Riccardo Ravagnan: “Ready for Tokyo2020. My weather analysis at the service of Spain.”

Ready, set, go. The adventure of Riccardo Ravagnan, weather strategist for the Spanish Olympic team that will participate in the upcoming Tokyo2020 Games in Japan, and sole director of Meteomed, a company specializing in forecasting and weather services for recreational and professional boating, is about to begin. Ravagnan, a native of Chioggia class of ’88, will have the delicate task of analyzing the climate of the race course by reconstructing the general conditions in which the athlete will perform. A valuable function to prepare the boat and equipment with respect to the marine weather conditions that will be encountered on the Enoshima Olympic field. After all, the weather service in sports is becoming a strategic support. A key aspect that is no longer left to chance. Racing strategy for sailing can be crucial to achieving success, especially at the high level, such as in the Olympics.

Ravagnan, what is your role in the Spanish team and what team will you follow?
“My role will be that of the meteorologist who will interface directly with athletes and coaches of the Spanish team. I will be present with them during the days of the Olympic Games and follow all the classes. Spain qualified in all categories so there will be a lot of work. The Real Federación Española de Vela has been investing in Meteomed since 2019 to secure the best high-resolution forecast models and a team of professionals dedicated to the strategy: from meteorologists to modelers to developers.”

What are the goals of a weather strategist?
“Understanding race dynamics will have return on tactics. One needs to know the potentially favored and underdog areas of the competition field. Then the psychological component should not be underestimated. Knowing the weather and sea conditions that will characterize the race reduces the athlete’s need for control and increases the feeling of comfort towards performance. The last aspect, no less important, is safety in sailing. If I know the behavior of the sea I can lower the risk of injury. My mind is consciously and unconsciously prepared for what will happen during the day.”
It is expected to be a busy month for her.
“Fortunately, I am supported by a team consisting of both Meteomed, for mathematical models, and nPhysis, for analysis tools useful for the briefing and debriefing phases.”
How will your expedition be organized logistically?
“We will all be physically together from July 10 and for two days we will not be able to train, but we will try to get used to the jet leg. We will continue the acclimatization work and start doing a lot of technical meetings with the goal of better organizing the training days starting July 15.”
The pandemic has affected the organization. Is that so?

“Constantly we will be updated on the evolution of the strict rules related to reducing the risk of Covid-19 infection. Objectively, it is one of the most complex issues to manage because it makes logistics very complex.”
How are you experiencing the approach to this appointment?
“We have worked a lot in these months. The athletes are at the top of their training, and we technicians have reached a level of confidence and depth that makes us calm in carrying out our work. I will have a responsibility in these first few days of training: to verify that the prediction models, interpretation models and communication protocols are really reliable or if it will be necessary to make changes on the run.”

How much has the pandemic affected your work?

“Unfortunately, the pandemic year has made my work very complicated, having to rely only on data and not physical observation. It is common thinking that data is objective, while interpretation is not, but the real difference in the outcome is provided by the human component. My contribution is definitely based on quality data, tools and models, but mostly on the ability to interpret what I see, what I perceive and how I can communicate it to the athletes.”

What do you expect from the Enoshima camp?

“The Enoshima course has all the characteristics to be one of the most difficult in the world from the point of view of physical stress associated with environmental characteristics. The high temperatures, high percentage of humidity and the many variables that influence the evolution of weather conditions are the main obstacles for athletes. In this bay, we expect correct weather forecasting to be a key percentage in performance at sea, higher importance than other race courses in the world.”

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