IODA Mid-Year Meeting Summary

The Executive, Regatta and Technical Committees held their Mid-Year Meetings in Barcelona, Spain, February 19 to 23^rd.

This was the first time in two years that we have had the opportunity to meet face- to-face and plan the year ahead. It was a very productive time together.  

Here is a short summary of those meetings.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee's primary focus was hearing the VP Reports from each region, the Committee Reports, as well as reviewing the unaudited 2021 Year End Financials and approving the 2022 Budget.

The Executive Committee also confirmed the date of the 2022 AGM that will be taking place on Monday, July 4^th in Bodrum, TUR during the World Championship.

A key date to communicate to all of you relates to Articles 16 and 17 that outline the process of amending the Articles, Championship Conditions and Class Rules.

The DEADLINE to Submit a Proposal from the Members to amend an Article, Championship Condition, or Class Rule is April 5^th, 90 days prior to the AGM.

The link to the IODA Handbook, that contain the Articles and Championship Conditions can be found here.

The link to the 2022 Class Rules can be found here.

On May 5^th, the Proposals and AGM Agenda and other AGM information are to be published on the IODA Website and sent to you by email, 60 days prior to the AGM.

Other initiatives that were discussed include IODA taking part in the Steering the Course Festival that is created by World Sailing to encourage girls to start sailing or to get more involved.  We will be sending out more information on the Steering the Course Festival soon.

The Executive also discussed our Development Program. We are creating a new Course Manual for our Development Clinics as well as increased programing. This will be coming on stream in a few months. Stay tuned.

IODA will continue to promote and support the ROPE Program throughout 2022 which will be taking place at all of IODA Championships. Please donate to this very important program so that we can help more Optimist programs in need of gently used Optimist Equipment. This program was a finalist in the 11th Hour Sustainability Awards in November.

The Executive also finalized their decision on the Tracking RFP that was sent out in October. Five excellent proposals were submitted. The final decision went to Trac Trac who has been our tracking provider for several years. Their new 4G units that were used at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will be used at the IODA World Championship and European Championship this year. Depending on funding resources, they may be tracking at other events in 2022.

And finally, 2023 will be the 50^th anniversary of the Optimist as an International Class as well as the 60^th Anniversary for the World Championship. We are planning a year of celebration for all our members and sailors. We will communicate more on this at the AGM.

Regatta Committee

The Regatta Committee discussed the planning and delivery of the IODA Events in 2022 and the appointment of the Race and Jury Officials to our events.   For the first time since 2019, all IODA Championships will be taking place, which make it a busy year as all our events are taking place in the second half of the year.   They are also planning training programs for Race Officials at our IODA Events and continue to upgrade our Event Microsites & APP to improve our IODA Event communication & coverage.

Take note that the Deadline for the Bids to Host the 2024 IODA Championships is May 1^st.   The information on how to bid is on the IODA Website. The link to the Bid information and Bid Forms is found here.

Technical Committee

The Technical Committee discussed their measurement plans for the events in 2022 and the appointment of the Measurement Committees.  They will also continue to work with our 30+ builders to ensure that the Optimist remains one of the top One Design classes in the world.  They are also working on a new system for collecting data on boats, spars and sails that will help modernize our processes. Training of new class measurers will be a focus in 2022.

In summary, the following are the key dates to remember:

1. April 5^th – Deadline for Members to submit a Proposal to amend an Article, Championship Condition, or Class Rule.  Send Proposals to Fiona Kidd, sec_gen@optiworld.org.
2. May 1^st – Deadline to submit a Bid to host a 2024 IODA Championship. Send Bids to Susan Elliot Beatty, regattasecretary@optiworld.org
3. May 5^th – IODA to post and send to members the Proposals and AGM Agenda and other AGM information.  
4. July 4^th – 2022 IODA Annual General Meeting in Bodrum, TUR

The day after our Mid Year Meetings concluded, the situation in Ukraine erupted. Our hearts and thoughts are with our member and volunteers, our builder East Wave, and our many young Optimist Sailors and their families in Ukraine at this time.