Daily review - 9 November - 2017 Annual Conference

Thursday’s session at World Sailing’s Annual Conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico saw the meeting of the Events Committee and Oceanic and Offshore Committee.

Safety at sea, standards of boat construction, handicap systems, major world championships and the Olympic Games were all discussed in the sessions.
 
Throughout the week, World Sailing are reporting live from the meeting rooms on the hot topics of debate and discussion via the Annual Conference blog. Click here – www.sailing.org/media/2017-annual-conference-blog.php – to view the blog.
 
To get involved with the discussion head to World Sailing’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and use #UnitingOurSport.
 
Offshore World Championships
 
A submission from World Sailing’s Board of Directors was received in advance of the conference proposing the addition of an Offshore World Championship into the family of events.
 
The Oceanic and Offshore Committee supported the submission and recommended to World Sailing’s Council that they approve.
 
Holding an Offshore World Championship would allow World Sailing to raise the profile of offshore sailing and would promote key principles such as gender equality.
 
If approved, the Offshore World Championship will be raced in One Design boats. The selection of dates, equipment, venue and approval of the championship arrangements will follow thereafter.
 
The Oceanic and Offshore Committee also set the first steps to put in place a scheme that will validate the standards of construction of boats to help reduce recent incidents reported during offshore sailing.
 
Finally, they approved a new working party, the Universal Measurement System (UMS) working party. The party will help set the criteria and find the common measurement amongst all handicap rating systems with the objective to allow owners with a single measuring boat to request certificate for multiple.
 
Format and qualification for Tokyo 2020
 
Olympic qualification and formats was at the top of the agenda in the Events Committee.
 
The Committee recommended that at future events the 49er and 49erFX will sail three races on the final day, all single point. The use of the boundaries will be at the discretion of the Race Committee or the Organising Authority. The RS:X fleets will have a reaching start and finish for their Medal Race if the conditions are suitable for planing. The Nacra 17 format is to be confirmed and the remaining fleets will sail the traditional double point Medal Race.
 
Aarhus, Denmark will hold 2018 Sailing World Championships which will act as the first Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualification event. The Events Committee discussed the qualification events and made a clear a recommendation on the number of places available at each event.
 
If approved, their recommendation would see 40% of the Tokyo 2020 places across all fleets decided in Aarhus. The 2018 Asian Games and 2019 Pan American Games will also act as qualification events. One place in the Laser and Laser Radial will be up for grabs at the Asian Games and two at the Pan Am Games.
 
The 2019 class World Championships will be the next opportunity for qualification followed by continental events. As host, Japan will be entitled to one place in each fleet and two tripartite places will be available in the Laser and Laser Radial.
 
Earlier on in the week the Para World Sailing Committee recommending the approval of the Para World Sailing Championships’ inclusion into the Sailing World Championships. The Events Committee supported their recommendation.
 
Decision making process
 
All the recommendations will now be put to World Sailing’s Council, the final decision making body.
 
On Friday 10 and Saturday 11 November, Council will vote on the recommendations and these will then filter through the sport, from the grassroots to elite level.
 
ORC Congress concludes successful 2017 season and looks ahead to 2018
 
As part of the World Sailing Annual Conference, the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) also held their Committee and Congress.
 
Congress has approved new rules and initiatives for next year that will help the ORC system further improve its rating services to offshore sailors in 45 countries around the world.
 
Click here to read a full update.