INTERNATIONAL FINN ASSOCIATION
2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Will be held online by Zoom on 22 May at 21.30 CEST.
Topic: IFA AGMTime: May 22, 2025 09:30 PM ParisMeeting ID: 879 9620 3792Passcode: 116964
Reports: President • Executive Director • VP Masters • Technical Committee Chairman • Treasurer • Accounts
Voting on some matters may take place online after the meeting by the normal process.
PROVISIONAL AGENDA
1. National Class Associations
To publish the list of National Class Associations (NCA) and the Treasurer’s statement of the NCA Representatives’ voting powers based on the IFA dues received.
2. Minutes from the last meeting
To approve the minutes from the 2024 IFA AGM (previously circulated on IFA website, to secretaries).
3. Accounts
3.1 To approve the 2024-5 accounts
3.2 To approve the 2025-6 budget
4. Executive Committee Reports (will be published online)
4.1 President
4.2 Executive Director, including marketing
4.3 Vice-President Masters
4.4 Treasurer
4.5 Chairman of the Technical Committee
5. Major Championships (all bid papers here: https://finnclass.org/event-page/event-bids)
See supporting paper below.
5.1. Bids received for 2027 Finn Gold Cup
a) Vilamoura, POR (May)
b) Hyeres, FRA (May)
c) La Rochelle, FRA (September)
5.2 Bids received for 2027 Open European Championship
a) Estartit, ESP (May or September)
b) Douarnanez, FRA (May) or 2028, 2029, 2030
5.3 To note interest from other venues
a) San Francisco, USA, Sardinia, Pula
b) 2027 Finn World Masters, Tanger, Morocco
6. Rule Changes
6.1 Approval and discussion of new Class Rules
The Class Rules have been updated with new RRS and ERS requirements (housekeeping), some minor changes (to be listed separately) and some reformatting to reduce size by 10 pages. These changes will be presented at the AGM with an online vote to follow to give NFAs further time to consider.
6.2 Rules changes from the Technical Committee Chairman
Following a review and presentations, rule changes on allowed technology may be discussed, but not voted on. Details to follow.
6.3 Further Rule changes
Depending on the status of 6.1, urgent changes may be presented with an online vote to follow.
6.4 Changes to IFA Constitution
(a) Add to Part C 1
8) The IFA Executive may decide on a different method of allocation, including open entry, to be invoked in the Notice of Race.
Reason: Intention is to allow the possibility to limit FGC and EC to 120 boats and the IFA Executive would like flexibility to enforce different requirements. This will be based on the exisiting national quota system, but allows the NoR to cap the entry at what the venue can hold, in most cases 120, rather than being open ended. This will not apply to combined EC/Masters events.
(b) Other proposals to follow…
7. Submissions
None received.
8. Elections of Members to IFA Committees
8.1 To elect the members of the Executive Committee: Current Executive all standing, while the position of VP Development and VP Sailing are vacant. Nominations have been received for Arkadii Kistanov and Remko Boot. Please send nominations to the Executive Director by May 21.
8.2 To elect the members of the Technical Committee
8.3 To elect the members of the Marketing Committee
9. AOB (non voting)
Please advise the Executive Director of any items before the start of the meeting.
Outline Calendar 2026 and Beyond
The proposals accepted so far following Brisbane in February 2026 include the confirmation of the Finn Europeans being held as part of Gdynia Sailing Days. Whilst we will be part of Gdynia Sailing Days, it is worth noting that there are potentially some compromises when compared strictly to our event manual. This situation highlights the importance of a proactive approach from the future Vice President of Sailing to manage expectations, uphold standards, and work constructively with organisers to align with class requirements wherever possible — and it's always better when there are multiple bids.
While this represents an exciting opportunity to align with a broader sailing festival, it is important to note that practically, the venue carries a logistical cap of approximately 120 Finn entries. This highlights the importance of clear, early communication with stakeholders and effective pre-event planning to ensure equitable and fair access for competitors.
Feedback from our top sailors is that they want to race in a single fleet and experience the highest quality competition possible for our major events. Furthermore, it broadens the base of potential host venues by reducing the infrastructure demands of very large fleets — so we must confront how best to do this.
For the 2027 Finn Europeans, Dournenez and L’Estartit have expressed interest, both offering capable venues and engaged local support. It is also felt by many in the fleet that it would be unfair to host both the Finn Gold Cup and the Europeans in the same country within the same year. Furthermore, we should be mindful of how frequently the same events return to a host country, to ensure fairness, geographic diversity, development, and sustained enthusiasm/activity across the class.
Looking ahead to 2027, we are fortunate to have multiple strong bids for the Finn Gold Cup, including Vilamoura, Hyères, and La Rochelle. It is the likely preference of the Masters to go to Tangiers in June, and while the Finn Gold Cup is our pinnacle event, we are trying to make this all work for our Finn community. We are grateful to have such a depth of options, each with unique strengths and appeal to the fleet. Whilst initial bids from L’Estartit and Hyères would integrate well from a calendar perspective, equally a May event in L’Estartit and a September event in La Rochelle are excellent options that merit serious consideration. These scheduling combinations offer excellent and some convenience for those trying to do all regattas, while also delivering logical cohesion across the season. Importantly, they preserve our requirements for high standards and open water racing for our major events.
It is likely that, looking ahead, each NFA will be allocated a number of spots within an event cap. It will be the responsibility of each NFA to run a qualification series to determine who fills those spots. We hope that NFAs will use this opportunity to drive participation in their local and national events as part of the selection process. We are not intending to use the ranking list to determine qualified athletes—it will be the responsibility of the NFAs. Furthermore, we would hope that NFAs take into account the local conditions likely at proposed venues, as well as the event formats, and consider these in the construction of their qualifying events.
