Preliminary Report

The 2002 Mid-Year Meetings of the International Sailing Federation, hosted by the Austrian Sailing Federation in Vienna, Austria were held from 30 April to 5 May 2002.

Meetings of the Executive Committee and Events Committee, were followed by the Council over the weekend of 4-5 May.

Bringing together 120 delegates from more than 40 countries, the meetings focused on a wide diversity of issues from the future strategy of sailing events to promote the sport, through to on-the-water communication by coaches and athletes to the weight limit procedure for the Yngling Class.

Whilst all decisions are subject to final confirmation when the Council minutes are published (approximate publication date end May/early June), there follows an overview of the key decisions taken. Please note that all wording is subject to final “housekeeping changes”, which would not change the intention of the decision, but would be made to make the decision clearer and as appropriate in a “rule” format. A more detailed report of the 2002 ISAF Mid-Year Meetings will be published in the next few days:

2002 Yngling World Championships – Olympic Qualification Regatta
Decision
1.That for all Olympic Qualification Regattas for the Yngling there shall be a separate start for the women only fleet;
2.That the Yngling Weight Limit shall apply for the 2004 Olympic Regatta and all Olympic Qualification Regattas;
Note: See decision below which also requires that the weight limit shall apply at the 2002 Olympic Test Event.
3.That to sail in the women only fleet at the Olympic Qualification Regattas (Yngling Worlds in 2002 and 2003 and the Yngling Europeans in 2004), all women shall be required to comply with the weight limit (whether Olympic aspirants or not to ensure a level playing field).

Yngling Weight Limit Measurement Procedure
Decision 1
1.That for the 2002 Olympic Qualification Regatta in the Yngling Class, all competitors shall present themselves for weighing every day between 0700-0900 in order to ensure compliance with the all-up crew weight limit of 205kg.
2.That the Race Committee may schedule a different two hour window as required if racing will commence earlier than 1100 hours.
3.That competitors may present themselves for weighing at any time during the two-hour window and as often as necessary to make the weight limit.
4.That the ISAF Medical Commission will be asked to evaluate the information from the 2002 Qualification Regatta and make a recommendation in November 2002 for the weight limit procedure to be applied at the 2003 and 2004 Olympic Qualification Regattas and the 2004 Olympic Regatta.
5.The Sailing Instructions will amend RRS 60 to prohibit competitor protests for violation of the weight limit or the above procedure.
6.Competitors failing to meet the weight limit as above shall not sail in any races that day and shall be scored DNS.

Decision 2
1.That the above weight measurement procedure shall also be implemented at the 2002 Olympic Regatta Test Event for the Yngling Class and the Star Class.

Yngling Building Specification
Decision 1 – Boats built from the Australian Mould
1.That Ynglings built from the existing Australian mould shall be eligible for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 Olympic Qualification Regattas, but not the 2004 Olympic Regatta.

Decision 2 – Requirements for Ynglings to be used in the Women’s Keelboat Event in the 2004 Olympic Regatta
1.Boats shall conform to 2002 Rules of the International Yngling Class and subsequent amendments, except where overridden by this document.
2.Boats shall have been built in Official Moulds approved by ISAF for Olympic competition. Currently these moulds are those used by Abbott(CAN) , Borresen(DEN), DeWolfe(USA), Mader(GER) and Nautivela(ITA).
3.Boats shall have been fitted with a raised floor in accordance with the Class Rules by a Licensed Builder.
4.Boats shall have been measured in accordance with the 2002 Measurement Form, and a copy of this form lodged with ISAF at the time of measurement. Boats built after 1 March 2002 shall use this form at first measurement. Boats built prior to 1 March 2002 may be submitted for re-measurement at any time using the 2002 form.
5.During both first measurement and any re-measurement the measurer will take additional checks to ensure that the shape of the boat or the mould has not been intentionally altered in contradiction of the Class Rules. The 2002 Measurement Forms held by ISAF will provide data to assist in any investigation that might be required.
6.Hulls must conform to limits on the Radius of Gyration and the Vertical Centre of Gravity. The method of testing and the dimensions to be applied will be announced by November 2002. All boats should be able to comply with these requirements by suitable positioning of corrector weights.
7.Equipment Limitation. Boats will be limited the use of 1 keel, 1 rudder, 1 mast, 1 mainsail, 2 jibs, 1 spinnaker during the Regatta. Conditions for replacements due to loss or damage will be included in the Notice of Race.

International Star Class Yacht Racing Association – Class Rule Changes
Decision
1.Council approved the Class Rules in the Star Log 2001, effective 1 January 2000.
2.Council approved the Class Rule amendments made by ISCYRA in December 2001, effective 1 January 2002.

Outside Assistance – Submission 178-00
Decision
Council approved that the following policies shall be reflected in the rules and regulations for the coaches for the 2004 Olympic Sailing Regatta and the Olympic Test Events in 2002 and 2003, and that after experience of implementation of the policies submissions may be made to amend these policies:

1.Accredited coaches will be allowed to go afloat;
2.Accredited coaches will be obliged, if asked by the Organizing Authority to take a colleague and his equipment of other countries if that country does not have a boat available;
3.There shall be no communication between the coaches and the competitor from the competitor’s Warning Signal until the competitor finishes or retires from that race.
4.At the first warning signal of the day, Coach boats must retire to the Coach Boat Zone area until all racing has been completed, postponed or abandoned for that course area unless instructed to do otherwise by the Race Committee.
5.Between racing sessions or when all racing for that course area has been postponed or abandoned, Support/Coach boats may enter the course area in order to service their athletes’ needs. If further racing is to take place, Support/Coach boats must immediately retire to the Support/Coach Boat Zone at the warning signal for the first race of the next racing session.
6.A competitor shall neither make radio transmissions while afloat nor receive radio communications. This restriction includes mobile telephones.
7.Accredited coaches shall not carry any electronic communication device while afloat, except for public VHF radio. Accredited coaches will only be allowed to transmit or receive by VHF radio for an emergency and for immediate rescue operations.
8.Alleged infringement of any of these regulations shall be referred to the Jury who may instruct the Organizing Committee to withdraw accreditation from the offending party without the option of replacement during the event.
9.(It is noted that sanctions relating to a competitor are already provided for in the Racing Rules.)

The above key decisions constitute a preliminary report of the decisions of the meeting. Further details of other decisions and discussions from the meetings will be made available within the next few days.

Gold Medal Awarded to Hans-Joachim (Hajo) Fritze (GER)
Hans-Joachim Fritze was honoured with the presentation of an ISAF Gold Medal in recognition of his outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing. Hajo has been involved with ISAF for many years and was the first Chairman of the Boardsailing Committee (now Windsurfing Committee).

More recently he has been an ISAF Council Member. However, since stepping down as President of the Deutscher Segler Verband (German National Sailing Authority) he also decided to retire from his ISAF activities.

The ISAF Gold Medal is awarded to individuals who have significantly contributed to the development of the Federation and sailing.

Thank you Austria
The International Sailing Federation thanks the Austrian Sailing Federation for their fantastic hospitality, which no doubt contributed to productive meetings.

The expected time of arrival for Orange at the finish line off Brest in France is between 15:00 and 18:00 hours today. Watch this space!

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An Abundance of Wind and Water

Preliminary Report

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