Yachtsmen once again overlooked

Press, 22 October 1983, Page 64

Yachtsmen once again overlooked

By

JOHN COFFEY

Yachting has again been shabbily treated in the preliminary voting for the New Zealand “Sportsman of the Year.”

A sport that carries this country’s flag proudly in international competition, yachting can boast three present world champions. But yachting was not represented when the six finalists for the “sportsman” title were announced yesterday. They are, in alphabetical order, Neroli Fairhall (archery), Richard Hadlee (cricket), Chris Lewis (tennis), the New Zealand rowing eight, the New Zealand rowing four, and Stu Wilson (rugby).

Only the rowers can lay claim to world championship ranking. Fairhail won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Hadlee was “man of the series” against England, Lewis was runner-up at Wimbledon, and Wilson is now the most prolific All Black try-scorer in test rugby. Fairhall, alone of the five gold medallists from Brisbane, has survived the first round of voting. Anne Audain, Mike O’Rourke (both track and field), Craig Adair (cycling) and John Woolley (clay target shooting) have dropped from contention.

So, too, have the world yachting champions, David Barnes and Hamish Willcox (470 class), Leith Armit

(O.K. dinghies) and Santha Patel (women’s board sailing)-

The omission of Barnes and Willcox is quite incomprehensible. They regained the world title that they previously won in 1981 in one of the most competitive of all yachting classes and have a string of other national and pre-Olympic triumphs to testify to their dedication and skills.

The high level attained by Barnes and Willcox can be gauged by the subsequent performances of the two crews who finished behind' them in the national championship last summer. Chris Dickson and Shaun Reeves and Murray Jones and Earl Berry went on to finish second and first, respectively, in the pre-Olympic regatta at Long Beach. It is generally acknowledged that a world yachting title is more difficult to win than an Olympic gold medal, because of the open entry and larger fleets. At the Games every nation is restricted to one boat in each class.

But world yachting championships are not won in front of television cameras — the America’s Cup excepted — and are often at out-of-the-way venues in New Zealand’s off-season. It is unfortunate that the comparative lack of recognition of the deeds of Barnes and Willcox should be reflected in the list of “Sportsman of the Year” finalists.