World Sailing host virtual meetings throughout COVID-19 pandemic

World Sailing host virtual meetings throughout COVID-19 pandemic © World Sailing

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, World Sailing has hosted a series of Townhall Meetings for Council delegates, Member National Authorities, Class Associations, Committee members and Commission members.

On 24 June, the Council met via videoconference with MNAs and Committee / Commission Chairs in attendance for an informal session. A follow up meeting for the same members with Class Associations and Committee / Commission members was then held on 30 June.

The meeting of the Council on 24 June allowed World Sailing President Kim Andersen and members of the Board of Directors to provide updates on World Sailing matters. In addition, Committee and Commission Chairs were able to provides updates on their streams of work and for Council members to ask questions.

The full session is available here.

Andersen opened the meeting with the Presidential address which is available in the June Presidential newsletter here.

Financial Update

Following Andersen's update, Vice-President's Scott Perry and Jan Dawson provided delegates with an update on World Sailing's financial position following support from the International Olympic Committee. The IOC is supporting World Sailing in addressing the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequence on postponing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The support will enable World Sailing to continue developing and promoting the sport as well as delivering a high-quality product at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

2020 Annual Conference

Ahead of the meeting, World Sailing's MNAs were invited to vote on a written special resolution to hold an electronic 2020 Annual General Meeting and General Assembly. In total, 68 valid votes were received. Nine of these votes were invalid as they were received by MNAs who are either suspended or who have not paid their annual subscription and so are not entitled to vote under Article 12 of the Constitution.

The required majority was 75% which meant that 51 votes in favour were required. The result received 59 in favour with nine against and zero abstentions ensuring the resolution was approved.

The 2020 Annual Conference is due to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in October with the General Assembly on 1 November. Council members received an update on the hosting of the Conference with a final decision to be made in August.

Committee and Commission Reports

In advance of the session, World Sailing Committee and Commission Chairs provided Council reports with reports on their streams of work since the last meeting in November. These reports are available to read here. Delegates followed up on these reports with questions to the Chairs on their work.

MNA Townhall - 30 June

On Wednesday 30 June, as a follow up to the Council meeting, World Sailing hosted two MNA Townhall Meetings, accommodating worldwide participants with sessions held at 07:30 and 17:30 UTC. The session allowed delegates to hear the Presidential update as well as updates on finances, the 2020 Annual Conference and Committee / Commission reports.

Both sessions are available to view here - 07:30 (recording delay at the beginning) and 17:30 UTC. As of 16:00 BST - the videos are currently being processed by YouTube.