Major Changes for Sailing with appointment of ISAF Olympic Commission

by Sail-World.com on 25 Mar 2009 The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced the members of the newly formed Olympic Commission, which is tasked with developing and promoting long-term strategy for the sport of sailing at the Olympic Games.

The ISAF Council approved the creation of a new Olympic Commission at the ISAF Annual Conference held in Madrid, Spain last November. The new Commission replaces the Olympic Advisory Board and will be tasked with assisting the Executive in 'developing, agreeing and promoting a comprehensive vision and strategy of the sport of sailing in the Olympic Games'.

Phil Jones (AUS), Technical Delegate for sailing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and CEO of Yachting Australia since 1997, has been appointed as chairman of the Commission. The Commission also includes representatives from both the Events Committee, who are tasked with making recommendations to the ISAF Council on Olympic issues, and the Athletes' Commission, which is both formed of and elected by sailors campaigning for the Olympic Games.

Göran Petersson (SWE), President of ISAF, said: 'Sailing has a very proud Olympic history having featured on the Olympic programme for over 100 hundreds years. We should respect this tradition, but we must also continue to innovate and take the long-term view. ISAF has made major progress in developing the sport of sailing at the Olympic Games, with the successful introduction of the Medal Race format at Beijing 2008 the most recent example. I am greatly looking forward to the input from the new Olympic Commission to help guide our future decision-making and ensure the continued success and growth of sailing as an Olympic sport.'

The full list of Commission members, confirmed during the February meeting of the ISAF Executive Committee in Los Angeles, is:

Phil Jones (AUS) - Chairman

The Chairman of the Athletes' Commission - currently Marcelien De Koning (NED), although note Athletes' Commission elections for the next four-year term are scheduled to take place this year

The Chairman of the Events Committee - currently Chris Atkins (GBR)

Cory Sertl (USA)

Georg Fundak (AUT)

Scott Perry (URU)

The major overhaul for ISAF's approach to Olympic sailing came into fruition after the Council accepted the need for an overall strategy towards the Olympic Sailing Competition, put forward in Yachting Australia's Submission 082-08. This decision is by far the most important to come from the 2008 Madrid Conference and as far as Olympic sailing probably one of the the most significant of the last decade.

Events Committee chairman Bjorn Unger (SWE) introduced Yachting Australia's Submission 082-08, proposing an overhaul of ISAF’s future Olympic strategy. 'This is perhaps the most important issue we have. We heard in our discussions yesterday that strategy was mentioned many, many times,' he said.

The Submission received a significant amount of support around the table. Class representative Jeff Martin (GBR) said 'One of reasons for supporting this is to create a longer term process in the build up to the selection of equipment, so the classes that aren’t Olympic have the chance to display what they can possibly offer the Olympics.'

Following these recommendations, Submission 082-08 which will mean an revised role for the Olympic Advisory Commison was passed.

The CEO of Yachting Australia, Phil Jones (AUS), representing Yachting Australia, the author of the Submission, was in Madrid to observe proceedings.

He commented at the time 'We are delighted that the ISAF Committees and Council have all recognised the need for a comprehensive strategy for sailiing in the Olympic Games.

'Timing is everything and we have a window of opportunity in the next few years to bring about substantial and positive change. I sense there is a real will to move the sport forward.

'The challenge will be for ISAF to engage the many stakeholders in sailing - athletes, classes and member countries - in developing the strategy.

'Time is of the essence and the process will need to be properly resourced. There is a lot of work to do if we are to strenghten the position of sailing in the Olympics. '

Here is Submission: 082-08 in full - Olympic Sailing Competition - Strategy

A submission from the Yachting Australia

Proposal:
1. ISAF develops, agrees and promotes a comprehensive vision and overarching strategy for the sport of sailing in the Olympic Games. All future decisions, including those on events and equipment, will then be made in line with this
strategy.

2. The terms of reference and title of the existing Olympic Advisory Commission should be reviewed. The Commission will be responsible for the development the strategy for the sport of sailing in the Olympic Games in consultation with the relevant Committees, Sub Committees and Commissions. The Commission will oversee the development of sailing in the Olympic Games, monitoring and providing input to ensure that all decisions taken are in line with the agreed
strategy.

3. The Executive Committee should reconstitute the Commission as soon as possible, with the terms of reference, associated processes and implementation schedule agreed at the ISAF Mid-Meeting in May 2009.

Current Position:

There is no overarching strategy. The current ISAF Yearbook does not list the Olympic Advisory Commission as one of the Commissions, nor are its’ members listed. Despite the importance to our sport, no single group within ISAF is dedicated solely to the development of sailing in the Olympic Games.

Reasons:

1 The Need for a Strategy

1.1 In order to strengthen the position of sailing in the Olympic Games it is essential that ISAF set a strategy that is transparent and widely understood. The decisions taken in November 2007 on the Olympic Events for 2012 are an
obvious example that ISAF is simply not working to a clear strategy.

1.2 In September 2004, ISAF was asked to complete a questionnaire and return it the IOC Sports Department. It is based on the information provided by ISAF that the 'IOC Olympic Programme Commission Report – 24 May 2005' in
discussing 'Increasing the Appeal of the Sport' states: 'With a view to presenting its sport in a more interesting and attractive manner, the ISAF has taken the following steps….Equipment innovation introducing faster and more spectacular boats, on-board cameras and sound and GPS responders displaying boat positions.'

1.3 This was in 2005. In November 2007, ISAF made two decisions that moved sailing in the Olympic Games in a different direction. Both the removal of the Multihull and the choice not to introduce a High Performance Dinghy for Women are examples that would be considered contrary to the direction indicated to the IOC just 2 years previously.

1.4 Our vision and strategy for the Olympic Games must be future focused. The sport is becoming more professional. More than ever, the decisions taken by ISAF are effecting the lives of our young, elite athletes. Sudden, unexpected
changes in strategy can have a major impact. ISAF has a responsibility to set and maintain a clear direction. This will allow sailors, coaches and administrators to plan accordingly. Certainty is a key to our future success.

2 The Value of the Olympic Games to Sailing

2.1 ISAF must have in place a strategy that strengthens our value as a sport in the Olympic Games. This is a matter of sound, pragmatic business sense.

2.2 ISAF has a product, Sailing. We have one key partner, being the IOC. We promote our product to the IOC, as do other sports.

2.3 The IOC packages a number of sports together to ‘sell’ to the global market.

Collectively and under the brand of the Olympic Games, the IOC generates considerable sponsorship and rights revenue. The greater the audience interest, the more valuable the rights to the various sp