Largest ever Olympic representation likely

WITH all Olympic qualification regattas now completed 10 names will go forward to the Olympic Council of Ireland for ratification and the sport could well have its largest ever representation on the national squad. That figure could rise yet further if John Lavery and Ben O'Donoghue achieve the nomination standard in the 470 class at next week's Hyeres pre Olympic event in France.

In addition to Mark Lyttle in the Laser class, whose place is already confirmed, the Star class pairing of Mark Mansfield and David Burrows, along with the Howth Yacht Club trio of Mar shall King, Dan O'Grady and Garrett Connolly in the Soling, are the two keelboat entries. Denise Lyttle and Louise Cole are the 470 women's representatives, while Aishling Bowman is in the single handed Europe dinghy.

The final nominee for selection is John Driscoll in the single handed Finn. Driscoll narrowly qualified on Wednesday following a fortunate turnaround in his performance; he had been counting several last places and had been outside the qualification standard for much of the event. However, his own mixed results, along with those of the leading Finn sailors, are typical of the class. This has lead to it being targetted by some elements for elimination from the line up of classes for the Sydney 2000 games.

The success of the Sydney Harbour 18 foot Skiffs and the presence of the games at that venue in four years time means that the IYRU are trying to deliver a new open class. Given the explosion of such boats in recent years, the rush for Olympic selection by several well known boats has started in earnest.

The IYRU Council is expected to discuss the issue at its mid year meeting at Cape Town next month, prior to making a formal decision at the annual conference in November. The short list includes the Laser 5000, 18 foot Skiff, Frank Bethwaite's new 49er, which is based on the Sydney Harbour skiffs, the International 14 and the Boss, while the Flying Dutchman and Finn classes will also be included for the category.

The Laser 5000, co designed by former America's Cup tactician Derek Clarke and Phil Morrison, was launched two years ago specifically with the Sydney Olympics in mind. Its twin trapeze and giant asymmetric spinnaker guarantee excitement both for competitors and spectators, but it is the boat's adjustable trapeze racks, balancing out variables in crew weight and leverage, that sets this design apart.

The concept, developed by Clarke, allows for lightweight crews typically from Asia to compete on equal terms with the heavyweights from America and Europe whatever the conditions. Typical cost new is about £9,000. By contrast, the 18 foot Skiff is at the opposite end of that spectrum. At £18,000 for a basic boat, with three rigs to meet varied conditions, these exciting craft are made of costly aerospace materials to minimise weight. They have raced professionally for many years in Australia and New Zealand and spread last year to Britain.

The Flying Dutchman is certainly high performance but it is expensive and 32 years of Olympic status has never made it a more popular choice. The class enjoys a strong lobby however, and Flying Dutchman sailors take heart from the resurrection of the Star as an Olympic class. The grandfather of them all, the evergreen International 14 has kept at the forefront of developments with the introduction last year of twin trapezes and asymmetric spinnakers. Now the class is going for the ultimate accolade - an Olympic berth.