ILCA NSW & ACT

Australian Sailing has issued guidance on running of club sailing and events which you can see HERE.
Pertinent to our NSW & ACT Laser events are the points:

• Club racing and regattas are able to continue, however clubs are being asked to avoid events where competitors are coming from areas outside your club’s metro areas where possible.
• Avoid travel to regattas outside your local area.

Our events this season are outside Sydney except for the Metropolitan Championship (Hunters Hill). Under this guidance we are advised to avoid running these events and in effect the vast majority of our sailors are advised not to attend them.

While the situation may change it seems unlikely that it will leading up to our planned Coast Championship at Port Kembla (24-25 October). So rather than leaving sailors hanging on we have decided to cancel the Coast Championship this year.

We are hopeful that our States at Belmont (5-6 December) will be able to proceed. We will review the situation in September.

Due to uncertainty about COVID-19 health orders and border restrictions, ALCA in consultation with event organisers WA Laser Association and Fremantle Sailing Club (FSC), has decided to postpone the 2021 Australian Laser Championships to  1-8 January 2022 at FSC.

The Australian Open Laser Championship rotation order is unchanged so an effect of this postponement is that our NSW & ACT hosted Australian Open and Australian Masters Championships will be delayed by one year. The now 2023 Australian Open Championships will be at Georges River Sailing Club 1-8 January 2023 and the Australian Laser Masters 2023 will be at Port Stephens Sailing and Aquatic Club 10-13 February 2023.

As you may be aware Australian Sailing has cancelled their Australian Youth Championships 2021 which were to be held at SoP YC WA. They had earlier conveyed their decision not to run National Youth Championships after 2021.

Women’s Regatta Action – Photo Jon West

The Women’s Regatta hosted by Double Bay Sailing Club will be held on 26 and 27 September 2020, This will be the first Australian Laser regatta of the 2020-21 season.
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After the success of the 2018 and 2019 regattas, the organising team of Clare Alexander and Christine Patton are back to present the not-to-be-missed annual event for women Laser sailors of all ages and abilities.

Due to the current COVID-19 public health advice and the safety plan adopted by Double Bay Sailing Club, the format of the regatta will be different from previous years.
The entry fee covers the cost of the sailing competition which includes 2 days of racing. Ten races are scheduled of which four will constitute a series. If permitted  there will be other activities such as yoga, land-based classroom sessions, a dinner function, and presentations. If it is possible to run these additional activities  then they will be included in the event fee.

To register for this event;

1. Download and read the Notice of Race HERE
2. Complete the Registration form HERE
3. Once you submit the registration form, you will be re-directed to a payment page where you are required to pay the entry fee using a credit card
4. You will receive email confirmation of your registration

Please feel free to contact Event Secretary Clare Alexander  at events@dbsc.com.au or 0409 391 304 with any questions about the NOR or the registration process.

Queensland Laser Association has cancelled the South Pacific Laser Masters scheduled for 7-10 August at RQYS. An open Laser event over the weekend 8-9 August will be run instead for those who are in, or can enter, Queensland.

QLA President Michael Wilson has issued the following release.

On behalf of the QLA I’m disappointed to advise that we have been forced to cancel the South Pacifc Laser Masters (SPLM) regatta due to competitors from New Zealand, Victoria and Greater Sydney being unable to attend.

If you have already entered we are in the process of returning your entry fee via RQYS.

In lieu of SPLM we are intending to hold a two day regatta, the Queensland Mid-Winter Laser regatta, on the same weekend which will be open to all Laser sailors, not just Masters. If you can travel to RQYS for the 8th and 9th August we would love to see you at this regatta.

A Notice of Race and entry registration will shortly be available on the RQYS web site.

Hunters Hill Sailing Club have engaged top coach Brett Beyer to run a training camp at the club for younger Laser/ILCA sailors during the school holidays between 13-15 July.

The training camp is design to suit Laser 4.7 and Radial sailors looking to get the fundamentals of Laser/ILCA sailing well grounded, and be challenged by advanced skills and drills.

Details 

• When: 13-15 July, 0800 to 1200hrs each day
• Where: Hunters Hill Sailing Club
• Cost: $220 incl GST plus RevSports booking Fee
• Coach: Brett Beyer

You can book your place on the Hunters Hill Sailing Club web site at https://www.huntershillsailingclub.org.au/events/68445/

The relaxation of CV restrictions has allowed clubs to run races as described in the post below.

One of the first to get going is Royal Price Alfred Yacht Club. Their Seldon sponsored Winter Series kicks off on 14th June and runs every second week until 6 August.

The flyer for this event is HERE. The Notice of Race is HERE.

If your club is running an open entry winter event then let us know and we will publicise it.

Australian Sailing have issued an update on Thursday 21 May on relaxation of some restrictions which previously applied to sailing.

The new arrangements as applicable to sailing a Laser are summarised as;

• Club activities including racing can resume as long as the Public Health Order is complied with.
• No limit on the number of boats in a race.
• Outdoor activities only. Change rooms, canteens and kitchens should remain closed – arrive dressed and ready to sail.
• Coaching and onshore activities limited to 10 persons.
• Keep a distance of 1.5 metres where reasonably practicable and follow the one person per 4 square metres rule ashore.
• Contact Tracing records must be kept.

The full update applicable for all forms of sailing are on the Australian Sailing web site HERE.

For the ACT the advice we have is HERE.

International Laser Class Association has been trying to find a viable arrangement to allow the Radial and 4.7 Youth and Under 21 World Championships to proceed. These events were scheduled for July and August in Italy and Poland. ILCA have now concluded that the three events can’t be run and they are cancelled. Notice is HERE.

It was fortunate as it transpired that, in spite of bush fire smoke and some ordinary winds, the main Men’s and Women’s Laser Worlds and the Radial Men’s Worlds were able to be concluded at Sandringham before CV emerged.

Planning for 2021 events has proceeded and dates and venues for five of the World Championships have been announced HERE. These and our NSW & ACT, Australian and Oceania events planned for 2020/21 are listed on the Events Page of this site HERE.

Photo by Michael Kurtz of the 125-foot historic 19 Metre Class Fife design Mariquita launched in 1911.

Social distancing almost as good as sailing your Laser.

While we have been getting on with sailing and enjoying a great summer of sailing the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) has been going through a few dramas. Starting with the retention of our Olympic status leading to the need to open up the market for class builders complicated by trade mark issues and the licensing of new builders around the World – and did I mention a World pandemic leading to the cancelling and rescheduling of World Championships and the Olympics.

In spite, or perhaps in part because of these dramas, ILCA have undertaken a review of our nearly 50 year old and much amended constitution. This review hopefully will address issues resulting from the recent builder and trade mark changes but also to better equip the class to continue to prosper for the next 50 years.

Much of the existing constitution, which is online HERE, is still highly relevant so the idiom concerning babies and bath water will be respected. As well any changes will need the support off at least 2/3rds of the membership to be passed.

ILCA is calling for suggestions for changes from members. The details of how the change process is planned to go and how, where and by when members can suggest changes is on the ILCA web site HERE.

If you want to have your say now is your chance.

To relieve the tedium of life indoors most Laser sailors are getting out for regular exercise which is both conditionally allowed and encouraged under current Government regulations.

The NSW Government Office of Sport says on their web site HERE that during the COVID-19 pandemic “Where possible, it is important sporting clubs and organisations continue to allow people to exercise, so long as social distancing is practised and rules around public gatherings of no more than two people are complied with.”

As we know sailing your Laser gives you a pretty good work out on most days and a few sailors have asked can sailing a boat be counted as exercise under the new order of things. Well the answer is yes with some sensible restrictions.

Transport for NSW (ex Roads and Maritime Services ex NSW Maritime) further elaborates on their web site HERE.

“From 31 March 2020 NSW Government Public health directions have been updated requiring people to stay at home unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’.

You should only be on your boat alone, or with no more than one other person; or with family who ordinarily live in the same household as you.

A ‘reasonable excuse’ to use your boat could be to exercise (e.g. kayaking/sailing/paddling etc) or fish.”

It is not a Government regulation however a group of boats sailing together is highly visible so best to sail in ones or twos. If we are seen to be doing the right thing then hopefully no one will be prompted to change the rules.

We can’t find any specific references to sailing as exercise in the ACT however the ACT government has said exercise away from home was allowed in groups of no more than two and providing the strict 1.5 metre, social-distancing rules were kept. A spokesperson said “People are allowed to travel for essential reasons, including to exercise,”

Stay safe.

Sailing alone – good exercise – photo by Jon West

Hope everyone is isolating in safety.

None knows how things will pan out in the next several months however planning for the best of a full season in 2020-21 following is the schedule of proposed Laser events.

There is a complete list of proposed events on the Events tab HERE

Following the postponement of the 2020 Laser Masters World Championships a number of other Worlds events are in question. The situation is uncertain and sailors should refer to the International Laser Class Association web site https://www.laserinternational.org/ for the latest information.

For longer term planning in 2022 it is our turn to host the Oceania and Australian Open and the separate Oceania & Australian Masters Championships. The dates and venues for these events are listed below.

The huge program of National, Regional and World Championships except for the postponed Laser Masters World Championships has now been completed.

What a fabulous job the Victorian Laser Association, its event organising committee and Sandringham Yacht Club and Royal Geelong Yacht Club did in staging these events.

The best way to track what happened at these events is via the Laser2020 mobile app which can be downloaded free from the App Store and Play Store at App Store HERE Play Store HERE. The event web site  Summer of 2020 is HERE.

There are summaries of the event outcomes and links to full results and photos from the events on the Australian Laser web site posts as linked below.

• Australian & Oceania Laser Masters Championships – Geelong
• Women’s and Men’s Laser Radial World Championships – Sandringham
• Men’s Laser Standard World Championship – Sandringham 
• Australian Open Laser Championship – Sandringham 

Based on safety and public health factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ILCA World Council and local event host have decided NOT to proceed with the 2020 ILCA Laser Masters World Championships as scheduled on 21-28 March 2020 in Geelong Australia.

The smaller entry preceding Oceania & Australian Laser Masters event is proceeding.

The ILCA notice on this decision follows.

We understand that some sailors may already be on site, other are en route and some have imminent departures. Given the extreme rapidity of developments and the uncertainty surrounding travel and participation in this event, the decision to take this extraordinary step was decided to be the most prudent course of action under the circumstances.

The Australian government has now issued advise against non-essential, organized public gatherings of more than 500 people as a precaution to reduce community spread of the virus. With the number of competitors, spouses, event personnel, and visitors expected, ILCA has chosen to heed this government health advisory.

Whether the event will be rescheduled to a later date or cancelled will be determined in the near future. Refund arrangements will also be addressed and communicated with entrants as soon as practical.

As well ILCA has reported on the status of the remaining three 2020 World Championships HERE.

• 2020 Under-21 Worlds July in Malcesine, Italy
• 2020 4.7 Youth Worlds August in Arco, Italy
• 2020 Radial Youth Worlds August in Dziwnów, Poland

Presently these events are under review as the COVID-19 situation in Europe (and elsewhere) is very uncertain. Sailors interested should monitor the ILCA web site for updates.

Tracy Usher President of the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) World Council has issued his outlook for the class copied below. In part of this statement Tracy is responding to a recent move by a group of disgruntled Europeans (and an one Argentinian) sponsored by the ex UK based Laser builder Laser Performance Europe (LPE).

LPE is about to be replaced or joined by three new European builders under the requirement by World Sailing that the ILCA open up the supply of Laser equipment. If you want more of the disgruntled group’s views courtesy of a web site set up and run by LPE then click HERE.

Tracy Usher ILCA President and keen Laser Masters sailor – His outlook is below

Throughout its 50 year existence, the International Laser Class Association has endured many challenges – whether it was the bankruptcy of the founding builder and the business failures of a number of other builders over the decades or the outside attempt to start a separate association with the “Torch” trying to supplant the existing class. And yet the Laser Class has worked to meet these and other challenges and continued to grow to become today the largest adult and youth sailing organization in the world and, significantly, the single-handed Olympic dinghy for both men and women.

While many international class associations organize a single annual world championship, ILCA successfully organizes seven annual world championships with charter support across our three rig variants and various age groups including Radial Women, Radial Men, Standard Men, 4.7 Youth, Radial Youth, Under-21 in both Standard and Radial rigs and the Masters. In addition, there are highly successful regional and district and local championships in many of the rigs and age groups. This is only possible because of the broad support of grassroots of the class — from passionate sailors and hundreds of dedicated volunteers all over the world.

This past year has seen another set of extraordinary challenges for the class: undergoing equipment trials to emerge as selected equipment for the next Olympic cycle and reorganizing builder relations in order to comply with the World Sailing Olympic Equipment Policy necessitated by European Union antitrust law. With the same determination shown by our members competing on the water, the association is on the verge of meeting these challenges to ensure the long-term success of the class.

The process to comply with World Sailing’s Olympic Equipment Policy has presented several significant challenges which have taken a substantial amount of time and effort to address. The fact is that nearly 50 years of activity has resulted in a complex web of contractual relationships, including some for which ILCA is not a party but which directly impact ILCA operations. The good news is that this process is finally nearing completion and new builders will be receiving molds and starting production in the near future.

During this transition, there has been understandable concern over supply, particularly in Europe – the largest region for the class – which had not previously seen many of the supply problems that had been plaguing other regions of the world for many years. While we would all like for this process to happen instantaneously, everyone is working hard to make sure it is done properly. And this takes time.

Additionally, we also appreciate the legacy of the familiar starburst logo on our sails, particularly for long-time class members, some of whom have been sailing the boat since the 1970s. All of us would ideally like to maintain the original logo but, unfortunately, ILCA does not have control over the Laser trademark on boats and sails and cannot unilaterally authorize the use of the starburst on the sails.

It is unfortunate that the company who does control this trademark in certain parts of the world has yet to accept the offer to be an approved builder and build boats in compliance with the ILCA Class Rules. Instead it seems that, with the support of some individuals in Europe who appear unwilling to wait for new approved builders to get up to speed, they are attempting to start a rival organization with the express intent to undermine ILCA and its sailors. It is difficult to see how this benefits sailors or sailing.

Regardless of the insignia on the sails, we remain the World Sailing recognized International Laser Class Association and will continue to conduct Laser Class events around the world as we have for the past 50 years.

As we have worked to overcome past challenges, the association is working to meet the current ones. We remain focused on getting additional builders on line in the very near future, including three highly respected builders in Europe. We anticipate that additional builders will enable improvement in supply conditions world wide and that the competition will ensure that the sport remains affordable.

The ILCA actively and fully supports the EurILCA Executive in working to ensure stability in Europe as we work to meet our common goals and address concerns of our membership.

Stay tuned for additional announcements in the coming days.