World Sailing Mid-Year comes to close

World Sailing, the international governing body for the sport of sailing, hosts two dominant meetings each year, among them the Mid-Year Meeting being held remotely in 2021 on May 10-14. Here is the final update:

(May 14, 2021) – As a dominant issue on today’s agenda, World Sailing’s Council have approved the Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding (Formula Kite) and Men’s and Women’s Two Person Dinghy (470) as the first and second alternative event proposals to Mixed Offshore at Paris 2024 following their meeting at the 2021 Mid-Year Meeting.

Held today from 0900 – 1500 UTC, the meeting of World Sailing’s Council concluded the Mid-Year Meeting, which also saw the Constitution Committee, Equipment Committee and Events Committee meet earlier on in the week.

The Mid-Year Meeting was dominated by alternative event proposals for the Mixed Offshore Event at Paris. In April, the IOC informed World Sailing that they were continuing their assessment of the Mixed Offshore Event to address challenges raised, but formally requested that World Sailing propose alternative events.

World Sailing received 23 submissions, consolidated into 15, and throughout the week the Committees discussed and voted on the options.

The outcome of the process would be a Council-made decision of two alternative event proposals, ranked in order of preference, ahead of the IOC deadline of May 26, 2021.

World Sailing’s Council received the Events Committee recommendation to select the Men’s and Women’s 470 as first alternative and Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding as the second alternative. After a lengthy debate, Council voted against the recommendation with 23 against, 15 supporting, and 3 abstentions.

They moved into the Equipment Committee recommendation to select Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding as the first alternative and Men’s and Women’s 470 as the second alternative.

Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding was approved as the first alternative with 33 votes in favor, 2 against, and 6 abstentions. Men’s and Women’s 470 was approved immediately after as the second alternative with 37 votes in favor, 1 against, and 2 abstentions.

World Sailing will now propose to the IOC that should the Mixed Offshore Event not be approved by the IOC Executive Board, they should consider Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding as the first alternative event and thereafter Men’s and Women’s 470.

Throughout the session, Council members spoke positively about the Mixed Offshore Event, noting that it remains the preferred and first option but acknowledged the request set out by the IOC.

“The process to select alternative events for Paris 2024 has not been easy,” noted World Sailing President Quanhai Li. “We have all had to act at pace within a very small window. It has been heart-warming to see the World Sailing community come together and make some very important decisions for the common good of our sport.

“Decisions have been made and now is the time for the entire sailing community to show unity and solidarity. We remain committed to showcasing the Mixed Offshore Event at Paris 2024 but we will now report back to the IOC with our first and second alternative events.”

David Graham, Chief Executive Officer of World Sailing, noted how the Mixed Offshore Event was democratically selected by World Sailing members and remains the first-choice event for Paris 2024.

“It was evident throughout the Council session that our members remain committed to this event,” observed Graham. “We have made this clear to the IOC and will continue to do so. That said, the IOC requested we make alternative event proposals and the entire World Sailing community has acted with speed and with precision to make this very important decision for our sport.

“I want to thank the Committee members and Council members, all of whom are volunteers, for their hours of unrelenting support and work on this process. We are grateful to have this experience and expertise within our community.”

In addition to the selection of alternative events, World Sailing’s Council also voted on the Board recommendation of Judicial Board members and the Equipment Committee’s recommendation to grant World Sailing Class Association Status to the RS21.

World Sailing’s Council unanimously approved the Judicial Board appointments as:

• Hon. Ruth Miller (Chair)
• Alberto Predieri (Vice-Chair)
• Prof. Bruce Collins QC
• Mark Yeadon
• Dr. Anne Jakob
• Dr. David Sharpes QC SC
• Carol Roberts

In addition, Council also unanimously approved the RS21 as a World Sailing Class.

Council will next meet at the 2021 World Sailing Annual Conference which is set to be held at the end of October in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Watch the meeting:

Source: World Sailing