ILCA Dinghies Dominate Laser Youth Worlds in Kingston; Then Get Sold in Canada
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| Yes, like the Lasers, the ILCA Dinghies are Car-Toppable! |
In the second part -- "Are the Lasers and the ILCA Dinghies the Same Boats? Which One is Fastest?" - we look at the issue of consistency of the equipment. We refer to the findings of World Sailing's Equipment Committee, and warn about a possible upcoming arms race to secure the fastest equipment.
The Aussie ILCA Dinghies made a big impression in Kingston, Ontario, as they won 3 out of the 4 youth world titles in contention: 2 Laser 4.7 world titles, and one Laser Radial world title.
European sailors dominated the events. In the 4.7, both the podiums for boys and girls were exclusively composed by European sailors. In the Radial, it was all European too, except for two Australian sailors. As far as the racing was concerned, you can find coverage of both events on the Laser class website.
From an equipment perspective, the Australian ILCA Dinghies were allowed to participate in those Laser Worlds, even if they are not an equipment officially recognized by World Sailing.
This participation of ILCA Dinghies in the Laser Worlds occurred even before World Sailing took a position on the Rule change proposed by the class. Yes a rule change has been submitted around August 12 to World Sailing following the « Survey Monkey » vote by the membership. But World Sailing has not yet officially stated their position on this.
Note that, while this was officially a Laser world championship, the official graphic design for the events did leave the Laser name out. The designs were referring to the « ILCA Radial 2019 Youth World Championships » and the « ILCA 4.7 2019 Youth World Championships. »
Why were the ILCA Dinghies allowed to compete? Well, it was the international Laser class that organized the availability of ILCA Dinghies as charter boats. And it was the international Laser class that did the inspection / measurement of the boats.
In short, it was the international Laser class that orchestrated the participation of those ILCA Dinghies in the Laser Youth Worlds regattas.
Could a sailor have lodged a protest against another sailor for usage of non-compliant / non-approved equipment? The answer is no.
The Sailing Instructions stated: « 5.1 - Equipment protests will only be accepted from either the race committee, equipment inspector or jury. This changes RRS 60.1(a). »
World Sailing was obviously aware of the situation, that was reported in this and other media, but did nothing about it.
What happened in Kingston looked a bit like a test of what may come in the future, with the plan by the international Laser class to allow ILCA Dinghies, unbranded or otherwise named boats to participate in Laser class-sanctioned regattas - as a way to circumvent the Laser trademarks.
For sure, all competitors used sails bearing the Laser logo at the Youth Worlds in Kingston. There were no sails with the ILCA Dinghy logo. But for the hulls, there were Lasers and ILCA Dinghies. So it’s pretty close to what the Laser class attempts to achieve.
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| New and Old World Sailing / ISAF Laser Plaques |
Previous World Sailing plaques for the Laser had the indication « Laser. »
Presently, LaserPerformance, through its sister company Velum hold the Laser trademarks in Canada, as well as most regions of the world including Europe and North America.
Australian Lasers are accordingly not allowed to be imported or sold in Canada without the consent of LaserPerformance / Velum. This seems why ILCA Dinghies and not Lasers were imported by the Australian builder, with the help of the Laser class, for those events.
With its ongoing feud with LaserPerformance, the Laser class did not even mention on its website that LaserPerformance was also offering charter boats for those events.
Contrary to youth events in Europe, where most teams bring their own boats, there was a large presence of charter boats at the Laser Radial and 4.7 Youth Worlds. The total number of charter boats was probably around 100, with a majority being from Australia.
At the Laser Radial Youth Worlds, there was a total of 209 participants, with 161 boys from 30 Countries, and 48 girls from 13 countries. At the Laser 4.7 Youth Worlds, there was a total of 185 participants, with 121 boys from 33 Countries and 64 girls from 20 Countries.
This is a low level of participation for Laser Youth World championships, compared to when they are organized in Europe, amounting to about half of the participation level for 2018 - a 50% decline.
Last year, in Gdynia, Poland, there were 438 entries at the Laser 4.7 Worlds, and there were 373 entries at the Laser Radial Youth Worlds, held in Kiel, Germany.
Cost was advanced by a number of parents a key reason for the low participation at this year’s youth worlds, which attracted about half the normal participation for such events.
Participation in the Europeans, which are much more affordable to attend for most sailors, was substantial this year: there were 409 participants in the Laser 4.7 Europeans held in Hyères, France, and 376 participants in the Laser Radial Youth Europeans held in Athens, Greece.
Also to be noted is that there was limited photographic and essentially no video coverage of both youth worlds events in Kingston. In this era of Facebook, Instagram, etc. this was disappointing for many sailors.
This was a nicely organized regatta, but the true vibe of a world championship was not felt by many in attendance.
Aussie ILCA Dinghies Sold in Canada After Laser 4.7 Worlds
As we reported in our article « Suspense in Kingston: Will the Aussie ILCA Dinghies / Lasers be Sold, or Seized? », there was a suspense in Kingston: were the Aussie ILCA Dinghies going to be seized, or sold?
As we reported in the above article, on July 18, the international Laser class had stated on Facebook that the ILCA Dinghies had been brought in Canada « to support sailors racing at reasonable costs » and that « the boats will be used at two events and then taken out of the country. »
But reality is that many, if not all of those Aussie ILCA Dinghies got sold in Canada.
The demanded price (excluding sail, block, lines, tiller and extension, but including an upper composite section and apparently also a dolly) was C$7,700 - (5,790 US$ - 5,225 Euros).
More than the price, the Australian boats are seen by some buyers (including former Opti parents, for whom seeking better equipment is the normal) as better built and therefore possibly faster.
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| ILCA Dinghies to be Loaded on Club Trailer after Worlds |
Sources indicated that some 40 ILCA Dinghies were sold on the very first day they were put for sale.
LaserPerformance, which had its own charter boats stored in Kingston just meters away from the ILCA Dinghies, was obviously aware of the situation.
In the Sailing Illustrated webcast of July 30, Farzad Rastegar, the head of LaserPerformance, asserted that the ILCA Dinghies would either leave the country or be seized.
« They will not be sold in Canada. We will be taking action for this unauthorized action of ILCA and PSA. »
« That is our legal action. They have no right to do this. This was a complete breach of our agreement… The boats will either leave the following day or will be seized. »
Reality in Kingston is that the ILCA Dinghies were not seized. As one can see in the attached picture, ILCA Dinghies were loaded on private cars on August 23. Others were loaded on club trailers for being transported towards whatever destination in Canada or the U.S.
It’s not clear if all the imported ILCA Dinghies were sold, but a substantial number of them were, and LaserPerformance was unable, or unwilling, to prevent that from happening.
Asked about the situation, here is what LaserPerformance’s spokesperson stated, responding to our query:
« In regards to Kingston, we are looking at all of our legal options, » adding:
« Last week our factory was inspected and we are waiting for recertification as a builder. »
The apparent absence of legal action in Kingston on August 23 may actually be linked to the recertification of the company as an approved builder, something LaserPerformance has been seeking for months.
LaserPerformance declined to provide further details at this time.
Is the litigation averted? Probably not, as LaserPerformance is still looking at all its legal options.
LaserPerformance has a lot to lose. It owns possibly the most recognizable brand in sailing, the Laser brand, which may be worth about nothing if alternatively branded, or unbranded, yet class-recognized, boats can access its territories without paying any trademark licence fees.
In the short term, this seems to be a victory for the international Laser class and the Australian boat builder, as a substantial number of ILCA Dinghies were actually sold in LaserPerformance « territory » without being seized.
It was also a victory for PSA and the international Laser class because those ILCA Dinghies were allowed to compete at world championships with the tacit blessing of World Sailing.
Will those be victories in the medium and long run? It’s obviously too early to tell, as the likelihood of protracted trademark litigation remains high.
Part 2: "Are the Lasers and the ILCA Dinghies the Same Boats? Which One is Fastest?"
