ISAF Annual Conference 2014 - 5 November summary

by ISAF on 6 Nov 2014 More than 500 delegates are at the 2014 ISAF Annual Conference in Palma de Mallorca, Spain to discuss, debate and make decisions that will take the sport forward into 2015.

Class Associations, Member National Authorities, Committee members and general observers are in attendance to engage in these discussions. It was a busy fifth day in Palma - check out what happened in the meeting rooms below:

MNA Forum

The MNA Forum was a hive of activity with a whole host of delegates attending to gain some knowledge and guidance.

ISAF Connect to Sailing Partners were in attendance to showcase their products and explain how they could help ISAF members within their nation. Find out more about the Partners.

Head of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, John Craig, was available for delegates to chat to about the upcoming ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Preparations for the World Cup Final are shaping up nicely. There are World Champions, Olympic medallists and sailing superstars aplenty across the ten Olympic fleets and the Open Kiteboarding event.

ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Nominees Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS), Charline Picon (FRA) and Steph Bridge (GBR) will all be there within their respective fleets which is fantastic to see.

Check out the entry list here.

The Malaysian organisers for the 2015 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship were there to promote the event. The event is going to be a huge catalyst for sailing in the region. Building work will leave a legacy in Langkawi that will no doubt go in into the future.

There were several Class Associations there as well promoting their boat, the different pathways into sailing it and how delegates can get involved.

The MNA Forum is always well attended with several hundred delegates enjoying the opportunity discuss the issues that matter to them.

Regional Games

The Regional Games Committee received reports from events around the world with a lot of positives coming from within the meeting room.

The Asian Games was the big one in 2014 with more than 9,000 athletes competing in Incheon, South Korea. Sailing had several events on display in Incheon with 420, 470, Laser, Mistral, Optimist, RS:X, 29er, RS:One, J80 and Hobie 16 fleets all competing out of Wangsan Sailing Marina.

Looking ahead to 2015 and we will see the Pan-American Games take place in Toronto, Canada from 10-26 July. The event will act as a Olympic qualification regatta for many of the sailors. Expect to see Men's and Women's RS:X, 49erFX, Laser and Laser Radial boats on the start line. Joining them as a medal event will be the Open Sunfish, Open Snipe, Open Hobie 16, Open J24 and mixed Lightning.

There was a passionate discussion on the All African Games. The Committee emphasised the importance of working together to ensure sailing is included in the next edition of the event.

The Commonwealth Games took place in Glasgow, Scotland this year but sailing was not selected by the organisers as one of the included sports, the Gold Coast, Australia did not select sailing for 2018 either so there is work to be done. The Regional Games Committee members will be pushing and working together to ensure that sailing will be included in the 2022 edition of the Commonwealth Games.

There were lengthy discussions on Continental Associations with several submissions differed but the Committee will be creating a working party to ensure appropriate preparations ahead of their next meeting.

Equipment Committee

The Youth Worlds Multihull Evaluation was presented to the Equipment Committee which recommended the new design Nacra 15. The recommendation will now go to ISAF Council on 7 and 8 November for consideration.

For those of you who aren't aware of the Nacra 15 it is a smaller version of the Olympic multihull the Nacra 17 with curved boards and stabilised rudders.

Equipment Inspection at the ISAF Sailing World Cup was discussed. A new framework for checking boats at ISAF pinnacle events will be introduced for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

Racing Rules Committee

The Racing Rules Committee had several submissions on the table relating to the 2017-2020 Racing Rules of Sailing. Out of all of the Committees the Racing Rules Committee receives the most Submissions with close to 100 on the table to discuss throughout the day.

As well as the Racing Rules of Sailing submissions they also spoke about the Call Book for Match Racing and Team Racing and the Case Book.

Equipment Committee

The Youth Worlds Multihull Evaluation was presented to the Equipment Committee which recommended the new design Nacra 15. The recommendation will now go to ISAF Council on 7 and 8 November for consideration.

For those of you who aren't aware of the Nacra 15 it is a smaller version of the Olympic multihull the Nacra 17 with curved boards and stabilised rudders.

Equipment Inspection at the ISAF Sailing World Cup was discussed. A new framework for checking boats at ISAF pinnacle events will be introduced for the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

Racing Rules Committee

The Racing Rules Committee had several submissions on the table relating to the 2017-2020 Racing Rules of Sailing. Out of all of the Committees the Racing Rules Committee receives the most Submissions with close to 100 on the table to discuss throughout the day.

As well as the Racing Rules of Sailing submissions they also spoke about the Call Book for Match Racing and Team Racing and the Case Book.

To stay up-to-date with the ISAF Annual Conference, a live blog will be available from Saturday 1 November through to Saturday 8 November here.