Letter from the IFA President

Dear National Secretaries,

Further to the 2023 IFA AGM in Csopak, the Executive Committee has met and discussed various issues raised.

GOVERNANCE

The class is currently realigning its management structure, and the IFA Executive has confirmed that current Class Secretary, Robert Deaves, will assume the role of Executive Director with immediate effect.

As many of you are aware Paul McKenzie has held the post of Finance and Membership Secretariat since 2019, a position which is not described in our Constitution. However, in effect Paul primarily looked after the role of Treasurer for the IFA. 

The IFA Executive has agreed to appoint a new Honorary Treasurer, and more details will follow in due course as it works through a role transition to the arrangements outlined in the IFA Constitution. The Secretariat position will cease to operate from 1 July 2023 and subsequently all matters should only go through the Executive Director, though there will of course be a phased transition.

The Executive would like to thank Paul for his valued contribution, the management of the IFA finances and his passion for the class, in particular his support of the U23/Silver Cup programme.

THE FUTURE

With respect to the latter point and our U23 sailors I am sure all Finn sailors have a view on the criticality of younger sailors joining us in the Finn class. Whatever your definition of young is, critical to our sustainability is to be able to attract new blood - whether this is U23, U30 or U40. 

The Executive is resolved to focus on this in the next twelve months and develop a strategy that will take us forward. We look forward to engaging with you and listening to your views.

In the meantime, we hope you are enjoying the European summer and getting plenty of time for Finn sailing.
 
Rob McMillan
IFA President
27 June 2023

Update on the Paris 2024 Event Decisions

2018logo.v3 200PARIS 2024 DECISIONS

By now you will surely have seen the news from the IOC this week regarding the events for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The main points are:

• The athlete quota for sailing at Paris 2024 will be 330, down 20 from 350 at Tokyo 2020. Full event based gender equality will be achieved where possible.

• The men and women’s 470 were replaced by a Mixed 470 and Mixed Kiteboard.

• The decision to swap the Finns for the Mixed Offshore Keelboat has been postponed pending a review. The IOC Programme Commission highlighted some very clear challenges in terms of “securing the athletes’ safety on the field of play that extends over hundreds of km and the cost and complexity both of securing that field of play and the impact on NOCs and national federations at a local level”.

• IOC will work with World Sailing and Paris 2024 to finalise the considerations on this event ahead of May 2021, “including any potential alternatives to the offshore event”.

This situation is unprecedented and provides reasonable hope that the Finn could be retained for Paris 2024. 

Digging into the Finn Class Archive

During this time of waiting and restrictions we have been digging deep into the Finn Class archives. These date back to the 1950s and contain thousands of prints and slides, and tens of thousands of digital images.

Read more ...

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