Three meetings take place on Day 5 of the 2020 Annual Conference

The fifth day of World Sailing’s 2020 Annual Conference on Wednesday 21 October was the busiest yet, with three open meetings and one closed meeting all taking place virtually.

The International Umpires Sub-committee, the Youth Events Sub-committee and the Equipment Rules Sub-committee all held their meetings throughout the day via videoconferencing software BlueJeans.

First up was the International Umpires Sub-committee, which was held from 09:00-12:00 UTC and was chaired by Sally Burnett, with Madeleine Dunn, World Sailing’s Race Officials Manager, as Committee Manager.

The IUSC received a presentation on virtual education by representatives from Great Britain and Ireland, which was highly praised by those attending. It was agreed this that is an area to focus on in the coming months.
 
Similarities and differences between umpire disciplines for Match, Team and Fleet, and how these are reflected in the manuals and guides for Umpires, were also discussed, with particular reference to consistent language and terminology.
 
The IUSC also spoke about how Conflicts of Interests are received and declared on a greater scale, including ideas around open registers.
 
Finally, the Sub-committee reviewed this year’s applications for International Umpire status and finalised their recommendations, alongside their opinion on calls and rules. These will all go to the Race Officials Committee on Tuesday 27 October.

The meeting was recorded in BlueJeans and is now available on World Sailing’s YouTube channel. You can watch it back below:

Next up was the first meeting of the Youth Events Sub-committee, which took place from 11:00-14:00 UTC. Cory Sertl chaired the meeting, with Pedro Rodrigues, World Sailing’s Events Manger, as Committee Manager.

They assessed various changes to the calendar – the cancellation of the 2020 Youth Sailing World Championships, the postponement of the 2022 Youth Olympic Games, and the postponement of the Youth Worlds in The Hague from 2021 to 2022. World Sailing are currently seeking a host for the December 2021 Youth Worlds.
 
The Emerging Nations programme was focused around the Youth Worlds, and with this year’s cancellation, an online training programme is currently taking place instead, supported by SAP.

On the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, which will now take place in 2026, the events and athlete quota are expected to remain the same, with the equipment selection process on hold until after the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
 
Charles Glover presented the interesting findings from a survey sent to MNAs about the Youth Worlds, to further understand the perception of the event and reflect on how the COVID-19 pandemic may affect future championships. 

The age group of 19-23 was identified as one which is challenging to keep engaged in the sport. It was discussed that the Youth Worlds should be a step towards developing athletes to stay in the sport for a lifetime, and that the Sub-committee should engage classes and continents in discussions on how to keep athletes motivated and engaged in the crossover from youth to senior level. World Sailing could look into and promote the next steps not just for athletes, but also for coaches and MNAs.

Collecting more specific data, speaking to previous hosts and classes, digging deeper into the challenges of hosting an event, and promoting success stories and different pathways in the sport for athletes were all marked as important next steps.

Elsewhere, Panam Sport have created a Regional Games for an 18-22 age group, to discourage athlete drop-off as they go to university, and it was considered that this could be a good option for regional sailing federations, to encourage retention in this challenging age group. 

The meeting was recorded in BlueJeans and is now available on World Sailing’s YouTube channel. You can watch it back below:

Finally, the day was rounded off with the meeting of the Equipment Rules Sub-committee, held from 17:00-21:00 UTC. This was chaired by Jürgen Cluytmans, with Hendrik Plate, World Sailing’s Technical Specialist, as Committee Manager.

The Sub-committee spoke about the implementation plans of the Equipment Rules of Sailing 2021-2024, and how to assist the classes on this topic. To improve the service to all World Sailing Classes, the ERSC will work closely with the Technical department to standardise the Class Rule Changes and Interpretation process. 

A detailed discussion on Submission 046-20, regarding trapeze harness weight, took place. It was highlighted that this submission concerns all trapeze classes and a variety of sailors’ physique, with different technical and size requirements for harnesses. 

Concerning the application process to become a World Sailing Class, six class rules were reviewed and discussed. The Sub-Committee’s discussions about the RS21, iQFOil, iQFOil Junior, Arrows Youth Foil Class, IKA Snowkite, The Laser Class and L30 class rules will be considered in the upcoming Equipment Committee Meeting, where recommendations regarding each classes’ application will be formed for council. 

The Sub-committee also received an update from the Technical department on implemented Class Rule Changes, the In House Certification Scheme and the Equipment Control Process.

The meeting was recorded in BlueJeans and is now available on World Sailing’s YouTube channel. You can watch it back below: