World Sailing cancels 2020 Extraordinary General Meeting due to CoronaVirius

World Sailing's Council at the Mid-Year Meeting in London, Great Britain on Sunday 19 May, 2019 © Daniel Smith

World Sailing’s Board of Directors will not call a 2020 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) due to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The EGM was due to be held in London, UK on 2 May 2020. In a letter addressed and distributed to World Sailing’s Member National Authorities copying Council members and Committee Chairs on 13 March 2020, President Kim Andersen said:

Dear Member National Authorities,

EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING – 2 MAY 2020

You will have read World Sailing’s recent communication regarding the cancellation of the Hempel World Cup Series in Genoa and the Board continues to monitor, in close co-operation with the World Sailing Medical Commission, the impact of the spread of coronavirus on our sport and organisation.

Whilst the proposed location of the EGM in London is not currently subject to travel restrictions for most countries, the World Sailing Board is very mindful of the extraordinary circumstances facing many countries from the spread of coronavirus and the pandemic declared by the World Health Organisation on Wednesday this week. It is, in the Board’s view, inevitable now that further restrictions on travel and people associating in meetings globally will be implemented. Therefore, it is not viable for the meeting to go ahead in May or in the foreseeable future and the Board will not call an Extraordinary General Meeting as previously indicated.

I will write to all World Sailing Members today explaining the Board’s approach to the governance reform project, but I want to take this opportunity to thank the Governance Commission for their years of hard work bringing forward the Proposal. I would also like to thank my colleagues on the Board for their support for this vital project, and to all Members who contributed to the review which enabled us to put forward such an excellent Proposal.

The Board have instructed the Executive Office to prepare for the forthcoming Board election, Council election and committee and commission appointments in the usual manner as set out in our Constitution. We request that all MNAs pay close attention to the information that will be distributed in the coming months.

Yours in sailing,

Kim Andersen President

The 2020 Annual Conference will be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from 24 October to 1 November. A series of Sub-committee, Committee and Council meetings will build up to the General Assembly on 1 November.

Further information on the election of officers will be available on World Sailing’s Meetings website in due course.