Exclusive: US Sailing to Focus on New Sailors Not TV Audiences

The President of US Sailing, generic Thomas Hubbell, believes the sport should focus on gaining new participants, rather than adding television viewers.

Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, Hubbell added that the “strategic” nature of sailboat racing makes it difficult to broadcast effectively on television.

Hubbell said: “Sailboat racing is an athletic and strategic chess game, played on an ever changing field that is too big to fit on a television screen, has no time-outs and has an uncertain duration of 30 minutes to several weeks.

“I would rather we spend all our energy putting new participants on the water than creating spectators sitting in front of TV sets.”

However, the President did add that documentaries can help to recruit new participants and commented on future television opportunities.

“Spectacular documentaries or IMAX-like features would be very compelling for recruiting sailors,” he said.

“In addition, the America’s Cup races years ago in Freemantle made great television.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how Stan Honey will make the 2013 America’s Cup into a more understandable TV experience.”

Dr. Hubbell had previously served as the Vice President of US sailing for nine years before taking over as President in November 2012.

You can read the full interview here>>

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