Baseball games are invariably canceled due to rain. Domed stadiums create permanently stable climates. These provisions are intended to minimize external factors and to enhance the level of competition. In such arenas nothing inhibits a competitor's display of athleticism and physical skill except his or her opponent. Athletes need only combat other athletes.
Teams strategize only against opponent teams.
But this is not always the case. There remain spheres of competition where the athletes on the other side of the net or the other end of the field are not the only forces to be reckoned with. In sailing, success is best measured and achieved not just by subduing the competition, but by overcoming the elements. To rise to such a challenge and perform competitively in a sport that requires sailing eight to ten races a day with each race lasting up to half an hour, one must display maturity, poise, quick thinking and endurance. The Dartmouth sailing program has a number of athletes who can meet that challenge.