2007 AGM Report

IODA Annual Meeting 2007

The IODA AGM 2007 took place in Cagliari on 25 and 30 July 2007 and was attended by representatives of 43 national member associations. Highlights were as follows:

New Events

1. IODA European Team Racing Championship

The meeting decided to create a new IODA European Team Racing Championship from 2008, rather than to include team racing in the existing championship.

A proposal from Poland, Austria and Ukraine to include team racing in the IODA European Championship encountered the problem that, since it was only feasible to include 16 teams, over 140 sailors would have no worthwhile racing and probably the costs of two nights accommodation while the selected 80 took part in the event.
In a dramatic development the famous Italian club of Fraglia di Vela Riva del Garda proposed to run a separate IODA European Team Racing Championship at its associated club in Val di Ledro FREE OF ENTRY AND CHARTER FEES for the next three years.

Ledro Cup

This generous proposal was accepted almost unanimously. Outline details are:

teams (European only) to be selected on the basis of aggregate results at the IODA European (individual) Championship of the same year and to comprise five sailors who have participated in that event.
all equipment including sails to be supplied. Sails to carry the advertising of the sponsor which will be the Province of Trentino
Dates to be 26-31 August

The format will therefore be very similar to the highly successful Ledro (former GrandOptical) Cup for club teams which will continue in addition to the new event.

2. Caribbean & Central America Championship

It was agreed, as proposed by Curaçao, Puerto Rico and Trinidad & Tobago, that there will be a new IODA-recognised championship for this region. Main details:

To be held at Easter, starting in 2009
Entry restricted to countries which are members of the CACSO
Restricted to sailors who have not participated in IODA continental championships
Any sailor who has participated in a NAm, SAm, European or World Championship of the previous year is not eligible.

The objective is to provide an incentive for sailors from the region who do not attend the IODA South American Championship held also at Easter, i.e. the first teams of the smaller countries and the second teams of the larger ones. 20 of the 32 countries are already members of IODA and it is hoped to increase this number.

It was also agreed that IODA would consider proposals from other regional groups to create IODA Regional Championships. The basic criteria would be that they should be:

for a region clearly defined by the IOC
for sailors other than those at existing IODA events
with venues chosen annually by members in the region.

Any decisions about such championships would be taken by future Annual Meetings.

Girls' Sailing

Quotas for American Championships
It was agreed that the larger teams participating in the IODA North and South American Championships should include at least 25% of sailors of each gender.
The wording agreed was: "Where no greater proportion is specified in the Conditions for the specific championship, member countries entering ten or more sailors shall include at least 25% (rounded upwards) of the sailors of each gender."
Higher quotas are already in place for the other IODA continental championships but for the Americas the new rule applies only to the larger teams as it was recognised that some smaller countries especially in the Caribbean would not yet be able to comply.
The IODA World Championship retains selection on merit irrespective of gender.

Separate fleets remain at the Europeans
A proposal that boys and girls should sail in the same fleet at the IODA European Championship was narrowly defeated and they will continue to sail in separate fleets.

Venues

The following venues and dates for 2008 were confirmed and provisionally agreed for 2009:

Championship 2008 2009 Venue
Worlds Cesme, Turkey 14-25 July Niterói, Brasil
South Americans Paracas, Peru 13-23 March Salinas, Ecuador
Europeans Riva del Garda, Italy 28 Jun-6 Jul Portoroz, Slovenia
N. Americans Curaçao, Curaçao 28 Jun-6 Jul Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
Africans Grande Baie, Mauritius 9-17 Aug Richards Bay, South Africa
Europeans Team Racing Lago di Ledro, Italy 26-31 Aug Lago di Ledro, Italy
Oceanians Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea 15-23 Sept. None (alternate years only)
Asians Doha, Qatar 17-25 Oct Langkawi, Malaysia

Other

Financial
It was confirmed that there would be no increase in annual subscriptions or the price of sail buttons. However IODA Conditions were altered to ensure that all IODA Championships provided a small contribution per participant to pay part of the costs of providing IODA representatives including qualified measurers and course representatives.
It was announced that the Executive forecasted a financial deficit in 2008 due to the costs of recruiting and training a new Secretary General and duplicated costs during the changeover period.

Technical
It was reported that the new ISAF procedure for approving Class Rule Changes was less than satisfactory.
Class Rule 2.5.3 which prohibits manufacturers from measuring their own products was formally confirmed.

Regatta
IODA Conditions were introduced for the IODA South American, African and Asian Championships, and other event Conditions were revised. New texts can be found in the new IODA Handbook.

Elections
All outgoing committee members were re-elected unanimously. Also as listed in the IODA Handbook.

Please note that the above information is provided for the benefit of members and does not constitute official minutes.