tokyo.

2012: South America.  How about Southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.
  Brazil is a powerhouse in international sailing, Argentina has been a
major force in Opti team racing, and Uruguay has been very good at the
World Youth Champs.  Could we fly to Ecuador and Southern Peru also?

2013: British Isles plus.  The Brits have all the team racing
infrastructure in place, that part is easy.  How about including
Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Marstrand and Kiel?

2014: Southern Europe.  Go Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, and Greece.

It will be very easy to say "too hard, too expensive."  Of course it
will be hard, that's the challenge.

Sponsorship?  Small amounts might come from orgs like ICSA, NEISA,
Southport, New York YC and all the home clubs of the participants. 
What about companies doing business in the the US and nations on the
tour? They too are looking for emerging nations and new horizons.

Boats and Sails?  There must be retired I-420s becoming
institutionalized all over the world.  It would be cool for us to sail
anything though.  How about we ship six colored main and jibs made to
fit old I-420s, with sponsor logos of course.  Perhaps these sails can
be fitted with a place for the names of other countries we face.  Bring
bumpers and white duct tape too.

Trophies?  We donate permanent trophies to live at their sites.

Educating?  We provide team racing clinics for their youth teams in
exchange for a chance to play in their boats.  Our coach takes on many
roles including, but not limited to: fund raiser, organizer, clinic
director, commentator, writer.  Meanwhile our sailors become team
racing ambassadors which includes learning new languages and switching
teams a bit.

Why is spreading team racing so hard?  Language.  Virtually all the
medalists in the eight team racing worlds held to date have been from
English speaking countries; namely USA, GBR, NZ, AUS, and IRE.  Just as
American football is hard to translate to the masses when compared to
soccer; so is team racing, when compared to match racing.  It can and
must be done, however.  When watching random sports of the Games on TV,
we viewers become experts in two nights.  Even non-sailors can be
experts in basic combinations after watching two sessions with a good
commentator.

We better hurry.  There is a rumor that ISAF might lower the status of
the team racing worlds if more countries don't show up.  There is
currently no avenue to the worlds following Opti TR worlds.  Let's
change that.  ICSA needs to help other nations enjoy team racing as
soon as the next World University Games if not sooner.  The USA used to
dominate Olympic sailing medals, 1984-92.  Then the other countries
starting taking these medals seriously, very seriously.  Perhaps they
could be encouraged to do the same in team racing.

Thanks to Steve Wolfe for this idea of spreading the tour.  Thanks to
Bruce Hebbert (GBR) for believing in 2020 team racing.  Thanks to Gary
Bodie for his role in the World University Games and to Mitch Brindley
for positioning the ISCA to enhance it's role there.

Ken Legler
ICSA coach of the 1985 British tour.