Is IECA following Etchells Class Rules?

[MattAdministrator]

Is the IECA following its own rules, as well as World Sailing Regulations, with regard to changing the Class Rules? Maybe it is true that World Sailing is a bureaucratic whale; and maybe the Class wishes that the bureaucracy of World Sailing should not impede the ability of the class to manage its affairs; and maybe the membership-approved rule changes should have been approved by World Sailing many months ago. But?

Apparently, at the 2019 World Championships in Corpus Christi this past year, the rule changes voted on last December 2018 (permitting a rope backstay pennant and allowing smaller halyard diameters) were permitted on the boats in the regatta. Was this done correctly?

Approved? Lost? Rejected? Whatever happened to the Class-Approved Rule Change?

Is World Sailing just Sitting on it?

I cannot find where World Sailing has approved these Class Rule changes. I cannot find where World Sailing has informed the class governors, or IECA has informed the Class members, as is required by World Sailing regulation 10.11 as well as by IECA Class Rules:

(IECA Class Rule:) A.7 CLASS RULES AMENDMENTS
A.7.1 Amendments to these class rules are subject to the approval of the ISAF in
accordance with the ISAF Regulations.

(World Sailing Regulation 10:) Class Rule Changes
10.11 World Sailing Class Associations shall change their Class Rules in accordance with the following procedures …

Can anyone show me where World Sailing’s approval of these Class Rule changes is documented (or even mentioned) on the World Sailing website, or on any of the Etchells class websites? I am a paid up member of the class; if the new rules are in effect, why was I not informed of the rule change? No one in our fleet is aware of the rule change being approved. We are the 2nd largest fleet in North America. I would think someone in the fleet would have heard about this rule change going into effect.

Even still, there is a process for making a class rule change for the Worlds. Was that process followed? I can find no evidence of it. If the sailing instructions for the 2019 World Championship had stated that the membership-approved rules changes were to in-effect for the regatta, and if this Sailing Instruction provision had been approved in advance by World Sailing, that would have allowed the new rules to be in effect for the regatta, IAW World Sailing Regulation 10.5(f).

(World Sailing Regulation 10:) Regulations on Administering World Sailing Classes
10.5 To maintain its World Sailing designation, a World Sailing Class shall:

(f) not permit the organizers to amend, suspend or override the Class Rules in the notice of race or sailing instructions for Class events without the prior approval of World Sailing, a Class event being an event initiated and controlled by the Class/Owners Association without any alteration to the Class Rules;

But, I do not see these modifications to the Class Rules mentioned in the 2019 World Championship SIs. So, in my mind, the Worlds should not have allowed boats to sail under the amended rules. Ticky-tack maybe, but rules should be enforced, and it should not be that hard to follow them. If it is too difficult to adhere to the rules, then the rules should be changed.

It appears that IECA is not conforming to its own rules. What am I missing?

[Author]

Posts