1912 Olympic Games Official Report Part 2

Preparatory work of the Yacht Racing Committee.The programme of the races at the Fourth Olympiad, in 1908, wastaken as the guide for the Yacht Racing Committee’s plan for the OlympicRaces in 1912, although certain essential alterations were made in theregulations, etc., in question. As regards the classes of boats that were tocompete, the Committee proposed that 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-metre R-classesshould be chosen instead- of the 6-, 7-, 8-, 12- and 15-metre classes onthe Ryde programme. The Committee based its proposal on the factthat the 7-metre class numbered far less than the 10-metres, whilethe 15-metre class was excluded on account of the great difficultyin having such large boats manned exclusively by amateurs. The systemof counting points was also altered; the Ryde figures, 3, 2 and 1, for1:st, 2:nd and 3:rd places, being changed to 7, 3 and 1 point respectively,for the same places. The view was taken that a first place wasbetter than two second, and one second place better than two third.This method of calculation possessed the additional advantage of reducingthe number of ties that had to be re-sailed.¹When the plan had been drawn up in detail, it was submitted tothe Yacht Club Committee, whose approval it gained, the schemebeing afterwards sent to the Committee of the Yachtsmen’s Association.The last-mentioned Committee held a meeting in Stockholm, on the4 December, 1910, when it discussed two questions; first the request,made by the Royal Swedish Yacht Club, that the Association shouldnominate some members of the Olympic Yacht Racing Committee and,secondly, the above-mentioned plan for the Olympic Races. TheCommittee of the Association considered that, as the said plan hadalso to be discussed, it would be more suitable not to nominate anymembers of the Yacht Club’s Olympic Committee, but to considerat once the programme of the races now placed before them. Thedays for the races (which, in part, were predetermined by the necessityof arranging dates that did not clash with the other competitions inthe Games) were approved of, and the Committee of the Associationexpressed its approval of the Olympic Yacht Racing being for boatsof the 6-, 8-, 10- and 12-metre R-classes, and of the number of theentries in each class from each country being restricted to two yachts.The first part of the labours of the Yacht Racing Committee was thusconcluded, and the programme of the Olympic Yacht Racing washanded over to the Swedish Olympic Committee. The plan wasafterwards discussed by the International Olympic Committee at itsmeeting at Buda-Pesth in May, 1911, when the programme in questionwas approved of without any alteration.Another matter of great importance that had to be arranged, wasthe fixing of the racing-dates for the regatta as a whole, and, startingfrom the days already approved of for the Olympic Races, theCommittee of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club drew up the followingprogramme, which received the approval of the Club at a meetingheld on the 23 May, 1911.1In calculating the points for the Olympic Competitions as a whole,however, the official figures, 3, 2, 1 were employed.768