Olympian JJ Fetter Calling for US Sailing Resignations

Following the turmoil of Paul Cayard’s resignation as executive director of the US Olympic Sailing team and the subsequent lawsuit by US Sailing against AmericaOne, the Associated Press reported that San Diego sailor and two-time Olympic medalist JJ Fetter called for the resignation of the US Sailing leadership who support the lawsuit.

The entire drama is an unfortunate turn of events as US sailors head to Paris for the Olympics, starting in July. The lawsuit, which names  Paul Cayard, Bill Ruh and Leandro Spina, lays out US Sailing’s grievances fracturing the partnership with long-term athlete-funding partner AmericaOne and the three principals named. Until recently, the US held more Olympic sailing medals than any other country but was surpassed by Great Britain after winning only one medal in the last three Olympics. (The one medal was a bronze won by San Diego/Richmond sailor Caleb Paine in the Finn in Rio in 2016; Paine was also the 2016 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year).

The AmericaOne Foundation was formed in the years following its challenge for the America’s Cup in 2000. In addition to “Project Pipeline,” AmericaOne became one of the largest financial supporters of US Olympic sailors, and the lawsuit against it and the former executive director of Olympic sailing follows a critical, confidential US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) report on funding, management and coaching.

We spoke with US Sailing President Rich Jepsen, who relayed the position that US Sailing felt it had no other choice after the release of the USOPC report than to file a lawsuit. He described how much has changed in Olympic sailing since the IOC started allowing professional athletes to compete in 1988, creating a funding gap for US Olympic sailing relative to some other more sailing-centric countries. In addition, evolving federal law and the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act have created new obligations for the governing body of every Olympic sport. According to Rich, “The USOPC report made clear to US Sailing that, as the governing body for US sailing, we are responsible for the protection of the athletes, and our organization was not living up to those duties. US Sailing is open to discuss and build partnerships with all funding organizations that would serve as a large force extender while still allowing us to fulfill our obligations as an NGB.” (NGBs, or National Governing Bodies, are nonprofit, non-governmental organizations responsible for promoting and developing a particular sport within a nation.)

Beyond this current case, there has been long-standing debate around US Sailing’s core mission and its attempts to serve multiple constituencies. While it is charged with developing talent and managing the success of the US Olympic sailing team, US Sailing also manages racing and handicapping rules, and certification of junior sailing instructors. It holds safety-at-sea training, and is attempting to grow participation and inclusion in sailing — which serves to broaden the base from which future Olympic sailors are drawn — as well as sponsoring numerous other missions to support the success of sailing in general.

For many observers, the current upheaval is the result of the unsettled debate about how US Sailing’s Olympic and general sailing missions can successfully coexist. The lawsuit looks unlikely to help resolve the issue, though it is often said that crisis creates opportunity. Exactly how to solve this multi-decade debate between recreational and Olympic sailing remains to be decided. Max Ebb picks up some of the debate in  the current issue of Latitude 38.

For those who want to dig deeper, both US Sailing and AmericaOne Foundation have posted numerous documents on their websites debating the allegations. We have no doubt that all parties involved in this conflict have what they believe are the best interests of the athletes in mind. The volunteers on the board of US Sailing and those at AmericaOne have all dedicated countless hours and years working together to support sailing and the aspirations of Olympic sailors. We can only hope a resolution can be found that allows US Olympic sailors to continue getting the support they deserve and return the US to the podium.

In the meantime, we have some terrific US representatives headed to the Olympics, including local sailors Daniela Moroz and Hans Henken. Richmond Yacht Club’s David Liebenberg is sailing with Sarah Newberry, and still hoping to qualify in the Nacra 17 class.