July 26, 2024
2 minutes reading time
Voting for Members of the World Sailing Athletes' Committee
Following the launch of nominations for the Athletes’ Committee last month, nine candidates have come forward:
| Name | Nationality | Event |
| Kiran Badloe | The Netherlands | Men’s Windsurfing |
| Valentin Bontus | Austria | Men’s Kite |
| Lisa Darmanin | Australia | Mixed Multihull |
| Maria Erdi | Hungary | Women’s Dinghy |
| Anouk Geurts | Belgium | Women’s Skiff |
| Alican Kaynar | Türkiye | Mixed Multihull |
| Justina Kitchen | New Zealand | Women’s Kite |
| Vaimo’oi’a Astrid Ripley | Samoa | Women’s Dinghy |
| Wei Wang (Qibin Huang) | China PR | Men’s Kite |
There are four vacancies which will be elected by Olympians participating at Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition, so you are the only ones allowed to vote.
The World Sailing Athletes’ Committee meets annually in person. At its first meeting, after the World Sailing Annual Conference 2024, the World Sailing Athletes’ Committee will elect its Chair and Vice Chair for a four-year term. The Chair of the Committee is a member of the World Sailing Board and a member of the World Sailing Council.
The members of the Athletes’ Committee are expected to represent the interests of all Olympic and Para sailors to World Sailing, and to encourage open communication and feedback from the sailors. They act as the link between active Olympic and Paralympic sailors and the Federation.
In line with the IOC Athletes’ Commission, the term of membership is eight years.
The Athletes’ Committee has 9 members. Three members from the previous Athletes’ Commission have a further term to serve:
- David Hughes (USA) 470
- Pawel Kolodzinski (POL) 49er
- Pavlos Kontides (CYP) ILCA 7
Together with the four elected by you, a further member is appointed by Para sailors and the final member will be appointed by the World Sailing President after the election in November 2024, to ensure there is a good balance between regions, genders and events.
Voting
Olympic sailors competing in Paris 2024 Olympics are entitled to vote for four of the nine candidates. The candidates with the highest votes will be elected. In the event of a tie the candidate with the lowest number of votes will be considered eliminated and their votes will be re-distributed. This will continue until the four candidates are appointed.
The World Sailing Regulations provide that there shall be a maximum of one member from any Olympic event. If there are two candidates in the top four from the same event, then the candidate with the lowest votes will be eliminated.
In furtherance of World Sailing gender equity requirements, the ideal composition is no more than 5 male athletes on the Committee. Noting that 3 male athletes are already on the Committee election results may be adjusted accordingly.
Voting should take less than three minutes.
You should vote for your preferred candidates by putting them in highest order 1 – 9 (1 being the highest and 9 being the lowest).
Voting will open on 27 July 2024 12.00 BST and will close on 10 August 2024 at 23.30 BST so hopefully you will find a few minutes during this time to cast your vote.
If you do not receive an email by 27 July 2024 12.00 BST please contact stephen.smith@sailing.org