ISAF Annual Conference: Day Five Summary

The 2015 ISAF Annual Conference has commenced in Sanya, China, with the world of sailing gathering on the Chinese island of Hainan on November 7-14 to talk about the business of sailing and make the decisions that take the sport forward into the new year. Here is the November 11 day five summary…

MNA Forum
The MNA Forum kick started the proceedings on November 11 with an interactive forum that featured a number of presentations and conversations with ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, Sarah Ayton, ISAF officials and many more.

Master of Ceremonies and ISAF Vice President, Gary Jobson, welcomed ISAF Chief Executive Officer Peter Sowrey as well as Head of Events, Alastair Fox and Chief Marketing Officer, Malcolm Page. They were quizzed on the direction of world sailing and explained the route the sport will take.

ISAF Vice President Chris Atkins gave an overview of the federation’s events strategy and Betsy Alison was also on hand to speak about Paralympic sailing.

ISAF Nominated Experts spoke about the recent Emerging Nations Program that touched base in five continents, read more on the ENP here.

Alongside this Match Racing Denmark, the Women’s careers in sailing, safety at sea, graphics in the sport and the next generation of sailors were also discussed.

Race Officials Committee
The Race Officials Committee approved the grouping system for classification of officials at major ISAF events. They also appointed the first batch of international classifiers and international technical delegates. The names of those appointed will be published shortly.

The Race Officials Committee is full of a range of world class officials with multiple backgrounds in the sport. A number of them have been appointed to officiate the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition. This includes:
• Principal Race Officer – Nino Shmueli (ISR)
• Vice-Chairman of the Jury – Jan Stage (DEN)
• Chief Umpire of Medal Race – Peter Shrubb (BER)
• Chairman of the Equipment Inspection Committee – Dimitris Dimou (GRE)
• Jury Member – Andres Perez
• Jury Member – Sally Burnett

Find out more about the announcement of the Race Officials on the ISAF website here.

Special Regulations
In the Special Regulations Sub-committee, Stan Honey presented the Volvo Ocean Race’s report on the stranding of Vestas Wind. Honey was part of the report team that produced the 81-page document.

You can read into the stranding of Vestas Wind in more detail here.

The Sub-committee went through a number of submissions as well and there recommendations will now go to the Oceanic and Offshore Committee tomorrow.

Racing Rules Committee
The 2015 Annual Conference is the final opportunity for amendments and additions to the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2017-2020. There were a large number of submissions on the table that the Committee worked through in advance of ISAF Council making the final decision on November 14.

There were discussions on new provisions relating to misconduct as well as extending the rules to cover parents and coaches within the sport.

Next generation, short fleet racing events have become the norm over recent years with the explosion of the Extreme Sailing Series, GC32 series, and the M32 series. The committee agreed the measures necessary in ensuring the officials appointed have the right skills and knowledge to deliver these in confined spaces.

Regional Games Committee
Betsy Alison, chair of the Para World Sailing Committee, was formally welcomed into the Regional Games committee as the integration of the Para World Sailing Committee continues. The importance of developing Para World Sailing in Regional is paramount and the Committee unanimously supported the inclusion of events into the competition programs at each competition.

The Committee received presentations from some of the year’s biggest Regional Games including:
Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada
Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
South East Asian Games in Singapore

Several Regional Games don’t include sailing in their sporting programs, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Great Britain is a good example of this. It was emphasised that more engagement with existing regional games organisers and new organisers to show the value that sailing can offer and bring to each venue.

Equipment Committee
Eight classes applied to become an ISAF class in advance of the Annual Conference. The Equipment Committee’s decision is as follows:

VX ONE – Defer
RS Aero – Approve
Fareast 28R – Approve
VO65 – Approve with conditions
Kite Twin Tip Freestyle – Approve
Kite Foil – Approve
M32 – Deferred to the 2016 Mid-Year Meeting
Nacra F20 Carbon – Approved

These approvals will go to ISAF Council for approval.

Much like the Racing Rules Committee, the meeting of the Equipment Committee at the 2015 Annual Conference is the final opportunity for amendments to the 2017-2020 Equipment Rules of Sailing. Based on it being the last chance for amendments the committee received 35 submissions in advance of the meeting in Sanya. Four submissions were withdrawn in advance of the meeting so the committee worked through 31. Their recommendations are to be approved at ISAF Council on November 14.

A live blog will be available from Saturday November 7 through to Saturday November 14 here: www.sailing.org/follow/2015-annual-conference-blog.php

The Annual Conference meeting schedule, papers and further information here: www.sailing.org/meetings/2015-conference.php