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Showing posts from November, 2019

Laser Update: SurveyMonkey Vote Audited, Reviewed and Verified!

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The international Laser class published today a synopsis of its recent World Council meeting. Included is a « Resolution of the ILCA World Council » dated November 24 2019, whereby the council accepts the results of the 2019 rule change vote. « The voting results were independently audited and have been reviewed and verified to the satisfaction of the World Council, which considers this matter is fully concluded. » The resolution is signed by 13 council members. As previously indicated, there are major Australian and  USA influences on that council, with 5 members from these 2 countries alone. Somewhat surprisingly, the two representatives of EurILCA present at the meeting in Texas also endorsed the vote. A third European representative, the former president of ILCA, was absent. The vote is one of the elements in the Laser class unusual strategy to « debrand » the Laser, to circumvent the Laser trademarks and to appoint new builders. The idea is for new builders to sell «

Key Laser 4.7 Regattas in 2020 in North America

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During our webinar with coach Agustin Ferrario, about « All You Need to Know about the Laser 4.7  » we looked at the key events to take place this upcoming year in North America. Contrary to Europe, where there is a well-developed and well-attended Europa Cup circuit, as well as a major European championship (with over 400 participants!) it’s more difficult to plan in North America. While the Laser 4.7 is definitively growing in Canada and the U.S., its development is still limited. Below is a list of events for 2020 (and late 2019) that we identified as most likely to attract significant fleets in the Laser 4.7. It is followed by another list of events that may also attract good fleets, but with less certainty. If you are seeking to participate in the World Championships, you will also need to compose with the selection system, which takes the form, for USA and CAN sailors, of a "Grand Prix." You can find the regulations at this link . See also our article about

Is Changing the Laser Rigs a Popular Idea?

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If you are on Instagram or Facebook, it’s likely you will have seen the various ads for new rigs for the Laser. There are ads by LaserPerformance, promoting their ARC rigs (see picture), and ads by Up Marine, a Honk Kong company selling the C rigs. The ARC rigs were developed by Doyle Sails in the US. The C rigs have been developed in Australia by Bethwaite (cf 29er, 49er, Byte CII). The Laser class president is an  advocate of the C rigs, as can be seen in this video . With the governing body of the Laser class, the World Council, meeting this week-end in the USA, it’s worth looking at what is the popularity of a rig change. It is indeed heard that key individuals running the Laser class would like to further promote the C rigs, and may get ILCA’s Advisory Council and/or World Council to pass a motion accordingly. So how popular is this idea of a rig change? Here are the results of an informal poll posted on a popular Facebook group. This is obviously not claiming to be scient

Laser Update: World Sailing Won’t Interfere in ILCA's « Internal Affairs » …

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Responding to a letter questioning the rule change vote by the Laser class, World Sailing made it clear: we won’t interfere with the Laser class « internal affairs ». As observers have stressed, World Sailing is in a pretty weak position to comment about voting integrity. This article not only covers this recent letter exchange regarding the Laser class and its contentious « SurveyMonkey Vote » but also draws parallels with how World Sailing mismanaged the 2018 Sarasota vote, still under investigation, that led to the exclusion of the Finn from the Paris 2024 Olympics. This November 20, World Sailing President Kim Andersen made public a letter sent to Laser sailors, in response to a letter expressing concerns about the rule change vote conducted by the Laser class ILCA - also informally known as the « SurveyMonkey vote ». « World Sailing does not conduct or supervise the conduct of votes by our members concerning their internal affairs » states Kim Andersen. Adding: « This is

Laser 4.7: All You Need to Know! A Webinar with Coach Agustin Ferrario

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A Webinar to Discover the Amazingly Successful Laser of the Teens! The Laser 4.7, the smallest of the three Laser rigs, has steadily grown to become immensely popular in Europe. In North America, there is growing interest in the Laser 4.7, with fleets emerging in locations such as Nova Scotia, Florida, Ontario and Alberta. Trends are really encouraging. There were 66 participants in the 4.7 at the Canadian Youth Nationals this past August in Kingston, Ontario. This upcoming week-end, there are nearly 30 registrations for the Florida District championships in the Laser 4.7. There is an even higher number of registrations for the upcoming Orange Bowl Youth Regatta in Miami. Globally, it's in Europe that the Laser 4.7 is the most established, with huge fleets regularly exceeding 400 participants. With increasingly large numbers of sailors graduating each year out of the Optimist, as well as classes such as the O’Pen Skiff, the Laser 4.7 offers an opportunity for a smooth transi

Laser Youth Sailing Under Threat in Italy and Elsewhere?

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Can Laser youth sailing survive a « perfect storm » made of avoidable equipment shortages, arbitrary rig changes and undemocratic governance? While Laser sailing is incredibly dynamic and successful in Italy, there are huge concerns expressed, informally, regarding the negative impacts of recent and expected decisions by the international Laser class, ILCA, regarding the immediate future of the Laser. Such concerns are also present in other European countries with large Laser membership, such as France, Spain and Germany. First, there is a shortage of new boats available for purchase. The previously dominant builder, LaserPerformance, remains « terminated » by the Laser Class, and despite the inspection of LP’s building facilities that took place 3 months ago, there are no signs that ILCA will re-certify LP. This was supposed to take just a few weeks, not three months. In September, the Laser class reassured World Sailing by stating it expected LaserPerformance to be reinstated

Huge Youth Laser Fleets at the 2019 Italia Cup

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You are probably familiar by now with the huge fleets in the 4.7 and Radial at youth Laser regattas in Europe. For the European and World championships, for both the 4.7 and the Radial, levels of attendance of some 400 sailors are regularly reached. What is less known is that national regattas can also attract such huge fleets. The regatta that just started today in Italy is an example. This is the 2019 Italia Cup, organized in Naples, by the Molosiglio Sailing Center, on November 8-10. See video clip of 1st day: https://www.facebook.com/italialaser/videos/3198369490233094/ Let’s have a look at the registrations: - 182 sailors in the 4.7 - 151 sailors in the Radial - 43 sailors in the Standard https://italiacup2019.leganavalenapoli.it/ The number of participants are substantial indeed, especially in the Laser 4.7. At this regatta, the total number of participants is a whopping 376 Laser sailors! Note that this is not a Europa Cup event, and there is only a handful

Confusion with the Laser / ILCA Plaques?

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With the unresolved trademark issues associated with the Laser, there is confusion with the plaques affixed in the cockpit of the boats. The latest model that came to our attention is from the "Club Edition" Lasers sold by LaserPerformance, at a substantial discount in the UK. The sticker on the left reads "International Class Sailboat" with the Laser name and logo. The right sticker reads 300,254: is it a sail number associated with this non-class boat? Note that this Laser is not recognized by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA), and it therefore is not bearing a World Sailing plaque.   This second picture is the interior of an Australian "ILCA Dinghy." There is no mention of the Laser name. There is a World Sailing plaque with the ILCA mention. ILCA stands for International Laser Class Association. The boat is considered class-legal by the Laser class, as it bears a World Sailing plaque, yet is seen as illegal by LaserPerfor

World Sailing Refrains from "Aeroing" the iFoil

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Something pretty astounding occurred in Bermuda today. World Sailing voted to replace the RS:X by the iFoil for the 2024 Olympics. Windfoiling is an amazing discipline, yet the rapid selection of this new equipment for the Olympics is truly noteworthy. Indeed, there were several reasons why windfoiling could have been rejected: 1. Windfoiling is really new. Just a few years old, while conventional windsurfing has been around for over 50 years. 2. Windfoiling is still, to a certain extent, an unproven discipline, especially for racing in large fleets, and will probably require new race formats 3. Windfoiling, will undoubtedly generate accidents, injuries, and the proper prevention measures have not yet been fully developed 4. The chosen iFoil equipment has been very recently developed and is barely available world-wide 5. Windfoiling is more present on Youtube than in reality — today, this equipment is simply not present in most countries. 6. As far as World Sailing reg