Minutes of the 2002 Annual General Meeting Largs, Scotland Wednesday 7 August 2002

1 Validation of Delegates

Felipe Bellini, the Chairman, welcomed the Assembly and validated the representatives of the National Authorities as follows:

Felipe Bellini - ESP - Member of the Class Committee
Marc Cardon - FRA 
Ezio Ferin - ITA 
Marc VanRijsselberghe - HOL 
Tak Sum Wong - HKG - Member of the Class Committee (by proxy)  
Martin Wark - GBR 

These representatives plus the following Raceboard Committee members:

Paul Leone - GBR - Member of the Class Committee
Didier Flamme - FRA - Member of the Class Committee
John Ellis - GBR - Member of the Class Committee

fulfilled the requirement of 8 votes.

2 Minutes of the 2001 AGM 

The minutes of the meeting held in August 2001 were read and approved

3 Chairman's Report

Mr Bellini provided a summary of the history of the Raceboard Class and presented statistics for championships held between 1998 and 2002.  These showed a significant decline in the number of entries over the last five years.  The reasons for this decline were discussed.  The sharp decline in the number of women attending this year's championship was discussed.  The need to attract a greater number of participants at next year's events was identified.

Mr Bellini proffered his resignation as Chairman and member of the Committee and presented a motion to the Assembly to elect Paul Leone, Vice Chairman of the Class, as the new Chairman of the Class. Mr Ellis seconded the motion.  Mr Bellini noted that his resignation was prompted by his desire to focus his efforts on his activities within the Spanish Sailing Federation. The Assembly accepted Mr Bellini's resignation and unanimously approved the nomination.

Mr Leone took the chair of the meeting.  He thanked, on behalf of the Raceboard Class, Mr Bellini for his 14 years of service and significant contributions to the Class.  The Assembly acknowledged their appreciation with a round of applause.

4 IWA Representative's Report

Mr Leone provided a description and summary of the International Windsurfing Association's objectives and activities to date.  He noted that the Raceboard Class had joined the IWA at its incept and that the Class wished to strengthen its links with the IWA by sharing resources.  He noted that income form the Class was now pooled into the IWA's finances.  The Chairman encouraged the assembly to give its support to the IWA.  The Chairman also noted that the IWA was in the process of appointing a General Manager and that the Raceboard Committee supported this appointment.

5 Treasurer's Report

John Ellis presented a summary of the IWA accounts for the period 23 January to December 2001.  Net income for the Raceboard Class was Euros 4,896.

6 Class Rule Changes

No class rule changes were proposed.  The Chairman noted that class rules may need to be revisited next year to consider potential developments underway by manufactures to submit a potential new longboard design for Olympic selection.

7 World Championship Venues

Two proposals were presented for 2003; Caparica (near Lisbon) in Portugal and Progresso (Yucutan) in Mexico.  The Chairman noted that the MJOD and Aloha Classes had voted, subject to confirming certain particulars, to host the 2003 Junior and Youth World Championships in Mexico.  The Caparica event/site had been deemed more suitable for a Formula event rather than a Youth and Junior event.  The Chairman noted the benefits of holding the Raceboard World Championships in conjunction with the MJOD and Aloha Championships.  The Assembly agreed in principle to this strategy but voiced concerns about moving the Championship outside Europe.  The Chairman acknowledged these concerns and proposed to look into different options to ensure that venue selection would not affect entry levels.  

The possibility of holding a Masters Worlds in Mexico, a European Masters in Poland in conjunction with the MJOD and Aloha classes, and a Raceboard Open World Championship in a venue which would attract IMCO and non-European sailors was suggested.  The Assembly determined to delegate the authority to select appropriate venues for 2003 to Mr Ellis and Mr Leone.

The Chairman noted that if the strategy of combining Youth, Junior and Master World Championship events were to be pursued, the 2004 World Championships would be held in Europe.  For 2005, there was a very strong proposal on the table from Space Coast, Florida, USA.

8 World Championship Titles

The current titles were reconfirmed for 2003.  It was noted that the number of competitors and countries to validate a championship should be made clear for each of the world titles to be assigned in the Notice of Race.  These criteria were agreed at the 2001 AGM.

9 Raceboard Class Hon Secretary

The Chairman presented a motion to elect Rory Ramsden, Secretary of the IMCO class, to the position of Honorary Secretary.  The motion was seconded by Mr Ellis and unanimously approved by the Assembly.

10 White Paper on Criteria and Selection Process for 2008 Olympic Equipment

The Chairman reported that a White Paper had been developed and circulated proposing the criteria and selection process for windsurfing equipment for the 2008 Olympic games.  He noted that the White Paper opened the possibility for a new more modern Raceboard being developed and selected for the next Olympic Games.  He noted that the site chosen to host the sailing events in China favour a more up to date long board.   He advised the Assembly that the Raceboard Committee supported the White Paper.