A new global cat-racing organisation has been formed in the wake of the multihull community’s outrage at seeing the Tornado thrown out of the Olympic Games. The newly established International Multihull Council (IMC) intends to make sure the cat sailors have a voice that will be heard by the International Sailing Federation.
IMC president Paul Pascoe explains the reasons for setting up the organisation. “The decision of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to exclude any Multihull Event from the 2012 Olympic Games has shown that we cannot entirely rely on others to promote our interests, so need to establish our own organisation to do so.
“As there is no representation for Multihulls within ISAF, either formally through a Multihull Committee, or informally, through the interests of individual Councillors, national multihull associations from several leading ISAF Member National Authorities (MNA) have jointly founded the IMC.”
The founder Members are the National Multihull Associations of Australia, Great Britain, Netherlands and United States and are represented on the Executive Committee by Paul Pascoe (AUS) as President, John Williams (USA) as Vice President, Nick Dewhirst (GBR) as Secretary General, Edwin Lodder (NED) as Treasurer and Rod Waterhouse (AUS).
According to the new Constitution “The purpose of the Council is to promote catamaran sailing and racing. To this end the Council will agree upon matters of common interest, present the views of the membership to third parties, provide representatives on national and international bodies, arrange sponsorship and lobby for changes in the interests of the membership. The Association intends to complement the activities of clubs, classes, national and international sailing and sporting authorities.”
Pascoe adds that while his immediate priority is the inclusion of Multihulls at the 2012 Olympic Games in Great Britain the breakdown of process and representation within ISAF has also highlighted the need for an integrated lifetime multihull strategy, which should begin at entry level, with youth education and training. The new generation of rota-moulded catamarans now makes this feasible, he says.
Secretary General, Nick Dewhirst, would like to hear from multihull sailors in other countries, both those who already have national multihull organisations and those who may now wish to establish them. He comments: “The founder Members have already seen how our effectiveness is much enhanced at national level if we speak with one voice for multihulls, rather than separate class or commercial interests. IMC hopes to do the same internationally and encourages the multihull community in other countries similarly to speak with a united voice to their MNA, as national lobbying has now become urgent.”
Below is an excerpt from a letter which the IMC has sent to David Brookes of the International Hobie Cat Association, which presumably has gone to other catamaran associations. It is a call to arms over the ISAF Executive Committee’s rejection of the RYA’s submission as non-urgent. The letter mentions the importance of the 15th March deadline, although as Rod Carr pointed out in SailJuice a couple of days ago, it does appear there is more time for ‘ISAF rebels’ to make their case for change.
Here’s the excerpt:
In respect of the deadline for Submissions, IMC is calling on all suitable International Classes to put themselves forward as potential Olympic Equipment by 15th March. This is a necessary but not sufficient condition for selection. It is a costless option, which can be withdrawn at a later time by either the Association or by ISAF.
The IMC encourages International Classes to do this in the best interests of our sport, so as to provide ISAF with the widest possible range of multihull options and therefore maximise the chances for any Multihull Event. While the Executive Committee of the IMC intends to abstain from invidious choices between Members, it is important that balanced guidance on suitability is provided, as it has become clear that ISAF has not established clear principles for its requirements.
It is the hope of the new Executive Committee that you will join us in promoting our exciting and widely-enjoyed sport at all levels. The founder Members have already seen how our effectiveness is much enhanced at national level if we speak with one voice for multihulls, rather than separate class or commercial interests. IMC hopes to do the same internationally and encourages the multihull community in other countries similarly to speak with a united voice to their MNA. National lobbying has now become urgent, as it appears that the initiative for reconsideration has now passed from the Executive to MNA.
Question: Do you think this new Multihull organisation will mean ISAF pays more attention to the catamaran community? Comments please…
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