While the Olympic Games is the essence and heart of the Finn Class, it
is just one side of the bigger picture, with the class having a huge,
and growing, following worldwide.
National fleets are larger now than they have been any time in the last
30 years. Numbers are unrecognisable compared to just 10 years ago. The
misconception that Olympic classes are gradually declining at national
level is certainly not the true with the Finn class, with many national
fleets experiencing the strongest growth for more than a generation.
It is not uncommon to have national championships with more than 40-50
boats, and that happens in more than a dozen countries worldwide. While
there have always been strong fleets in certain European countries, in
others there is steady and sustained growth. For example, the UK and
France now have bigger fleets than at any time since the 1970s.
In addition, new dealerships in Australia and USA have dramatically
increased the number of boats being sailed. Regular imports can barely
keep up with demand. New Zealand, Poland and Spain are all growing
fleets at a significant rate. Growth on a smaller scale is also
happening in Brazil, Chile, Japan, Serbia and many other countries. The
enthusiasm within the class right now is contagious.
The class has builders in Poland, Italy, UK, Hungary, Switzerland,
Germany, Brazil, South Africa and USA, and other equipment manufacturers
across the globe. It is easier than ever to get hold of a Finn.
Then just consider the 350 Finn sailors that are about to converge on El
Balís, Spain, for the Finn World Masters. That is a huge investment in
the Finn class by these sailors from 32 nations. Many are club sailors,
but some are returning Olympians and former champions who just cannot
seem to kick the Finn habit. It is a class for life. It is a way of
life.
In the 2016 Olympic cycle, the class brought 36 nations to the Olympic
qualifiers, one of the top five classes in terms of numbers. In the 2018
cycle, that number will already be 44 nations at the first Olympic
qualifier in Aarhus, the largest number of nations represented in any
class except the Laser and the Radial. The entry quota has also been
increased from 80 at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships in
Santander to 100 in Aarhus in 2018, to cater for the demand for places
and the huge increase in interest in sailing the Finn.
On the current World Sailing World Ranking List there are 224 ranked
sailors, making the Finn the second largest men’s dinghy discipline and
fourth largest of any discipline.
The Finn class has active fleets in around 40 countries on five
continents as well as limited activity in another 15-20 countries. Each
year there are around 250-300 Finn class regattas worldwide. [2018 Calendar] Finn regatta attendance and membership is at its highest level for more than a generation.
There is a valuable side effect of these hugely competitive Masters and
club fleets. They provide an almost inexhaustible demand for second-hand
equipment, which keeps the market very buoyant for all aspects of Finn
equipment, and makes competing at the top so much cheaper because there
is always a good market for used equipment.
One of the buzzwords these days seems to be ‘universality’, which
includes factors such as the number of nations, and new nations, that a
class brings to Olympic qualification events, availability of equipment
and low participation cost. [Cost of the Finn 2018] The evidence is quite clear.
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