IECA reports that last year’s amendments to the Class Rules (reducing some halyard diameter minimums and allowing the wire backstay pennant to be replaced by a rope version) are finally approved by World Sailing. The IECA has published a newly revised, 2019 edition of the Class Rules, which lists an effective date of 8 November 2019 on the cover page.
But is the published effective date correct? Paragraph 13D of the International Etchells Class Association Rules (the official rules that govern how the IECA conducts business) states that amendments become effective on March 1st following approval by World Sailing.
The Class Rules continue to be filled with numerous formatting and style errors, as well as numerous errors of substance. But, can’t we at least get the table of contents to list the correct page numbers? See the Class Rules Forum for a discussion of many problems with our Class Rules.
Note, that according to Etchells Class Association Rule 13D, these changes are supposed to take effect on March 1, 2020 (March 1 following approval by World Sailing). But, these changes were permitted at the Corpus Christi Worlds in June 2019. The IECA website states these rule changes are effective as of November 8, 2019 – five months after the World Championship.
Why the class does not follow its written rules is a mystery. Are the official rules being ignored on purpose, or is it lack of knowledge of the rules?
The only thing that makes sailing into the game of sailboat racing is the rules. Without rules, we are just sailing around the bay. If the class wants to follow a different process, the class should change the rules to define the desired process. And written rules, versus rules made up by individuals on the fly, as the class seems to be doing over and over, make the game fair for all members.