Coast Guard’s new weight calculations for passenger vessels and ferries merely reflect a supersized general population and similar moves elsewhere.
As the U.S. Coast Guard ramps up its enforcement of new weight calculations for passengers on the water, the most dramatic changes in high school weight classes in almost 25 years have also taken place this winter. While the Coast Guard changes its median assumed weight for passengers from 160 pounds all the way to a whopping (conjure up the visual) 185 pounds, the lowest high school wrestling weight has been moved from 103 pounds to 106 pounds, also resulting in an upward shift for 10 of the other 14 existing weight classes. You could probably care less about either edict. Nevertheless, the two seemingly unrelated events are reflective of a general trend in society as a whole.
According to a NFHS Athletics Participation Survey, wrestling is the sixth-most popular sport for boys at the high school level. The change in weight classes upset the apple cart for many competitors and coaches this year. Designed in part to reflect (ahem) a larger demographic, the move only served to create a dilemma for some kids who has intended to move up in class as they matured and grew in the off season. Instead, the half weight incremental shift probably caused many to shed weight that they otherwise wouldn’t have contemplated. The practice of cutting weight to wrestle at a lower class in high school is frowned upon and, in some circles; it is widely regarded as a dangerous practice. Not everyone thinks the weight changes are a good idea and that they were instituted for all the wrong reasons by regulators who don’t know the sport.
Almost 40 years ago (no, please don’t do the math) when I was a freshman in high school, the lowest weight class was 98 pounds. The new low weight class is about 8 percent higher than it was then. I remember it well, because I wrestled that season at the next weight up; 105 pounds. At the college level, the lightest weight class back then was 118 pounds and today, it is 126 pounds. The move for college wrestlers came in the face of three tragedies involving wrestlers who had died while trying to drop pounds in an effort to wrestle at lower weight classes. You may also remember that the highest weight class at that time was “unlimited.” I suppose that none of these changes should surprise anyone.
Today, my weight is a closely guarded secret with national security implications. If I told you, well, I’d also have to kill you. Like most of society, I’m a lot bigger than I used to be. On the water, the new Coast Guard rules, in part, also come in response to deaths emanating from a tour boat accident on a New York lake. According to the U.S. Coast guard, they arrived at the new weights by using the assumed federal average male weight (194.7 pounds) and female weight (164.7 pounds) and then piling on a few extra pounds for personal effects – and probably double cheeseburgers with a supersized box ‘o fries.
In the 1970’s, wrestlers weighing 350 pounds or more were not unusual. It also wasn’t necessarily a pretty thing to watch. Today, the maximum weight allowed in wrestling is set at a still hefty 285 pounds. Not surprisingly, this weight was increased from 275 pounds in 2006. In general, I think the wrestling rules changes are designed to better reflect the typical size and spread of competitors and to promote safety within the sport. Not everyone thinks they got it right.
On the water, the new rules will likely have little effect on the larger cruise ship industry. That’s because vessels typically measure cargo in terms of weight – and volume. A vessel that has reached its full cubic capacity is characterized as “full.” One that has as much weight as it can handle is characterized as “down.” Rarely, if ever, do cruise vessels achieve a “full and down” status. The same cannot be said for the average dinner boat or river tour platform. For these folks, then, the new rules may mean the difference between profit and bankruptcy.
Boat operators across the country are now faced with difficult choices. By eliminating weight (and head count) as determined by the new rules, they also reduce revenue. Some larger ferry operators simply change the number of people that they will allow on board. And, since their real revenue stems from vehicles, the likelihood of turning away anyone who walks on is quite remote. On the other end of the scale, small boat operators have real issues.
Among the thousands of domestic passenger boats that the Coast guard regularly inspects, the rush to show that they can comply with the new rules and still maintain the same passenger load is now underway. This takes the form of relatively crude, inclining stability tests that charter captains complain have no resemblance to real life sea conditions. Nevertheless, the rules are here. Chances are these rules will someday save lives. And, they must be complied with.
No one is suggesting that boat operators will now need to weigh in people before embarkation, but those in charge will have to pay closer attention to who is coming on board. Obviously, the elementary school field trip of 100 students will affect the stability of a smaller platform less profoundly than, say, an entire Division 1 varsity football team. Still, that would be one “weigh in” event that might be fun to watch.
My high school wrestling coach remains as one of the most important people in my life for various reasons, but way back then, he was also famous for two quotes, one of which made it into the local school district’s PTA newsletter. At a dinner, he told listeners, “What this community needs is a little more perspiration and a little less deodorant.” He was right then and today, those words probably hold a lot more meaning than he could have ever imagined.
At some point during my junior year in high school, I made the mistake of moaning about the amount of weight I still had to shed in order to make weight on the following day. Always the master psychologist, he told me, “That’s Okay. If you can’t make it then we’ll send you up two classes.” And then he added, “Everyone in America ought to know what it feels like to be hungry at least once.” I made weight the next day without further complaint. By the time I was a senior in college, making 157 pounds was a difficult task. That latter weight is now also a distant memory.
I honestly don’t know if the average person is bigger and heavier than they were, say, fifty years ago. I know that I certainly am, despite my thrice weekly geezer runs through a local park. It is also a fact of life that regulatory and safety changes typically come in response to some tragedy and that sometimes, they don’t get it just right, when they do. The fallout from the recent Costa Concordia incident has yet to be finalized, but you can be sure it will involve some sort of regulatory oversight and changes to the way cruise operators do business. The new Coast Guard assumed weight calculations aren’t perfect and (so I am told) neither are the newest weight standards for high school wrestlers. From my chair, I trust that both – and the ones soon to come – came into play for the right reasons. – MarPro.
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Joseph Keefe is the lead commentator of MaritimeProfessional.com. Additionally, he is Editor of both Maritime Professional and MarineNews print magazines. He can be reached at jkeefe@maritimeprofessional.com or at Keefe@marinelink.com. MaritimeProfessional.com is the largest business networking site devoted to the marine industry. Each day thousands of industry professionals around the world log on to network, connect, and communicate.