ISAF Exec set to raspberry Events, Olympic Commission and IOC

by Andy Rice - Sailjuice on 7 May 2011 Extracts from Andy Rice's latest Sailjuice commentary titled '11th hour intervention from ISAF Exec smells fishy'

'ISAF Executive Committee recommendations are out. Supporting Star, mixed Multi, 2x470 but No Skiff!! Holy shit!'

A tweet from multiple Tornado medallist Darren Bundock betrays what many in St Petersburg are thinking, yet few dare say in public at the ISAF Mid-Year Conference. That the lunatics are in danger of taking over the asylum again.

Of all the proposals that the Executive Committee of ISAF could have pushed forward, Eric Tulla and a few of his top-table mates are putting up the Puerto Rican proposal (ie Tulla’s) to be considered instead of the Events Committee’s long-debated and carefully considered slate of events and equipment announced yesterday.

In other words, a big two fingers and raspberry to all the hard work put in by Phil Jones and the Olympic Commission, along with the Events Committee. And by association, the International Olympic Committee.

After all, that’s what Jones’s team were tasked by ISAF to do, to find a format for Olympic competition that would strengthen sailing’s shaky claim to remain one of the 26 Olympic sports. There are plenty other sports queuing up to push past us if sailing doesn’t drag itself into the 21st century.

This time last year at the Mid-Year Meeting, ISAF president Goran Petersson asked if anyone in the room believed that ‘no change’ was acceptable.

No one put their hand up.

So why now, at the 11th hour, are some of the Executive Committee lending their support to one of the least progressive submissions on the table?

And who’s going to stand up to this nonsense? If no one stands up in St Petersburg and says ‘Enough’s enough!’, then they’re surely not going to do it in six months’ time at the ISAF Annual Conference in Puerto Rico.

So if anyone in St Petersburg believes the Executive Committee has taken leave of its senses, would they please stand up and say so now? I’m not asking for a Mohamed Bouazizi level of sacrifice.

Just a proverbial bucket of cold 'wake-up!' water over ISAF Executive before they drag the sport back to Savannah 1996.'

Andy Rice


For the full report go to http://sailjuice.posterous.com/11th-hour-intervention-from-isaf-exec-smells

NOW would be a good time for sailors to phone, email, text, skype, tweet their ISAF representatives.