Surf Cat

The 2019 World Sailing Annual Conference, to be held October 26 to November 3 in Bermuda, is guided by the submissions which seek to address issues in the sport. Nearly 200 submissions are to be reviewed in Bermuda, with Submission 041-19 presented by the International RS:X Class Association.

As the RS:X has been the Olympic windsurfing equipment since 2008, and since the Paris 2024 Windsurfer Evaluation Working Party has recommended a change to the Starboard iFoil as the equipment for the windsurfer events in 2024, this submission is an attempt by the Class to override that recommendation.

Here are some of their reasons to retain the current RS:X equipment for Men’s and Women’s Windsurfer events for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France:

1. The uncertainties, changes of decision, unclear procedure and illogic behavior, are causing severe difficulties for the Class to run regattas and the daily activities with its Members. The situation is ongoing since Rio Games of August 2016.

2. The discipline of Windsurfing needs stability in order to protect the existing movements of sailors, incl. master and youth.

3. The Events committee, at the 2018 Mid-Year conference, received a presentation where it was identified that the windsurfing events played a large part in supporting the “universality” aspect of World Sailings ambitions for the Olympic Games. This aspect of universality has been reflected in the athlete quotas for 2016 and 2020, where the windsurfing events are being used to support gender equity for 2020.

4. At the 2019 Mid-Year conference, many views were put forward when considering change to the singlehanded classes that also support universality, that a change in equipment has significant ramifications on the number of countries participating within the sport. A change to the windsurfing equipment will have an equal effect on the number of countries participating within the sport of windsurfing –especially if it is not replaced with an affordable one design class.

5. It is too late to make such a change, when only 2.5 years to the first Olympic qualifying event for 2024 Olympic Games (2022 Sailing World Championships). It appears that there are no valuable alternative, as equipment for the discipline of windsurfing, today in the world, that can meet the requirements of IOC and WS, to aim to achieve the Olympic Status.

For the complete submission, click here.