Concerns about plans for the Irish Sailing Association's Sail Training syllabus, particularly for children and young people, have been raised this week by the principal of one of the foremost teaching schools in Ireland.

Too much emphasis on racing and the inability of the existing system to offer flexibility for different levels and age groups lie at the heart of the problem.

"The current programme does a job that suits a lot of people and produces some great results but it is too narrow in terms of its focus," according to Alistair Rumball of the Irish National Sailing School (INSS) in Dun Laoghaire. His courses provide training for an estimated 5,000 children annually and his comments come at a time when the ISA is reviewing its existing programme.

However, this review process also comes in for sharp criticism from Rumball who feels not enough consultation is taking place with the established commercial sailing schools. "The review board has no women and no teachers - how could they get it right?" he questions. Three critical elements are at the heart of the issue according to Rumball.

All age groups must be able to participate at entry level and not simply the youngest children beginning at Stage One only. Beginners must also be able to learn within their own age group. Rumball also believes that regardless of the length of a course undertaken, there must be a reward structure in place to acknowledge that achievement.

Changing the system does mean committing more resources and personnel to allow, for example, three age-group streams to learn at the same level and not at the same ability level as exists at present. "The ISA structure is deficient at present but they have an opportunity to improve on even the RYA Young Sailors scheme that does cater for these needs," he says.

Last evening, the Irish Sailing Association's David Lovegrove, whose review group was set up to establish a single course that will cover all requirements and age groups, was reassuring as to the direction of the new syllabus. "A lot of what Alistair says I personally agree with," he said yesterday. "The old ISA structure has served the country well up until now but it's time for a fresh look."

While agreeing with Rumball that there has been too much focus on racing, Lovegrove states that the new approach will be to have a common course to teach the basics to all before moving into separate modules that people can choose from. If anything, the initial emphasis will be on seamanship.