New ISAF Council Members announced

by ISAF on 20 Nov 2008
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced the new members of the ISAF Council, the final decision-making body of ISAF.

The new members of the ISAF Council were announced at the ISAF General Assembly in Madrid, Spain. The Council is chaired by the ISAF President Göran PETERSSON (SWE) and also includes the seven Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer (non-voting), 28 representatives of ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs) and one representative each from the ISAF Classes, Offshore sailing and Women's sailing. In addition, the ISAF Presidents of Honour, His Majesty King Harald V of Norway and His Majesty King Constantine, are entitled to attend and participate in Council meetings although they do not hold a vote. The new Council members will serve a four-year term up until the ISAF General Assembly in November 2012.

It is the responsibility of the ISAF Council to manage the business of the International Sailing Federation. Ultimately, policy decisions within ISAF, including any amendments to the ISAF Regulations, are subject to the approval of the Council. Unlike the ISAF Committee members, who are appointed primarily because of their expertise in a particular area, the members of the ISAF Council are required to represent their national viewpoint. Through this mechanism the process of ISAF's decision-making reaches it climax at the ISAF Council meeting. Council members exercise their vote based on the recommendations provided the expert ISAF Committees, the views of the Member Nations they represent and the requirement to have regard to the interests of the sport worldwide.

The Council meets twice every year, at the ISAF Mid-Year Meetings in May and then at the ISAF Annual Conference in November. The new Council met for the first time on the final day of the 2008 ISAF Annual Conference in Madrid, Spain. Following on from this meeting, one of the first tasks of the Council will be to confirm the appointment of ISAF Committee Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Committee members for 2009-2012.

The next meeting of the ISAF Council will be held at the 2009 ISAF Mid-Year Meeting in Warsaw, Poland from 8-10 May.

The new members of the ISAF Council are:

President and Chairman - elected by ISAF MNAs at 2008 ISAF General Assembly

Göran PETERSSON (SWE)

Vice-Presidents - elected by ISAF MNAs at 2008 ISAF General Assembly

Tomasz HOLC (POL)
Nazli IMRE (TUR)
David IRISH (USA)
Teresa LARA (VEN)
Teo Ping LOW (SIN)
Alberto PREDIERI (ITA)
Eric TULLA (PUR)

Treasurer (non-voting)

David KELLETT (AUS) - appointed by the ISAF Council

National Representatives - appointed by ISAF Member National Authorities

GROUP A - United Kingdom and Ireland
Chris ATKINS (GBR)
John CREBBIN (IRL)

GROUP B - Central Europe
Tatjana ANTONCIC (SLO)
Rolf BAHR (GER)

GROUP C - East Europe
Tomasz CHAMERA (POL)
Kamen FILLYOV (BUL)

GROUP D - South Europe
George ANDREADIS (GRE)
Jean-Pierre CHAMPION (FRA)
Sergio GAIBISSO (ITA)

GROUP E - Iberian Peninsula
Gerardo POMBO (ESP)

GROUP F - Low Countries
Patrick BERGMANS (BEL)

GROUP G - Scandinavia
Kurt LONNQVIST (FIN)
Stig Hvide SMITH (NOR)

GROUP H - Euro-Asian
Alexander KOTENKOV (RUS)

GROUP I - Africa and Middle East
Khalifa M Al-SEWAIDI (QAT)

GROUP J - East Asia
Quanhai LI (CHN)
Takao OTANI (JPN)

GROUP K - South and Central Asia
Ajay BALRAM (IND)

GROUP L - South West Pacific
Ralph ROBERTS (NZL)
David TILLETT (AUS)

GROUP M - South & West South America
Maximo RIVERO KELLY (ARG)

GROUP N - Central & East South America
Harry ADLER (BRA)

GROUP O - North South America, Central American and Caribbean
Jane MOON (CAY)
One additional member to be appointed

GROUP P - North America
Charley COOK (USA)
Cory SERTL (USA)
David SPRAGUE (CAN)

GROUP Q - Africa - South of the Sahara
Ross ROBSON (RSA)

ISAF Classes Representative - appointed by the International Classes Committee;

Jeff MARTIN (GBR)

Offshore sailing Representative - the Chairman of the ISAF Offshore Committee;

To Be Confirmed

Women's sailing Representative - appointed by the Women Vice-Presidents, Women members of Council and the women of ISAF Committees or Sub-committees

To Be Confirmed

Full details of the ISAF Council, including links to profiles of the ISAF President and Vice-Presidents, can be found on the ISAF website at www.sailing.org/council.