February 20, 2019
World Sailing President answers our questions
In the new (116th) issue of YR, we are publishing an interview with World Sailing President Kim Andersen, who took the time to answer our questions regarding recent WS actions.
Here is a small excerpt from this conversation:
Yacht Russia: The latest decisions of World Sailing Council have caused a lot of questions, doubts and rumors. Could you comment on the situation and tell about possible solutions to the problems?
Kim Andersen: In my December letter I explained in detail all the processes that took place during the meeting of the council, and why certain decisions were made.
Unfortunately, we can do nothing with rumors that complicate an already difficult situation. But we do not plan to change the decisions taken at the General Assembly.
Voting is maintained, despite the fact that some people question 75% of the votes in the Council. We carefully checked what happened and what was voted on at the meeting. We can not assess the mood of people before or after the vote. Voting in the Council remains in force, and this was approved by a clear majority at the general meeting.
YR: When the conversation about the introduction of a new discipline "offshore race" began, it was clear that it can only appear by replacing one of the existing ones. Why did Finn, one of the most traditional and respected classes, fall victim to this “conspiracy”?
KA: This is a very difficult question. At the meeting of the Council and at the General Meeting in 2017, it was decided to ensure gender equality. Not only by the number of participants, but also by disciplines. So the members of the Council decided to hold 4 mixed events. This became clear during the semi-annual meeting last May.
From that moment on, they discussed the formats of the chosen disciplines and the classes at which the competitions would have to take place. Personally, I think that a materiel must be identical, for example, “Laser” for men and “Laser Radial” for women. With “Finn” this will not work, because for girls it will be necessary to select another class of dinghy. In a mixed discipline, boys and girls should train together.
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YR: This issue is closely related to gender equality in sport. As far as we know, this idea comes from the IOC, which voiced it to all international federations. Is it really necessary to introduce equality in a revolutionary way? Is it really impossible to do this gradually?
KA: This is a very important question. I have always said that WS should make its own decisions, important for sailing. And only after that rely on the rules of the IOC. But the IOC does not order us what to do. He only gives his recommendations. We do not have to follow the IOC’s 2020 agenda, although this is a good agenda. For every sport, working to improve gender balance is key to being relevant as a sport and being attractive to young people.
If you look at the numbers, the largest number of young people leave the sport at the age of 14, then in high school and at university. This is directly related to changes in life. But it is obvious that with a gender ratio of 80 to 20, those who give up sports are much more than at a ratio of 50 to 50.
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Read the full interview in the YR paper number, which will be available on February 26.
697 February 20, 2019 # 8812
Chief Editor
