Giles Scott: Disturbing the Waters of British Sailing

Standing at the top of the podium during the ISAF Youth World Championships, Giles Scott had announced his arrival as one of the most promising Olympic prospects in British sailing. His progress was as relentless as it was rapid, with that gold in 2005 becoming the root of an exciting transition into the seniors shortly after.

The litmus paper measuring Scott’s footing in the sport came against an underprepared Ben Ainslie at Weymouth Bay; whilst his consequent victory did not quite signal a new era in British sailing, it undoubtedly served as a mark of his intent. Scott clinched gold, with triple Olympic gold medalist Ainslie 6.4 points behind him in fourth.

“It was pretty significant,” Scott concedes. “It was a big thing for me but I spent the whole time just in my own zone and doing what I like to do. It didn’t come as a shock to me that I won it, because that was what I had been telling people I wanted to do.

“It primarily served as a big confidence boost for me. I didn’t do so well in mid-season last year and took a bit of a downturn. So I had to work pretty hard to dig myself out of that.

“I wanted to win the Regatta and I thought that was what needed to be done to prove to people that I could go to the Games and win it. It was great to beat him [Ainslie], but it was great to beat everyone else. I hope to do it more often.”

The confidence exuded by Scott is a prerequisite for any Olympic hopeful; the Finn class for the Olympic squad can only accommodate one participant, but competition is fierce. Anything less than a belief in his own abilities would render any challenge to rivals Ben Ainslie and Ed Wright futile.

Scott’s move into the Olympic Finn Class came as recently as 2006, meaning he is a relative novice when held up next to his domestic opponents. Triple Olympic champion Ainslie is adorned in the gold of his past successes, but the rawness of Scott’s youth and his hunger for success serves him with a fearlessness that helps balance the contest.

“I am the underdog, but it’s a position I am happy with,” Scott asserts. “Ben is always going to have the majority of the spotlight on him just because of what he has achieved in the past - and rightly so. He has been amazingly successful, but that doesn’t stop someone like me wanting to come along and bring that to an end. I’m going to do all I can to try to qualify.”

The nature of such competition cultivates an ideal breeding ground for animosity between the three rivals. With a single place vacant in the GB squad, two will inevitably be watching the race from dry land. The politics of the sport are undeniable; the microcosm that forms amongst the fleet ensures that the outcome of many races depends on the intricate system of friend and foe whilst on the water.

“There are people within the international scene that do have a reputation that doesn’t do them any favours. I won’t name any names of course, but you do see it a lot. There are certain people that have a tendency to do things that annoy the fleet and the thing about sailing is that if the fleet decides it is going to come together, they can hurt an individual very badly.

“There are times when you will cross behind boats and the other guy can decide to tack on you, take your wind and send you back, or he can let you go and give you a bit of room. If you make too many dodgy manoeuvres or do things people don’t like, you can be hurt.”

The politics is an area Scott has no intention of mastering and his mantra remains: “keep quiet and don’t be too aggressive with anyone”. Nonetheless, his attitude of neutrality and composure is by no means the characteristic of a pushover. Tactically, Scott insists such a detachment from the clamor of politically motivated sailing benefits him.

“At the Regatta in Miami last year one of the guys decided he was going to start playing mind games,” Scott recalls. “He went up to someone just before the last race and said to him “no harsh feelings, but I’m going to come for you”. He had no intention of doing that. He was saying it because he needed to beat two people and believed he could do that by psyching out this guy and then leaving him alone on the water. Then he would come for me and I wouldn’t be expecting it. He failed.”

The professionalism of Scott’s approach on the water extends to the domestic rivals he considers friends. The intimate nature of British sailing ensures that Scott, Ainslie and Wright cross paths regularly, though the fine line between comrade and competitor is a difficult one to draw.

“We all get along really well,” Scott vows. “We socialise and go out together, but that stops at the water. You have to keep a distance there – we become competitors on the water and that’s how it stays. There is a mutual respect, so we’re good mates on the water but not so much off.”

The remaining path to London 2012 is likely to be an arduous one for Giles Scott, targeting qualification for arguably the most tightly contested placement in the British Olympic squad. Choppy waters lie ahead for the talented athlete, with early mornings and intense winter training a major part of Scott’s Olympic equation.

“The dream is wanting to succeed. When it does get difficult you sometimes need to take a step back and remind yourself about why you are doing it – that convinces you to get up and do the work.

“It can get a bit cold. Weymouth never freezes over so you never have any excuse. I chose to do sailing and I want to be as successful as I can be - what that means is going to the Olympics and winning gold.”

�

�

Giles Scott is a member of the BMW London 2012 Performance Team. It is an initiative designed to provide Team GB and ParalympicsGB with support as they prepare for the Games on and off the field. For more information please visit: www.bmw.co.uk/London2012.