Yachting New Zealand has tried but failed to cater for the more social sailor. This seems to be a world wide problem without an answer. You all know that the Laser is a very difficult boat to sail and race. When the kids come out of the Optimist class they are at the top of the heap, when they go into the laser they are at the bottom. They also get discouraged when they can't hold the boat down in heavy air.
Lasers are also very expensive to sail and own.
Normal kids can't afford to stay competitive. For these reasons many kids go into the Sunfish class. Sunfish are much cheaper to buy and sail. You can also still stay competitive with an older boat. It seems to me that kids start in the optimist and then move up to the Sunfish and then some continue on to the laser when they are older and have more money.